Fuel Mileage Blues
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See A Man About A Horse
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,919
Likes: 667
From: Mariposa, Ca.
Fuel Mileage Blues
Just returned from our yearly camping trip to Mt.Shasta,approximately 700 miles round trip.My '59 with 292,carrying a camper shell stuffed to the gills with camping gear for eight, got from 12.5-12.8 m.p.g..Sure,part of that was through the mountains,but I really was hoping for more.Guess I can console myself with having used only a half quart of oil each way.Man,I'll tell you,a 350 mile,7-hour trip up Interstate 5 @ 100 degrees plus,without A/C and moving only 50-55 m.p.h. really tests your endurance.Sorry,I'll quit my sniveling,but knowing the wife and kids were traveling in air conditioned comfort(they called me on the cell phone to tell me they couldn't figure out how to turn the temperature down!)made me jealous.Anyone got the info for Vintage Air?Go ahead and make me feel bad,tell me your gas mileage.Steve
Logistics Pro
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,952
Likes: 117
From: Upper Left Coast
My #1 upgrade would be a higher ratio rear axle and an OD type transmission.
The #2 would be an Antique Air A/C system or equivalent!
Cheers,
Rick
The #2 would be an Antique Air A/C system or equivalent!
Cheers,
Rick
Originally Posted by ibuzzard
Ross,axle code 04 tell me they're 4.56 according to the book.Not optimal,I know.Another upgrade to add to my "Some day" list.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 27,294
Likes: 1,055
From: NM
Originally Posted by raerjim
My 1979 351W gets about 9 mpg at hiway speeds with a 3.00 gear. Of course that's with the AIR CONDITIONING running! LOL
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 3,005
Likes: 2
From: Santa Clarita
I have to agree with everyone here. I was running 3.50 gears with my 289 and C4 transmission. On the highway, I was lucky to get 13 miles to a gallon. With all the car shows coming up, I switched my gears to 2.73 and my mileage to the Western Nationals was about 21 on the highway. I was cruising at 2,000 RPM the whole way. Didn't use oil either like with the 3.50's. I'm glad I switched them out. Of course I do miss the jumping off the line like a jack rabbit with the 3.50's. LOL....
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Clean & Classy
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,656
Likes: 20
From: Riverside CA..
I am lucky if I,m getting 9 MPG. with my 460 w/3.0 gearing. When I had it dyno tuned they set up my 770 holly street avenger to run on all four barrels all the time for performance. I am not complaining, I love it and I don,t mind filling the tank. I am just driving for pleasure purposes though. Every gas stop is an experience, with people coming over to check out the truck and giving me a thumbs up.
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 4,644
Likes: 55
From: Moro Bay, AR
Originally Posted by raerjim
My 1979 351W gets about 9 mpg at hiway speeds with a 3.00 gear. Of course that's with the AIR CONDITIONING running! LOL
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 27,294
Likes: 1,055
From: NM
Originally Posted by Fomoko1
Wouldn`t running much taller tires when on road trips help a lot? A lot easier and faster than changing gear sets.
Of course it would throw your speedo out.
Of course it would throw your speedo out.
On the other hand, going from 3.92 axle to 3.25 cut RPM's at 65 by 530. (3126 to 2592) Don't know if I'd fry my clutch getting off the line, tho!
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: Glendale, AZ
My 49 F-1 with 350 SBC, Turbo 400, 3
2 gear in a Dana 44 I get 13 MPG with A/C. I am running 225x70x15's on the front and 265x70x15's on the rear. I did a final gear calculation 60 MPH-RPM-Tire size and the final drive came out to 3:54 or there abouts, if it was my daily driver again, I'd have to put an OD tranny.
2 gear in a Dana 44 I get 13 MPG with A/C. I am running 225x70x15's on the front and 265x70x15's on the rear. I did a final gear calculation 60 MPH-RPM-Tire size and the final drive came out to 3:54 or there abouts, if it was my daily driver again, I'd have to put an OD tranny.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 8,813
Likes: 13
From: Littleton, New Hampshire
I haven't gotten the correct speedometer gear in mine or enough miles on it yet for an accurate mileage estimation (about 10-15 MPH slow) but I figure with my 2:25/75 tires and 2:26 rear end gears I should get somewhere around 15-18. Engine/transmission is 350/350 with 600 Holley. 
Senior User
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
From: East Liberty, OH
Well I got 33x12.5 on the rear and I have a 3.73 rear end, a 292 and a 4 speed. I broke my speedo when I was on my first road trip but I was driving about 55 MPH on 2 lane blacktop and I got 15.1 MPG. I was able to figure the actual miles becasue my buddy was following me. I have no Idea what kind of RPMs I got going but at highway speeds I still had plenty of power left and ran it to 70 but with my steering I didn't feel safe going 60 so I didn't see what it would do over 70.
My speedo worked great for the first 70 miles but I went down a REALLY REALLY ROUGH road the sign told me to slow down to 35 MPH for 8 miles and the bumps took out my speedo and then something started to grind inside of it about 20 miles later, so I just disconnected it.
-Scott
My speedo worked great for the first 70 miles but I went down a REALLY REALLY ROUGH road the sign told me to slow down to 35 MPH for 8 miles and the bumps took out my speedo and then something started to grind inside of it about 20 miles later, so I just disconnected it.
-Scott
Elder User
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 532
Likes: 1
From: Athens, GA, USA
I'm running a 2.73 rear end in my 51 and with the a/c running we got right at 22 mpg on the trip to NC last week. Boy it's a pig off the line though. Around town my mileage plummets to about 14