Are any of you considering building an "efficent" hot-rod?

NFW............ how about we burn cheap vodka?

 

Me too.

 

Just picked up a Chevy II 6 w/glide, engine and trans work great.

We have a buddy that has a old T-Bucket with a Chevy 250 and 3-speed that he gets 40-46 MPG with every day.....and it will haul ass and scare-ya.

I want to be able to still drive my Model A, and like Root said, I'm not gonna sit in the garage and stare at it like garage-furniture.
Both my A-Coupe and A-Sedan have in excess of 400 HP currently, and there is no way that I can use it safely anymore. So I see the Chevy II 6 finding it's way into the Coupe,...stock too..... I don't need to race to the gas-pumps anymore.

 

a HOT ROD doesn't have to be fast... just faster than stock. otherwise most of the flathead powered cars couldn't be HOT RODs.

if your car isn't really fast make up for it with noise. I like the sound of a 4 banger with 2" pipe and a glasspack.. my 73 datsun truck got 26 MPG with a 2.0, 5 speed and 4.33's. it ran 17.70 's at the drags. put that combo in a T or other light car it would get 30-35MPG I bet

 

my next one will more likely than not get a 4cyl drivetrain out of a ranger.
why?
why not.

 

what kind of milage do you think a 265 SBC in a glass 27 T RPU would get ?What about with 5 speed s10 trans.I can get the motor 100%complete with a PG right now but I have s10 5 speed and and 700R4s.I'm not trying to rob this thread I've got 6 -4 cylinders here, 4 different 2.3 ford and 2 -2.5 S10s I planned to use for the T in different build stages but the 265 just became available and with all the "Traditional"talk here I 'm considering the baby 8

 

"Are any of you considering building an "efficent" hot-rod?"

No. 'Nuff said.

 

I'm running a tri-power with progressive linkage and get 26 mpg in my 250 backed by a T-5 in a '66 Ranchero; the power is there when I want it. There's a shitload of torque in a straight six. It ain't bad. If I went with different carbs, it would make a reliable daily driver.



There's a few folks turbocharging these engines with impressive results like 10 second passes.

 

That's what I was going to say.
My Comets won't win ANY races but they do both get 25+ MPG.
One has a 200 six and the other is a 170.
It's a bitch because my daily truck only gets 17-20 and work is a 70 mile round trip.
However, I don't want to put too many miles on the old cars.
One has 90k miles and the other has 56k original miles.

 

I have a 351C w/ a 2bbl on it, auto and 9" with highway gears. Thats the beauty of a custom, but the downside is these things are freakin heavy! Haha.

 

My Comets won't win ANY races but they do both get 25+ MPG.
One has a 200 six and the other is a 170.
Both have rebuilt, manual choke, one barrel Holleys.
200 six is in the 60. The owner replaced the 144, at some point, with a newer six. I was told mileage was about 90k on the motor.
The 170 is in the 62 and is the original motor with 56k original miles.
Only mod was replacing the automatic choke Comet carb, on the 62, with a manual choke rebuilt Falcon model of the same year.
Used a universal choke cable and some custom aluminum brackets.
Both cars have the shitty 2 speed Merc-o-matics, but I have a third one on hand in case one pukes.

 

I realize some of you guys use your hot rod as a daily, so maybe this won't apply...

For many of us, if you do the math and look at 15 mpg vs 25 mpg, and consider the amount of miles you drive each year, I don't think the annual spend will be that much different.

Example - 5000 mi per year, 15 mpg vs 25 mpg, $4.00 per gallon.

The difference is $533 per year. Not chump change, but I know that I personally piss away more than $533 on other stupid shit over a 12 month period. I also don't think I even hit 5000 miles in a given season here in PA. Don't forget... this is a full 10 mpg improvement. Little stuff like an OD trans that will add 3 mpg can have a long payback period on an occasional use car.

Just a different way to look at things...

 

A friend of mine only drives model-As (he has 5 on the road and one he is building), and says that his roadster pickup get 22mpg with a shaved head and two single-pot carbs. I'd take that.

 

While I'm not holding to the traditional theme with my new project, it's being built in a traditional style, by using what I have or can fabricate myself. I expect my new truck to weigh in around 22-2300# and get in the mid 30's mpg with a turbocharged 2.3 and 5 speed from a TBird. It will still have around 400HP with the wick on the hairdyer turned up, but in around town mode will have plenty of balls to still be fun. There are a ton of guys running the same combination in 3600# cars that get in the 30's MPG, so it's not hard to do. I'm going to be using it as a daily driver so it must be efficent. If I was building something for pure fun it would have a real snotty 5 MPG Hemi in it, but that'll be down the road. The plan to use this motor has been in the works for 2 years, I bitched when gas hit $1.50...

 

I'v always thought about a millitary surpluss 6.2 diesel from a hummer in a rod, and converted to run on used cooking oil.

 

I guess I have most Parts to turn any of these 3 into a super High Milage Road Car if I would want to.

But I dont want to...

 

With that race car theme in mind. We have always kicked around the idea of building a street legal legend car. With the new Hyabusa motors in them they are scary fast and would probably get in the 40mpg range.

 

After you get done building your ecotec, are you gonna go hug a tree too? Al Gore would be so proud of you. If you'll excuse me I just got the urge to go WASTE some fossil fuel in my '55 Chevy with a 454 and a 4spd.

 

In A word NO

 

My late uncle built this Speedway track T about 12 years ago. The Olds quad 4 was not chosen for fuel effeciency. More thought was given to package size, enough power to weight, overall fun, and just to do something different. Don't know fuel mileage numbers, but was a fun rig to drive on short blasts. Had a nice growl to it with the baffled straight pipe running up the passenger side and enough power to easily break the rear tires loose.

 

Lighten up Francis!

 

I'm with you. I'm also running a 455. I have already put in a 2.80 rear gear and am thinking about a 700R4

 

1400 h.p.?
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=66691
and this monster thread...
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18580

(it's amazing how many google searches land you right back to the HAMB)

this is quite "interesting" as well...
http://www.gmperformancedivision.com/download_hero_cards.aspx

lastly it's no '55 chevy with a 454 but i'd gladly drive the wheels right off of this 'un...
http://www.gmperformancedivision.com/content/downloads/110/herocards/E85_Hotrod.pdf




My holy grail of n/a 4's is still the Pontiac SD4 2V... HANDS DOWN!
not cheap and good luck finding an original one... most went to IMSA teams. A long time ago I could have ordered every part via GM Hi-Perf at work and built a street version rated up to 270hpish cheap... hindsight huh?
http://www.kansasracingproducts.com/About_the_Block.html

 

And an 1800 out of a Miata is rear wheel drive too + the rear end in one will handle up to a SBC if it ain't pumpin' out serious hp..

 

I am collecting parts for a 26/27 T Roadster w/ 215 Buick/Rover and a T5.
Should weigh in around 1000lbs and geared properly get 30 mpg.
It would be fun, economical, and traditional.

Sounds like a hot rod too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmmzNoVnkDw

 

I wonder how it would work to run a FWD engine and transaxle in the rear of something like a Model A coupe? Finding a rear wheel drive eingine and trans really limits your choices. Just a thought.

I have a Anglia I have been thinking about putting a 4cyl in for a while now. This is a good thread.
Jeff

 

In these times of high gas prices, chasing fuel economy is very logical. Unfortunately, hot rods, even in their humble beginnings, were not intended to be logical.

 

You think gas will stop at $4 a gallon....wait 5 years and look back at the good old days...we'll be paying 7 ,8 maybe more for a gallon...now do the math.
In the seventies I don't think there were a lot of great options so a lot of 4 banger rods were anemic...nowadays we have sooo many great 4 cylinder options that I don't see why we can't build hot rods with good mileage and still run circles around most cars.

 

ZZZZZZzzzzzzz's

Wow, you are boring!

 

I'm de-tuning my daily driver OT 81 El Camino right now. I've already took the 750 off and replaced it with a 650dp, prolly gonna go all the way down to a 600vs, I'm putting a 2400 stall in it instead of the 3200 and I'm prolly gonna use a 2.77 rear I have sitting around.
It sucks but that's life, gas is kicking my ass. I'd like to drive more. Josh