How Many Miles to a Gallon Should A Big Ol' Road Hog Get?

I had a 70 Monte Carlo SS454 that got 17-18.

 

That's disappointing - I had hoped to get double figures when I put the 454 in my 4spd '60 El Co, but oh well!

 

Then too, certain engines are just more efficient. 472-500 Cadillacs are relatively good, I would get 12-14 as stated above.
440 Chryslers, 289 Fords, 454 Chevys are some that are not that efficient.
My memories of a 259 Studebaker are those of good mileage.

It does have something to do with how you drive, but another part IS the engine you have.

Cosmo

 

A 468 and a 4000 # car what your getting sounds about right. To bad you don't know the rpm's your pulling at 60-65 mph. My 62 wagon turns 2000 rpm's at 65 mph. Thats with a 350 vortec, 350 trans, 18 inch wheel and a 9 inch Ford rear with

 

?????????? Gas mileage ??????????

4TTRUK

 

A 6 wheel Chevy dump with a 366 road plowing heavy snow uses about 15 gallons an hour ...

 

car in my avatar has what started as a 350 lt1 block that gets 8mpg with a th350, 2200 stall, 3:08 gears at 70 on the highway, and 3685lbs with me in it.

 

Yes, the tune and the maintenance of every moving/rolling part makes a difference.

Yes, road test the odometer. Any older/modified car odometer is usually off quite a bit.

No, the laws of physics, i.e. weight/inertia/wind resistance/frontal area/rolling resistance/pumping losses/frictional losses can't be changed. they are what they are. Heavy/wide/tall/big cubes are gonna make ya pay. A friend with two mildly modified 350" Cheby 2500s and 4.11s has been getting 9-11 MPG for 375,000 miles.

Maybe, fuel mileage is the third-most-often-lied-about subject with guys. Dodge diesel guys lie worse than anyone.

jack vines

 

I would drop down one or two jet sizes on the primary side only and see if it makes much difference. Maybe play with the advance curve some. A 700r4 trans would make a difference as well. But your current combo sounds good and reliable if not down right bulletproof. But it might just be a big, heavy,THIRSTY,old ride!

 

I measure the fun of our hotrods in SMILES per gallon.

 

I used to drive an O/T pickup with a 454. I don't remember what it got for mileage, but I do remember getting a kick out of watching the needle move as I drove down the highway.

 

Put A 700R4 in that thing and fix it!

My car gets about 18 mpg with 4.30 gears and 5xx horse.

 

You otta reread the post before you go off on the guy.

 

i got a 60 buick invicta wagon 350 sbc 350trans 2.41 gears
pulled close to 20 to california on road
but it has wide gap plugs, leaned down edelbrock dual exhaust and sidepipes hooked up
this thing has a book weight of over 4 K
oh it choped 4 in maybe less wind resistance
it a 4 door too
i love putting road miles on this it a nice driving car has metric camaro spindles on the wrong sides
but using the airconditioning does mess up the mileage

 

1959 Chrysler 300 with a dual quad 413, automatic and weighing in at 4800 lbs averaged 14 mpg on a drive to Phoenix AZ from LA, CA.

 

I had a 71 Chevelle SS454. TH400/3.31 gears, got 9 city, 12 hwy.
Also a 77 C10 454 2wd, Th 400, 3.07 gears, 9/10.5MPG
1953 Studebaker coupe, 454,6-71 blower, TH400, GV overdrive, 3.23 rear. 13MPG hwy.
I've been on mileage quests. Gearing is the biggest factor. Big blocks can thrive with tall gears, but You can't improve stop & go mileage much this way. Weight reduction helps city mileage, but you have to lose a lot. Hundreds. The biggest improvements are from careful tuning, using an air/fuel monitor.

 

Years ago in a land far far away I used to get 10 to 12 mpg with all of the technology I could buy and understand in the same type of vehicle you are talking about. And that was a time ehen everyone lied about milage.

 

427 w/ 4K converter and 5.14's- costs too much to drive to the gas station, I bring it home cans of "take out"

 

<<<<< guzzler

 

This thread was mysteriously frozen for a few days so I thought I might give it a bump.

An unusual thing about my car is that it has a custom air filter that looks very cool but is not entirely functional. It had to be cut to fit and allows some air to go unfiltered into the engine. Does an air filter have any impact on mileage?

 

my wagon 383 chevy 350 tci super street fighter 2 600 edelbrocks and right now a 411 rear gets about 7-8 dependin on how my foot feels.swith between that one and my 62 galaxie 352 cruisamatic no idea what the rear gears are. never much cared,for my daily drivers the galaxie gets about 14.and thats drivin easy.my ot 74 nova tunnelramed small block 350 auto trans 4.56 gears getzs about 3.dont drive that one much. but its not because of gas milage. its because im havin trouble with one side of the headers glowin.ill fiqure that one out but i still wont drive it much,just to damn modern!acually ive never really thought about gas milage.i like big cars i like old cars and i like fast v8 cars. so gas milage just dont seem to go with what i like.if we need to go somewhere where gas milage will count ill take my wifes 300.its got the hemi and gets pretty good milage. its just new and ugly. so when i do drive it i just pretend im drivin a old car..lol

 

The Gunship when it had the stock 331 ci with a 4 barrel, Hydromatic, stock rear and bias plys. Would get stupid nuts MPG, especially on the highway.

 

I don't feel too bad now. 582, too much carb and cam, 3500 stall and 3.50's. I'm at 7-8 MPG. But like someone else said it's smiles per gallon when you're driving a hotrod.

 

7 mpg

 

I never care what mileage my old cars get. They are fun to drive and I love them.

There are some real cheap hot rodders that install v-6 engines for gas mileage and they are usually sorry they did and have a tough time selling their mistake. These people usually have as much money or more money than God.

A 283 in a light will get good mileage- maybe 17 mpg.

 

Is this a com[arrison?

My '65 Galaxie with the slightly warmed over 390 got about 14-16 as I recall.

Do't know much about the drivetrain the OP is running. Gears, how many carbs etc? No way to gauge if it is getting good mileage or not.

 

406 3x2 Galaxie 3.50 rear gear and T-5 still only getting 13mpg. I hate to think what it got with the original 4 speedand 4.11 rear!

 

I find the same guys that "measure milage in smiles per gallon' in their hot rod are exactly the same guys who turn green if you mention a five speed or overdrive automatic like it's some sort of voodoo to avoid. How sad. As my daily, back about ten years ago I ad a little conundrum with the Plymouth when I took a job that required a 175 mile damn near daily one way drive. With an aluminum headed, big cammed, flat nasty 430hp Chrysler small block and 3000stall Tourque flite and 3.23 gears, milage was about 11mpg TOPS! Then, I decided to drop in some 2.79s to make things a bit better.... Wrong! Then I just listened to converter flash and unstall 'cause I was cruising below 3000 rpm, netting about 9mpg. Shit, what to do?

Tremac... That's what! Back when you could I took a "home improvement loan" and set about improving things... substancially! First, the Tremac TKO 500 found it's way into the mix. Then, my 2.79 hit the shelf and the 3.23s went back to the rear with a limited slip diff. Now, with nothing else, period, no "dumbing down' or "detuning" I went from the above to 18mpg! Oh, and all this is figured at 85mph or so 'cause if you hit Highway 8 at anything less you will be run over! Best part of the whole deal? I lost almost a second and a half on zero to sixty time too!

Don't let anyone tell you that performance and milage have to be two different things, ya just gotta have an open mind.

 

It would still be a big help to know what gears you're running. 2.73 vs. 4.56 will make a big difference. Ask me how I know

 

If you had $200 in the 1960's It would only be worth $10.00 today. I was buying gas for .25 cents a gallon. That $200 dollars would buy you 800 gallons of gas. Ten dollars today will by you 3.33 gallons of gas and $200 will buy you only 67 gals of gas. There is a big difference between 800 gallons and 67 gallons.

I do not know what my point is but I like using my calculator- an old HP-21.

If you got 12 mpg in 1960 your fuel cost would be .25/12=.02 cents per mile.
If you get 12 mpg in 2012 your fuel cost would be $3.00/12= .25cents per mile
Your new car would have to get 150 mpg to cost you .02 cents today

I have no known point to make.