better gas mileage

my brother has a 61 chevy 1/2 ton with a later model 250- 6 cyl, and a turbo 350. it get at best 11-12 mpg. I told him a 283 with a 700r4 would probably get 16-17. am I right, or did I miss the mark.

 

Or if the 250 has the v8 pattern, use a Th2004R. It's the same length as a Th350 and would only require the crossmember to be moved back to the Th400 position to work. No driveshaft modification needed.

I personally hate the 700. The 1-2 shift has a huge rpm drop, it's lack of WOT upshift, and while cruising if you fart hard enough to slightly move your foot the damn thing down shifts.

 

Change rear end gear.

 

Well, seeing that it's only a 6 cylinder you can get away with the cheesier, weaker 2004R. As far as the so called short shift between 1st & 2nd, people run only 2 gears in a powerglide and don't seem to bitch about it. However seeing the we are talking a 6, the 700R4 may be a good choice for the 6's power band.

Fuel economy could be in the 21-22 mpg range but it really matters on your rear gear ratio and like "brad chevy" mentioned, you may pick up some MPG's just by changing your gear.

 

454 with a gear vendors behind a 700r wouild double your milage and double your fun.
No guarantee but a big mistake that many make is trying to gear up for lower RPM at cruising speed without considering the engines sweet spot on torque. small v-8's usually need more RPM to produce power

 

Wow... this brings back memories. My first ride was a hand-me-down '76 1/2 ton chevy with 4.11 gears, auto and 250 six. The gas milage was brutal and it had a top speed of 85 mph. I beat on that set up mercilessly and it kept running and would ALWAYS scratch second gear (shift kit). I remember getting 9-10 mpg out of that truck but some of that was probably my driving.

At the same time, my Dad's new truck was an '85 GMC 1/2 ton with a 305 and four speed auto that must have been a 700r4. I could swear that thing got 15+ mpg. As I remember it, the 305 had a lot of torque. It was a good small engine for a truck. It pulled a 4000 pound boat really well.

I'd say you are right on the mark with your gas milage estimate.

 

Buy a fucking Prius.

Doc.

 

I'd have to say weight definitely plays a part here. With that said, I had no problem getting 20 mpg consistently with a Ford 351W, T5, 279:1 rearend combo in my '32 Roadster. With an automatic tranny, the rearend ratio is a little more critical to keep rpm in a fuel efficient range. Remember, lower rpm is not always more fuel efficient when running a carburated engine. Hope that helps.

 

Ha Ha Ha!!!

Please man, I just spit coffee all over my freakin' keyboard.

 

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha....

 

My '63 C10 gets about the same. It's got the original 4-speed and a 3.73 rear axle. This winter it gets a later A833 with OD out of a '84 Chevy PU, which shold help significantly.

 

I'd bet you could get more MPG with a 350 over a 283. get some more torque working for you.

 

Also consider an air/fuel ratio gauge, you would need to drill the exhaust for an o2 sensor, its decently cheap and a huge help to getting the car tuned right.

Sent from my DROID device using the TJJ mobile app

 

I have a warmed over Chevy 292, bored .030 over, three dueces, 270 cam in 1940 chevy coupe. It has a 1983 z-28 T-5 behind it with a 1968 Nova 3:55 rear and 30" tall Radial White Wall tires. The car weighs just over 3,000 lbs and on the freeway at 65 mph, I get 20+ mpg. If you wanted a high mileage piece of transportation, buy a Sonata. If you want a hotrod, don't worry about the mileage, just enjoy the ride!

 

I just as soon walk !!!!

 

..... Or ride a bike.... A Shwinn maybe???

 

I heard there's a special place in hell for Prius drivers. They all have to follow each other lookin for a place to take a leak for all eternity...

 

Roughly 30% increase in fuel milage comes from the OD trans. Maximum engine tuneage should be performed. Syntec oils in driveline. Super hot ignition.

 

Everytime I see a Prius owner....I shake his/her hand or give them the thumbs up..and thank them....they are the reason we have a fuel surplus in America and the number one export last year was of all things....GASOLINE.

Without Prius's, we might be waiting in line to buy gas....ever thought of that....and don't say it would not happen....remember summer of 2005 or 2006, I waited in line for an hour to buy $4.89 cent gas with a 5 gallon limit.....!!!

My old 51 ford sedan got 24.6 mpg running 70-75 mph....305, turbo 350, 2.79 rear gears...with a finally tuned quadrajet that took me about 3 attempts to get it perfect.

The 283 I am building with 700R, 3.42 gears should beat that when I finish this fleetline.

I increased my city mpg by 6 mpg just by buying gas with NO ETHANOL in my everyday driver.

 

our number one export is empty shipping containers. that is not a joke.

 

It sucks, don't it???....

 

Sooo....

Am I okay in your book with a Honda Civic Hybrid?

 

I'd put a diesel in it if I was worried about mileage. Cummins if It was for towing....6.2 if just looking for more mileage.

 

I used to drive a 71 short box stepside half ton, 250 six cylinder, 3 on the tree ex Department of Hiways patrol truck and it got 21 MPG. No electronic ignition, no fuel injection, no overdrive, no radial tires, no nothing.

So I would say there should be some more MPG to be had. How is your compression? How long since the last tuneup or set of spark plugs? Choke pulloff OK? This is a common source of wasted gas on all Chevs. What kind of tires? Do you keep them pumped up?

There are lots of things you can do to improve mileage. Spending $2000 on new parts to save $20 a week on gas is not real swift but there are other things that do not cost a whole lot.

The way you drive has more influence than any part you can buy.

 

Good lord...

 

Just for comparison's sake a buddy has a 2007 Chevy 2500 4x4 with all the electronic bells and whistles and crap. 6.0L engine, so what 370 CI or so? Not going to bother with the math. Auto overdrive electronic trans.

Just drove it on a 3000 mile round trip, almost all interstate. According to it's own MPG calculator, 11.9 MPG light. Add a 5000-lb trailer, 10.9 (although I think it actually got a little less, the fuel wasn't lasting long enough for even 10 MPG).


I think I'd rather have the '61 with a 283 and a manual OD trans in it.

One thing, if it sits high, lower it, or put an air dam on the front. Air going under the body can create drag and hurt MPG. Heck, my old Suburban just adding a straight up bug deflector cost me about 1 MPG, after a while I took it back off and said screw it, it's cheaper to clean the windshield when I get gas.

 

Hot rodders talking about gas mileage. Just park the damn thing.

 

Some of us don't have your money.

 

I don't have a lot of money, but I accept that I drive a car that wasn't meant to save gas. That's what Hondas are for.

 

Try Hot Rodding on a Veterans pension, still ran 490hp 4speed and 3.00 9inch rear.
Speed is life.

MPG concerns have no place in our world.

Doc.