My RPU gets 10 to 11 MPG at 75 on the highway. If I was worried about it I would remove the 6-71 and two 650 Holleys.
Put 2x4's on my 302 engine with a 3.31 gear and c4 trans, someone told me not to even worry about gas milage they didn't tell me I needed to buy a gas station!
I have had people ask me how is the gas mileage. I tell them IDGAF, when it gets low on gas, I just fill it up.
I completely understand the "I don't care about fuel mileage in My Hotrod attitude". I didn't build mine to be a gas sipper as many of you didn't. I just think it's great to have power and not guzzle gas. I'm not trying to save the environment I'm trying to save my wallet. I mentioned earlier our 47 Hudson only got 9 miles to the gallon when we first bought it. On top of that it didn't have the power it should have. Once it was tuned up and working like it should it had a whole lot more power and nearly double the fuel mileage. Sent from my A520L using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I get mine set up so they get decent mileage for what they are...but I don't expect a 9 second car built with 1960s technology to get better than 7 mpg in town, or 10 or so on the road.
my neighbor bragged that his new truck gets 22mpg after I told him my 67 f100 gets 13-14 he has a $450 truck payment plus depreciation and nobody takes pictures of his
Hey Squirrel, Nice Corvair. Ours was a 62 coupe. For some unknown reason, it leaked oil somewhere, and the rear spray kept the bumper chrome, the shiniest on the block. I am sure yours will not leak at all. One other thing, make sure you check out the interior side vents below the dash. Ours worked well bringing in the moving road "air conditioning." But when it rained, it was a pour spout of water from deep puddles into the drop down floor area. It was driving around in a swimming pool. Make sure the seals are tight and keep the water out, although, in Arizona, there might not be a lot of deep puddles. Jnaki Luckily, my wife drove it only in sunny weather and never experienced the incoming flow of water after going through a deep puddle in an intersection. In 1969-71, it rained a lot in So Cal. Corvairs are very cool cars and we never had any problems except for a thrown belt or two. Also, it seemed like we never filled up the gas tank. So, I assumed that it got great gas mileage for a flat motor.
Thanks for the tips! It has a few "natural drain holes" in the floor right now...I might fix them, or I might not. I mainly got it to go on the LeMons Rally this August, which starts in Monterrey, and heads north this year. I'm getting into the brake system right now, kind of scary..but I think I can get it working. I found the guy in Tucson who has a bunch of used parts in his yard, and likes to see the old cars on the road again.
Cup holders, washing barn finds, quietest mufflers, oil changes, steam engines and now fuel economy. If one of you guys dare starts a thread on electric motors in hot rods I'll.....probably read it. Still more interesting than whatever it was my wife was just saying to me.
I teach at a HS tech center we just had a conversation about building an electric drag car I suggested a 60s FED style
Like I said boys, I'll deny it on the witness stand but I'll read your threads. Build away. On the advice of my attorney I hereby deny all statements that may have been made herein.
Squirrel I drove a 63 Corvair in high school. 102 h.p. with 3 speed manual and got 25 mpg without trying too hard. This got 23 mpg on the highway and 16-18 in town . 5.0 AOD 4.11 gears.
I drove one daily for about 4 years until I sold it about 3 years ago. 102 hp, 4 speed, white with red interior 63 coupe. I track every tank because of the way I was raised. I got anywhere from 18 to 23 mpg depending on the weather, as I drove it year round. My daily commute is 50 miles round trip, 38 miles highway and 12 miles of stop and go. My wife took it on a trip once, open road about 700 miles each way and averaged 14 mpg. Just goes to show how different drivers can affect fuel economy. I'm currently daily driving my 64 Camino with 283/TKO600 and 3.55 gears. I'm getting 16 mpg out of it with an untuned Q-jet. I need to get on dialing it in, but I don't want to down it with other projects already in pieces. Devin
Up and back to the Jalopy Showdown, 292 y-block, t-5, 3.55 gears. Refilled when I got back-13.3 mpg. But my rear tires must be tall. Cruising up Rte 15 at 65, I was only turning 1700 in 5th. Way below the torque band, so almost have to downshift to pass at that speed. RB
Just ran my numbers, 9.4 which is mainly around town. This was calculated over 128 miles covered during the past week.
My sunliner with a 351-W/C-4 and 3.00 gears got between 16 and 18 on the last trip to Daytona going 75 to 80 there and back,its not what you would call a hotrod but a road car and its good enough for me. It gets better mileage then my 37 Chevy p/u that has a 235 six and 5 speed.
Around town, it depends a lot on my driving style. If I take it easy, maybe 10 mpg. But what fun is that? So usually less. On the highway, around 15 mpg at around 70 mph. Above 70, it starts to drop off. 37 Chevy Master Deluxe sedan with SBC 350 and 700r4. PO put the 700r4 in, but without hooking up the TCC. I recently installed TCI's lockup kit, so will be interested to see if that helps with the highway mileage. I keep track of gas mileage not because I'm trying to eke out a Prius level existence, but because a change in it can be an early indicator that something is going wrong and needs to be looked at. It's also good to know, with a 10 gallon tank, that when the trip odometer says 130-140 miles, I'd best be finding a gas station soon. Sent from my iPad using H.A.M.B.
NASCAR 358’s get 6mpg, averaging speeds over 190mph. If you are getting similar milage on the street, you are either dumping fuel into the crankcase, or on to the ground.
NASCAR took 50 years of continuous, incremental efficiency improvements to get there...if you still use the technology of the 60s, you can legitimately get 6 mpg without raw fuel going anywhere.
The Jalopy Journal
