ROAD TRIP (real world MPG too)

[67ChevyRedneck]

Hey all. I went to charlotte this weekend for the autofair. It was kind of crappy and rainy last year. There was about 4 times as many people this year than I saw last year. The rain held off until late afternoon. It almost looked like a race day there was so many people.

The truck made it up without skipping a beat. The 350 purred at 2300 rpm's while the speedometer was showing something in the high 70's (Hey on I-85, it's "keep up or get run over.")

There was A LOT of "our" trucks for sale there. I couldn't afford a single one without a BIG loan. I also think that vendors for our trucks outnumbered all other vendors. If they didn't, it was close! I also saw Tim Christain again, and bought a bunch of parts again. Mostly the rear bumper to replace the one that got smacked last week

Made it back fine, it started raining, but not hard. I stopped off at the girlfriends parents house and when I tried to refire the truck realized the starter wire broke off. I replaced the end and she fired right up.

I finally have some real fuel mileage info. for the truck. I've checked my odometer and speedometer on several occations and it's consistently off by 9%, so I took that into account in my figures.

The truck is a 350 with 700R4 and 3.73 rear. Driving the truck to work and around greenville is essentially all city driving. I have to sit at a lot of red lights and don't see much over 45 mph. The truck almost never see's OD (I leave it in 3rd) when driving around greenville. After checking the last 5 tanks of fuel I'm consitently getting 12.7-12.9 mpg.

After finally getting to check "highway mileage" I filled the truck up before I left, when I left the show, and when I got back. I was able to check 2 tanks. I got 14.7 for one and 14.9 for the other. 14.7 was on the way up, there was no traffic and I was going 75+. The 14.9 was on the way back, traffic was heavier through charlotte and to the border and I slowed to 65-70.

I'd be willing to bet I could get 15.5 or so if I were to go 60-65. Not bad for a 3700 pound brick!

[dave2953]

That's really good mileage for 75+ mph! Sounds like you have everything dialed in pretty well. I average about 14 mpg with my 305 and PG, but I have to stay at or below 50 mph to do it. I guess the 700R4 really helps you out on your highway mileage, huh?

[EZ4U2C]

Sounds like you had a blast. Did ya take any pictures? I wanted to go but I'm the Director for H.P HOG Chapter ( Harley Owners Group ) and we had a raffle this weekend and I had to be there. Wanted to meet up with some of you guys from this site. Maybe next year.

[Luvlegs]

I averaged 15.2... with my Dodge Diesel....hahahaha the 72 isn't quite ready for anything farther than the end of our road... I did go to the show on sunday - I was very disappointed.... I know the weather was bad but when you say the show goes until the 15th, well, I think SOMEBODY should still be there on the 15th... Especially when you have to pay to park and to get in... I got there very early in the am - there was ONE GUY set up on the infield with a small tent selling 67-72 stuff... ONE!.. and probaly only 10 others there total.... about 75 vehicles being displayed still - I saw 6 of "our" trucks - one for sale - looked to have been sandblasted and then primed in certain areas - nothing fancy - no where near complete - rough - for over 4K - it was still there when we left... There were supposed to be 3 ATMs - one didn't work - noone who worked there knew where the other one was - finally found the 3rd ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK OF THE GREENFIELD (25 minute walk to get out there!) - EVERY VENDOR I tried to buy stuff at said their card machines weren't working.... they all wanted cash.... There was only a few that had any parts for a big block, but they all had them "back at their shops" - they only had shiny chrome stuff to bolt on and only for small blocks.. THEN when I started talking about buying stuff and having it sent to me, they couldn't (or wouldn't) touch the prices I can get on the internet and free shipping! Perhaps, all the "Good Guys" had left early and I know it was sunday and rainy on and off but geesch, it was like I paid to go see a muddy field the day after woodstock. I was intending on spending quite a bit of money for stuff but there was no way to get there before Sunday... between the fuel cost to get there (2 hours), the cost to get in, meals along the way, parking and my time - it cost me more than I enjoyed it and wiped out any savings I'd of made.... ok, I'll try to get there in the fall to give it another shot.... Thanks for reading my vent.... ahhh well, back to the internet....

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by dave2953

That's really good mileage for 75+ mph! Sounds like you have everything dialed in pretty well. I average about 14 mpg with my 305 and PG, but I have to stay at or below 50 mph to do it. I guess the 700R4 really helps you out on your highway mileage, huh?

Yeah, I'm happy with 15. The Z71 still gets better at 18, but it's not as much fun to drive.

Originally Posted by EZ4U2C

Sounds like you had a blast. Did ya take any pictures? I wanted to go but I'm the Director for H.P HOG Chapter ( Harley Owners Group ) and we had a raffle this weekend and I had to be there. Wanted to meet up with some of you guys from this site. Maybe next year.

Sure did. I had 3 offers to buy my truck, I think one was serious, and I did take a lot of pictures, but not as many as I would have liked. I got there at 10 and the weather started getting bad at about 3 (sky darkening, wind picking up). I was done with walking the swap meet at about 3:00 but I had to take 2 trips of parts back to the truck. I only had about 30 minutes to run around the show area to check out the rides. I had to meet the girlfriend and her parents for dinner at 6:30.

Originally Posted by Luvlegs

I averaged 15.2... with my Dodge Diesel....hahahaha the 72 isn't quite ready for anything farther than the end of our road... I did go to the show on sunday - I was very disappointed.... I know the weather was bad but when you say the show goes until the 15th, well, I think SOMEBODY should still be there on the 15th... Especially when you have to pay to park and to get in... I got there very early in the am - there was ONE GUY set up on the infield with a small tent selling 67-72 stuff... ONE!.. and probaly only 10 others there total.... about 75 vehicles being displayed still - I saw 6 of "our" trucks - one for sale - looked to have been sandblasted and then primed in certain areas - nothing fancy - no where near complete - rough - for over 4K - it was still there when we left... There were supposed to be 3 ATMs - one didn't work - noone who worked there knew where the other one was - finally found the 3rd ALL THE WAY TO THE BACK OF THE GREENFIELD (25 minute walk to get out there!) - EVERY VENDOR I tried to buy stuff at said their card machines weren't working.... they all wanted cash.... There was only a few that had any parts for a big block, but they all had them "back at their shops" - they only had shiny chrome stuff to bolt on and only for small blocks.. THEN when I started talking about buying stuff and having it sent to me, they couldn't (or wouldn't) touch the prices I can get on the internet and free shipping! Perhaps, all the "Good Guys" had left early and I know it was sunday and rainy on and off but geesch, it was like I paid to go see a muddy field the day after woodstock. I was intending on spending quite a bit of money for stuff but there was no way to get there before Sunday... between the fuel cost to get there (2 hours), the cost to get in, meals along the way, parking and my time - it cost me more than I enjoyed it and wiped out any savings I'd of made.... ok, I'll try to get there in the fall to give it another shot.... Thanks for reading my vent.... ahhh well, back to the internet....

My dad and I were talking about this last night. I told him how charlotte started on thursday and A LOT of vendors were packing up to go home at about 3 pm on saturday. He said the same for Carlisle. I guess it starts on wednesday now (the last time I went in '98 it was fri-sun) and the vendors start packing up on saturday!

Also, a lot of vendors were out of the parts I was looking for, or didn't have them there. I asked one vendor for his vintage air price, and it was HIGHER than if I bought it direct from vintage air AND had it shipped.

I also bumped into a guy looking for 67-72 parts (he saw I was carrying some around) and asked me if I had seen any drop spindles, I said that I hadn't. I ran into him a few hours later and he had said he found them, but for $300. He could get them from a catalog for $229. Overall though, the vast majority of stuff was 10-20 percent cheaper than catalog prices.

I was seriously dissappointed in the vintage tin pieces (doors, fenders etc). There was VERY FEW pieces to choose from and were way overpriced IMO. One fella had a fleetside tailgate that was in OK shape.... $600. I've seen better go on our parts board for $250.

[fatboys69]

That's sounds about right, my 350/700R combo works great. I am like you I live in a small town so it sees a lot of 45 mph or lower speed limits, so the mileage is OK ( better tha what I was getting with the turbo 400 ), but when I drive it to work ( it's 120 miles round trip and 4 lane highway/interstate )
it does real well. I can get about 15 mpg, like you said, it's like pushing a brick down the road, not very aeorodynamic !!!!

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by fatboys69

That's sounds about right, my 350/700R combo works great. I am like you I live in a small town so it sees a lot of 45 mph or lower speed limits, so the mileage is OK ( better tha what I was getting with the turbo 400 ), but when I drive it to work ( it's 120 miles round trip and 4 lane highway/interstate )
it does real well. I can get about 15 mpg, like you said, it's like pushing a brick down the road, not very aeorodynamic !!!!

Yeah, I only get to use the OD about 20% of the time. I leave it in 3rd mostly to hopefully prolong tranny life (it doesn't need to be constantly shifting from OD to 3 and back when I'm going 45 mph.) I love it when I get to hit the interstate or some open back roads. 2300 rpm is much more comfy than the motor screaming at you at 3500.

For comparison, my old six popper and 3 speed was only netting 10-11 mpg no matter how I drove it. Was it worth the money to swap with gas savings? Probably not at all. BUT the V-8 power and the more comfortable highway driving is what makes the swap worth it. Although, if I could have found one for a reasonable price, I would have preferred an NV4500 swap. Maybe someday?

Shifty: IT'S ABOUT TIME! Congrats man

[shifty]

Funny, my friend was helping me wire up the last couple of things yesterday and managed to break my (+) solenoid stud off. Glad I'm not the only one. ($140 for me, ouch!!)

Got the truck to turn over last night, will fire up completely today I hope. Can't wait till I get the clutch solved and manage to post my mpg

[jkaylor68gmc]

Not bad, what type of trans you running, lock up 700r4 or non lock-up?

[67ChevyRedneck]

Originally Posted by jkaylor68gmc

Not bad, what type of trans you running, lock up 700r4 or non lock-up?

BTO lock-up kit and TV cable kit. Both work awesome. Well worth the $170 I paid.

[Hart_Rod]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyRedneck

I finally have some real fuel mileage info. for the truck. I've checked my odometer and speedometer on several occations and it's consistently off by 9%, so I took that into account in my figures.

67 Chevy- you can buy the plastic gears for the tailshaft housing to correct your speedo.

http://chevelleengineer.home.comcast.net/speedo.htm

[67ChevyRedneck]

^Sweet, I'll have to check that out. I have the red gear in my 700R4 with 37 teeth. So I'd need a light green one with 34 teeth, which should put me real close (speedo reads 9% slow). I probably need a 33 tooth one, but they don't go that low for a 700R4!