Gas guzzling alternatives

[MalibuKasey]

So as gas prices go up and my profit per month goes down... Ive been thinking alot of different solutions or options for the old truck....

This morning I was thinking of the 153 4 cyl that the Novas had in the 60s. Back it with a t5... maybe a marine head for a "little" added power.

So what have you guys been thinking of?

[61_FL_Apache]

Nea!! There is no replacement for displacement!!

Everytime I mash the hammer, im stimulating the economy!!

[biohazardbill]

How often do you drive it... ? My $.02 is drive something else the majority of the time. We have a 454 in out burban that is going to just drink the gas.. but so be it. I could see maybe lesser fuel alternatives if this was a daily driver, but if it is a toy, why bother?

[Corts60]

Installing that 4 cyl. in your truck may get your desired results of profit gains because you'll never want to drive it after you cry over the performance.

I would say swap it over to diesel but these days I am not even sure that is worth it anymore unless it was already installed. I would consider getting a cheap daily driver (my old '94 corolla got 32 mpg consistently) and save your truck for the weekends. Just my opinion.

[61_FL_Apache]

Originally Posted by biohazardbill

How often do you drive it... ? My $.02 is drive something else the majority of the time. We have a 454 in out burban that is going to just drink the gas.. but so be it. I could see maybe lesser fuel alternatives if this was a daily driver, but if it is a toy, why bother?

Mine is a daily driver. With the 305 I get 13mpg. I drive it about 1,000 miles per month. Its not too bad.. Im glad I dont have the 454 you have, but I do in out motorhome and it gets 6mpg!! OUCH!!

[hd74]

i have a 454 in suburan and i get 15 mpg to o mpg it just depends on the right foot and it is close to a dailey driver

[MalibuKasey]

within the next bit it is going to be forced into daily driver duties....

[az65]

sometimes those little engines have to work so hard it makes it counterproductive in terms of saving gas. I personally focus on transmission, rear-end gears, tuning and driving to get better gas mileage.

[MalibuKasey]

Well thats what Ive been think too. however there is still going to be a 6-8 month period where the old truck is the daily. The new motor is going to suck some gas... but it will have a 700r4.. so that will help.

And... Im not saying im doing the 4cyl thing.... it had crossed my mind and the made me research it a little.

[61_FL_Apache]

Im getting 15-19 in my Tahoe, but I dont look as cool in that, so I take the gas hit with the 61.

[markeb01]

This is a great thread topic, and thanks for posting. It will probably result in some good ideas that could help improve economy in our trucks.

When they finally outlaw gasoline I’m just going to swap in a universal neutron cell with my own adapter to keep the manual 4 speed. Since the neutron cell will have no moving parts, run silently, and never wear out, I’m finally going to install a huge stereo system so I can generate big block supercharged engine noises from under the hood!

But seriously, having lived through the gas crisis of the mid 70’s I just don’t have much enthusiasm for investing good money to make old vehicles fuel efficient in the modern sense. A lot of people back then traded in their mint condition gas guzzlers for expensive new cars which provided better gas mileage. Most never came close to recovering the lost investment in fuel savings. They saved gas but lost a lot of money.

And from a hot rodders perspective, available technology changed overnight. Normal performance carburetors were rebranded “racing” parts and the cost doubled. In their place all the new efficiency models flooded the market and magazine advertising. I actually paid good money for a couple of “smog carbs” that ran like complete crap. Economy cam grinds became a hot magazine topic, anti-reversion headers, along with high rear end gears, lightweight engine fans, and a bunch of other stuff all the way to cow magnets on the fuel line. It was an era that set enthusiasts back a lot of money, and turned out to be a fad that came and went leaving little history it ever even happened.

It’s like removing a perfectly functional TH350 for the improved gas savings of a 700R4. There’s no question the overdrive transmission is more efficient and saves on engine wear and mileage, but if there’s nothing wrong with the 350, it could arguably take 10 years of gas savings to pay back the initial investment of installing the 700R4. The same could be argued about changing to a smaller or newer more efficient engine.

Our trucks are heavy and about as aerodynamic as a brick. Mileage expectations of new cars can be near 30-40 mpg. I can’t imagine the investment needed to get one our trucks up to that range. My solution is to drive a 10 year old CRV for daily chores and keep the old truck for the weekends.

[PAPA KENT]

Originally Posted by markeb01

this is a great thread topic, and thanks for posting. It will probably result in some good ideas that could help improve economy in our trucks.

When they finally outlaw gasoline i’m just going to swap in a universal neutron cell with my own adapter to keep the manual 4 speed. Since the neutron cell will have no moving parts, run silently, and never wear out, i’m finally going to install a huge stereo system so i can generate big block supercharged engine noises from under the hood!

But seriously, having lived through the gas crisis of the mid 70’s i just don’t have much enthusiasm for investing good money to make old vehicles fuel efficient in the modern sense. A lot of people back then traded in their mint condition gas guzzlers for expensive new cars which provided better gas mileage. Most never came close to recovering the lost investment in fuel savings. They saved gas but lost a lot of money.

And from a hot rodders perspective, available technology changed overnight. Normal performance carburetors were rebranded “racing” parts and the cost doubled. In their place all the new efficiency models flooded the market and magazine advertising. I actually paid good money for a couple of “smog carbs” that ran like complete crap. Economy cam grinds became a hot magazine topic, anti-reversion headers, along with high rear end gears, lightweight engine fans, and a bunch of other stuff all the way to cow magnets on the fuel line. It was an era that set enthusiasts back a lot of money, and turned out to be a fad that came and went leaving little history it ever even happened.

It’s like removing a perfectly functional th350 for the improved gas savings of a 700r4. There’s no question the overdrive transmission is more efficient and saves on engine wear and mileage, but if there’s nothing wrong with the 350, it could arguably take 10 years of gas savings to pay back the initial investment of installing the 700r4. The same could be argued about changing to a smaller or newer more efficient engine.

Our trucks are heavy and about as aerodynamic as a brick. Mileage expectations of new cars can be near 30-40 mpg. I can’t imagine the investment needed to get one our trucks up to that range. My solution is to drive a 10 year old crv for daily chores and keep the old truck for the weekends.

i totally agree with mark and think he hit it on the head.this "has" been a question that seems to come up every 20 years or so but the bottom line which several people have mentioned here is how long it will take to pay for the investment from a 2-5-10 mile a gallon increase.my thought is install whatever is cost effective or what power plant that you have collecting dust that makes you happy.

[BOE]

markeobe. well said. i like my tank. i didn't buy it for cross country i bought it because its cool. i could never afford to drive it every day. when i do people give me room unlike my everyday economy crap car that gets no respect. try running a 64 of the road?

[Monte's62]

Originally Posted by patrickk1

A properly tuned quadrajet will get the same mpg as Fuel Injection.

I don't disagree with that statement

[Monte's62]

Originally Posted by Blessed66

While I don't disagree, there is one word that comes up in the EFI vs. Carb debate I always felt was a tip in EFI's favor. Consistency.

Not wanting to derail this into a debate, but I'll put my money where my mouth is soon enough. MS TBI conversion in the works.

I also agree with the consistency aspect. I would like to hear more about your throttle body conversion results. Happy truckin blessed66

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by markeb01

This is a great thread topic, and thanks for posting. It will probably result in some good ideas that could help improve economy in our trucks.

When they finally outlaw gasoline I’m just going to swap in a universal neutron cell with my own adapter to keep the manual 4 speed. Since the neutron cell will have no moving parts, run silently, and never wear out, I’m finally going to install a huge stereo system so I can generate big block supercharged engine noises from under the hood!

But seriously, having lived through the gas crisis of the mid 70’s I just don’t have much enthusiasm for investing good money to make old vehicles fuel efficient in the modern sense. A lot of people back then traded in their mint condition gas guzzlers for expensive new cars which provided better gas mileage. Most never came close to recovering the lost investment in fuel savings. They saved gas but lost a lot of money.

And from a hot rodders perspective, available technology changed overnight. Normal performance carburetors were rebranded “racing” parts and the cost doubled. In their place all the new efficiency models flooded the market and magazine advertising. I actually paid good money for a couple of “smog carbs” that ran like complete crap. Economy cam grinds became a hot magazine topic, anti-reversion headers, along with high rear end gears, lightweight engine fans, and a bunch of other stuff all the way to cow magnets on the fuel line. It was an era that set enthusiasts back a lot of money, and turned out to be a fad that came and went leaving little history it ever even happened.

It’s like removing a perfectly functional TH350 for the improved gas savings of a 700R4. There’s no question the overdrive transmission is more efficient and saves on engine wear and mileage, but if there’s nothing wrong with the 350, it could arguably take 10 years of gas savings to pay back the initial investment of installing the 700R4. The same could be argued about changing to a smaller or newer more efficient engine.

Our trucks are heavy and about as aerodynamic as a brick. Mileage expectations of new cars can be near 30-40 mpg. I can’t imagine the investment needed to get one our trucks up to that range. My solution is to drive a 10 year old CRV for daily chores and keep the old truck for the weekends.

.
I know this is an old post, but recently I was thinking about this same topic and I remembered you made a post about the the miles you'd have to drive to recover the cost of any gas saving upgrade.
I've played around with this some:
https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/savemoney.shtml

[61_FL_Apache]

With my last tranny rebuild I wanted to go with the 700r4 for those reasons, but the cash was not available to make that change. Maybe next time.

[jonathan-m]

Just buy a motorcycle

[argonaut]

Originally Posted by jonathan-m

Just buy a motorcycle

Agreed! Both of these get more than double what the truck can...from the gas tank and on the speedo.

[Sicboy]

Originally Posted by jonathan-m

Just buy a motorcycle

I'm with Jonathan!!!

[MisterC]

I've given some thought to this very same subject, but quickly dismissed the idea of making a change from my V-8. I've found that as the price of gas goes up, so does my complaining about the price, but the amount of driving that I do never goes down.

I make adjustments elsewhere in my monthly budget, but up until now, reducing the amount of gas that I use has not been a priority to me.

[csa daddy]

Well the 700r helps alot but we need to stop the rise of gas prices if every body would boy cot the gas company's we maybe able to bring it down. It don't matter if it's a old truck or not none of them get good mileage. If your luck you can get between 15 to 20 With the 700r in a ol truck I had a 68 that I put the 700 in In place of a three speed an got 17-18 mpg
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[krazy_texan]

those little 4 bangers might have worked in a nova but i am willing to bet even a stripped down shortbed is considerably heavier than a nova so the amount of effort it would take that motor to propel your truck down the road would not increase your gas mileage at all. in all honesty if most of your driving is done in town i suggest either a 230 or 250 inline 6 with a 1bbl carb. i have a 250 in my truck and i do actually pretty good on gas so long as i stay off the highway.

[SS317]

I've been thinking about installing a CNG system so I can switch between CNG and gasoline. I live in an area where they drill natural gas a lot and use my truck for business, so I can advertise that I use it and get more business.

[argonaut]

I think you should be able to get around 18 mpg with a sbc, overdrive transmission and the right rear diff gears. And also the right carb. Something in a q-jet style with small primaries will help a lot on driveability and fuel mileage.

My 350 with a th400 could get 14 on mostly highway driving back and forth to school. I had 275/60R15 tires and 3:73 gears and a quadrajet carb. I think if I had overdrive and higher gears i could have easily gotten around 18-20 if i drove nicely. Of course I put a 396 in it instead so now I get 11 mpg....

The best would be to put in a small vortec motor and trans from a new model truck as a complete swap. but that isn't exactly cheap.