Crazy fuel consumption!

[Bwake]

I just bought a 61 Apache10, 235 ci that hasn't been driven in a long time. I put 2 1/2 gallons of clean gas in the truck to get it home. The truck idled okay but ran very sluggish, poor acceleration. I had someone following me that said they smelled gas pretty bad. When I got home I noticed that the inline fuel filter had quite a bit of rust in it so I pulled the gas tank. The crazy thing is there was only about 1/2 gallon of gas in the tank of the 2 1/2 gallons I put in. I drove less than 20 miles and burned almost 2 gallons of gas. What the heck is going on? There are no obvious leaks. I don't smell any gas while the truck is parked. It has to be more than rust in the tank!
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[gbrown]

If you went 20 miles on 2 gallons of fuel, you're not far off from average fuel mileage for these trucks. Or so I've been told. I'm working on a 60 Apache with the 235 and it sure is thirsty! I'm hoping a thorough tune-up will get my mileage up into the teens. Good luck.

[Jackjohn]

I've got a 66 with a350, auto, and 308 rear. I get 9 to 10 in town, almost 14 on the hiway! Woohoo!
John
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[Bwake]

I guess I just thought a 6 cyl with a little carb would get better milage!
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[hopped up]

The 6 banger gets the same if not less mpgs. But I get around 12 with a 350
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[Bwake]

Wonder why my buddy who was following me could smell gas? Just running rich?
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[gbrown]

Originally Posted by Bwake

Wonder why my buddy who was following me could smell gas? Just running rich?
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That would be my guess. If you plan on driving this truck often, you might consider replacing your 3-speed with a T5 from an S10. I haven't done this yet myself, but I will as soon as I am able. I've been told (and hope it's true) that you can expect mileage in the teens after making this swap.

[Clyde65]

It could have leaked out some, that old rubber is prolly cracked and such.
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[Bwake]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm probably going to tune it up and either clean or replace the gas tank. I'm used to the days when you could put $12 worth of gas in and drive all week. $12 ain't much gas today!
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[joedoh]

rebuild the carb, the gaskets were probably shot and you were pouring gas through the carb by the bucketload.

[gbrown]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

It could have leaked out some, that old rubber is prolly cracked and such.
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Originally Posted by joedoh

rebuild the carb, the gaskets were probably shot and you were pouring gas through the carb by the bucketload.

^^^Both of these guys are right. ^^^ Such was the case on mine.