What can be done to lower gas mileage in my '72?

[CountryGirlT]

Hey guys, I own a '72 GMC Sierra Grande 3/4 ton. 350 V8. 4 barrel Rochester carb. 2 wheel drive. Automatic. If there's anything else you wanna know, give me a holler!

Looking for anything, anything at all that can help me with that 10mpg that my bad boy is guzzling.

Thanks!

[Mister-B]

I stopped in to Harbor Freight today, and a guy that parked next to me came up to me and said "nice truck", and then we talked for at least 10 minutes about the truck. He said he was thinking of getting one, and then asked me what kind of mileage I get. My response? "Not good, but it's paid for, and insurance is ten bucks a month". He's like "you know, I never thought of it they way"

You're probably getting about what is to be expected for mileage, but you could try this:
Replace your spark plugs
Use a gas additive to clean things out
Check your tire pressure
Change your air filter
Consider switching to full synthetic oil
If you do a lot of highway driving, and you've got a 3 speed, or your gears rev the engine really high at highway speeds, you could look at different gears or a different transmission.

[Xeen]

I hate to say it but the only way to improve your gas milage to a degree that would make a considerable difference is to do a LS swap, you can expect nearly double your current gas milage.
The downside is you will have to make a considerable investment to do the swap which would make any money you save on fuel irrelevent for a couple of years.
This is a no win situation for you, either you drive the truck as is and eat the fuel bill, or you do the engine swap and eat the cost of the swap.
The real truth you need to figure out here is do you love the truck enough to keep it.
If the answer is yes then you need to decide what is best for you.
You can always buy a cheap used honda for $2,000.00 that will keep your gas bill down and just drive your truck for pleasure.

[CountryGirlT]

Originally Posted by Mister-B

I stopped in to Harbor Freight today, and a guy that parked next to me came up to me and said "nice truck", and then we talked for at least 10 minutes about the truck. He said he was thinking of getting one, and then asked me what kind of mileage I get. My response? "Not good, but it's paid for, and insurance is ten bucks a month". He's like "you know, I never thought of it they way"

You're probably getting about what is to be expected for mileage, but you could try this:
Replace your spark plugs
Use a gas additive to clean things out
Check your tire pressure
Change your air filter
Consider switching to full synthetic oil
If you do a lot of highway driving, and you've got a 3 speed, or your gears rev the engine really high at highway speeds, you could look at different gears or a different transmission.

Hey Mister-B!
Thanks this was exactly what I was lookin' for. I agree that the mileage doesn't really matter though as long as you love your truck and make enough money to pay it off!