Mission Possible: A Boxy 1984 Caprice Classic

[101Volts]

Update, September 5 2017: As of September 3rd my Father was driving home and someone started passing in a passing lane but did not relent and then Father swerved a bit to avoid him/her on a road with not much space on the side and hit a telephone pole; the car's done as far as our ownership's concerned.

I was upset that I didn't save it after the wreck; it looked repairable even if costly! A frame straightening, a new front end, a new radiator and maybe the engine would have started. I feel like I ruined something.

*Past edit was on 6th of March 2016.*

At the original posting time I didn't modify this car much, outside of maintenance the only things changed were driving habits.

Reason for using this car and Hypermiling with it is because we have it, we got it free and to inspire classic car folks who aren't familiar with hypermiling; To show they can increase fuel mileage even without driving like "Grandpa". I've also been inspired by Diesel Dave on here with his pickup.

Current (as of April 18 2016) stats:

A/C belt removed;
General Grabber HTS 225/70R15 Tires - I get approx. 2.2 extra miles per 100 shown on the odometer;
Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 Oil
Amsoil EaO59 Oil Filter
Amsoil Severe Gear 75w90 Gear Oil

Ideas:

Electric Fan;
Rear Wheel Skirting;
Synthetic or Biosynthetic Oil that stays in the 10-11 range (Pennzoil Platinum or Ultra Platinum 5w30, Renewable Lubricants 5w30, some Amsoil 5w30s are all a number of choices)
Synthetic Grease

Old photo:

[101Volts]

OK, Pennsylvania's 2014 Classic Car Riding Season has started. I know because I saw a Buick in a Burger King parking lot on the 6th of April.

So, What are some suggestions to modify this car? I'm asking for some quick mods. I already have the idle set a bit too low for when I first start the car, It's not so low that it shuts off at red lights but when I start it up for the first time in a day I sometimes need to start the car again because it shuts off.

Aerodynamically, How do some rear wheel skirts sound and what can I make them out of? I'd like to match the color of the paint too, This can go with a retro-car vibe too like on this 1970s Clamshell so I think it can be fun in that way too:



(I do not own the 1970s Station Wagon pictured above. I added this note after the reply below this reply was posted.)

I'd like to A-B-A the skirts on the Caprice. I know it's a car without an OBD or OBDII port as it is now, But I can still A-B-A it on the highway if I go a set distance and speed per run.

I think an undercarriage pan (belly pan) would be of great benefit too; +1 MPG out of a car like this is valuable stuff. I'm not yet sure what it gets on highway trips but the last tank (373 miles rounded off) was close to 18.5 which is combined with little "city driving" and one 126 (Rounded off) mile trip that was mostly highway miles.

*edit here and below*

And now I realize this isn't the DIY forum, This is for posting what I'm doing to a car in, Yes?

[Jyden]

Loose the roof rack for starters...

[101Volts]

Originally Posted by Jyden

Loose the roof rack for starters...

That's not the car I'm modifying here, I posted an image of a 1971-1976 era Clamshell Station Wagon in a comment about wheel well covers. But thank you for your insight.

This is the car in subject:



Here's a mockup of a possible modification:

[slownugly]

thatll look good. id drop it down even lower even with the bottom of the quarter panel and rocker. maybe add a stainless trip piece to match the ones on the bottom of the car.

what engine and trans are in it?

[101Volts]

It has a 5.0 Litre Gas Engine and 4-Speed (Overdrive) Transmission so for its make and model year it gets the highest fuel economy out of the box compared to its other counterparts, Excluding the California model and Diesels, According to this page:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymod...aCaprice.shtml

14 City/16 Combined/20 Highway.

This car already stinks up the place a bit more than my Dad's Caravan but is it legal to remove the anti-pollution equipment on it and if I did would it raise the fuel economy? I live in an area of Pennsylvania that doesn't have pollutant tests done.

Thanks for the valuable information about lowering the car. I'm wondering though if that's a good idea considering some of the roads where I live and that I've scraped something (Maybe the tailpipe) on the road just going in and out of a particular parking lot. Is there something I can do about that?

A bit off-topic, Perhaps: Also I think for some cars like this one, Can EcoModder have a "Fuel economy information not available" option for when I log in trips in the Garage? I had to guesstimate all the fuel economy readings for the trips I did in this car so far.

And I used the aero template, Did I use it right?

[slownugly]

Oh I meant lower the fender skirt further than in the picture. Could lower the car itself but it's still a box and the undercarriage is very aerodynamically "dirty" some unseen aero mods could be air diverters to push air underneath the rear axle and the front lower control arms.

[101Volts]

Ah. Well the car itself has wheel wells that curve inward, I'm sure I can work around that but that's the reason why I painted them only so far down. I like the thought of a belly pan on it too, When I drove it on I-80 I found it's draggier than Dad's Caravan.

Do you think it would get another 3 MPG even driving without EOCing if I stuck a Manual transmission in it?

(Also, I suggest to not rely on the spelling checker for proper spelling. I typed "Thin" instead of "Think"!)

[Superfuelgero]

Should check the Cadi and Pontiac versions of the same era. Many had skirt that could be adapted. This would give an OEM solution and look that could be built upon.


I wonder how hard it would be to swap the back glass to the aero coupe style?



Fyi, the 6.2 diesel is a fairly easy swap (bolts in, but normal diesel conversion stuff like brakes, tank...).

[slownugly]

Hard to say how much a trans swap would be worth. It would def show an improvement