Hi all, I've been lurking here for a while and thought I'd introduce myself now that I've used a couple of the ideas I found here.
This is my 1989 Accord LX with 195,000 miles on the odo. Her name is LaFawnduh, 'cos I met her on the internet (just like Kip from Napoleon Dynamite, get it??). She's just a couple months older than me and we get along great.
She was getting pretty decent mileage thanks to her manual transmission and broken AC. Together we averaged 33.6 mpg over the course of a 2,000 mile road trip this spring... with four adults and luggage in the car. I was satisfied with that until I stumbled across this website.
After reading a bit, learning to drive properly, taping the upper grille, removing the passenger side mirror, and covering the empty spots where fog lights could go...
...LaFawnduh got 40.7 mpg on our last long out-n-back drive. That might not be super accurate, but I filled up at the same pump both times, so it's plausible. Temps were in the 80s and 90s and I only had to have the pop-up headlights on for half the trip.
Of course, I still want to do more. Being carbeurated, she's ineligible for a scangauge, but I'm still honing my driving. I might do pizza-pan wheel covers, but that may not be worth it without skirts (your opinion?). All the mods I've done so far have been free or very cheap.
Anyhow: thanks, EM community, for what I've learned from you already!