50mpg truck
 

You think it's impossible? Think again. A 45-50 mpg truck would be great. It would be great to retain the possibility of hauling small loads and going about 55-60mph. I think this would be possible by swapping the origonal truck's engine and puting in a smaller 20-40hp gasoline engine. Probably a horizontal briggs v-twin. The truck would be a 1st gen S-10(1982–1993) or a 1st gen ranger(1982–1992). Both of these trucks weigh around 2600lbs with the reg. cab, no a/c, short bed, and the origonal 4cyl. engine. My goal is around 1 ton with smaller engine and weight reduction. What do you guys think?

I'd go with a 3-cyl Metro engine and a Suzuki Samurai transmission. Or find a diesel S-10/Ranger.

the briggs engine idea is not good, because they have really really bad fuel consumption in terms of pound per hp/hr.
The metro engine is good, any light automotive engine is good.

Welcome to the site!

No offense, but I think you're dreaming if you think that dropping a tiny engine in a truck is going to get you anywhere near 50 mpg. There are cars that achieve that kind of mileage, but they are WAY more aerodynamic than a truck is and also much smaller. I'm not saying its not doable. I am saying that if you do it, it will not resemble what most of us think a truck looks like.

Put a hitch on a 50 mpg car and pull a truck box trailer when needed; there ya go.

I had a 2005 4WD ext-cab Chevy Colorado and was able to get ~31 mpg (the records are on this site). It had the 3.5L (5-cyl) engine and 5-speed manual trans. That was with tonneau cover, tires at 40 psi, and a lot of hypermiling. Based on that, I'm guessing a 2WD reg-cab Colorado (or GMC Canyon) with 4-cyl (2.8L) could come very close to 40 mpg. The S-10 should be similar.

Rather than drop an underpowered engine in, probably an easier solution would be to just swap out the rear gears to something very tall and/or a taller-geared transmission.

Ultimately, I agree with Frank Lee above, though. The best solution is to get a good 4-cyl high mpg car and just tow a small utility trailer when needed.

Welcome to ecomodder.

That it's a wee bit over-optimistic.
Quite a few members here would love to have a 50mpg car, let alone a truck.

Reducing the truck's weight to say 2200 lbs will be a challenge to start with.
What load capacity do you want it to have ?
With only 20-40 HP, it won't be able to carry heavy stuff.


There's a German member on ecomodder with a VW T4 or T5 Transporter van with a TDI engine. He's close to 50mpg.

Yup...you see things like this while driving every summer day in Europe.

http://image.trucktrend.com/f/towing...-litre-tdi.jpg

I have a U-Haul trailer hitch on my '02 Golf TDi, and routinely haul 1000+ lbs. I only use the Ford when I need to pull my 24' Pace (weighs 5500 lbs itself). Do yourself a favor and buy a used TDi, then install a hitch and be happy. :thumbup:

You may acheive your goal but why? Even if you do build it with a small motor and get 50 mpg how much do you want to haul with this "truck", you're better off with a geo metro and a trailer (it will be lighter) than S10 or Ranger. Small engine cars can tow, especially if with a manual trans.

I say go for it, with the Geo/Suzuki drive train. Aero mod that thing to oblivion. How about an aero cap and boat tail on struts so they lift up when you need to access the bed? How about skinny LRR tires and alloy wheels with smooth wheel covers? Look at aerohead's Toyota T100 for inspiration.