'71 El Camino is a GAS HOG!

[slownugly]

i grew up with v8s too but nothing wrong with a little 4 cyl beater. but if you dont drive very far and dont mind spending the money on gas then hey, go nuts. could always plan an ls swap with an overdrive auto. then you could keep the v8 and add fuel mileage (and power) conversion mounts and headers are getting more readily available and cheaper!!

if not, start tweeking!! take the carb apart, rebuild it, play with jet sizes, throw an afr gauge on it to help fine tune it. get rid of points if still equipped and put a more reliable ignition in it.

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by HellCamino71

Let's not get too hasty now. I do admit, I grew up with these cars so NOT having a V8 is something of a blasphemy. My overall goal is to get what I think is decent mileage (for a V8) and still get raw V8 power (cuz horsepower & torque is fun). Enough to haul some landscaping tools, which is the trade I'm going into. Frank, I do thank you for the insight though.

If you need a v8 put in a 5.7 olds diesel with a 5mt, grade 8 headbolts and a fuel water separator, not only does it sound better, it also should get 20-30mpg highway without trying and about 50%-75% better in town if in proper gears.

Cheers
Ryan

[user removed]

If tradition means 8 MPG with gas there at close to $4 a gallon, if not more, then you can have that tradition. Worse gas hog I ever had was a 383 Formula S Barracuda, a 67 white Coupe that got 10 MPG. I was burning 100 gallons a week, but that was before the 1973 oil embargo.

You're tossing a buck out the window for every two miles (50 cents a mile or $4/8miles). In 1968 I was tossing a penny a mile out the window (32 MPG @ 32 cents a gallon), just 2% of what your are spending today.

regards
Mech

[Frank Lee]

I grew up with V8s too but then I outgrew most of them.

So you're accustomed to paying through the nose for your fuel because you've never known anything else. Once you get used to buying a lot less fuel, you will wonder how and why you ever put up with heavy fuel usage for as long as you did. Just about any and everything is funner to put your money into than a gas tank. At, say, 250 miles/week @ 8 mpg that is 31 g/week x 4.3 = 133 g/mo x $4 = $532 every month vs 30 mpg equalling $143/mo.....

And unless your V8s are built up and/or have low geared axles, they really aren't all that powerful- as in thrilling- anyway.

Taking this thought one step further, a useful metric is to think of your transportation costs in cents/mile; AAA says the average sedan costs 60.8 cents/mile to operate in '13! I haven't run all the numbers recently but I'm at or under 10 cents/mile; in other words- take any particular trip for an example- for every time the average motorist makes that trip, I can do it SIX TIMES for the same money. All I can do is shake my head when people don't think twice about spending a couple bucks to go the same distance I easily walk in a short time.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...1-a-17052.html

http://newsroom.aaa.com/tag/your-driving-costs/

[mcrews]

no sweat....it's all in good fun!

remember....it's not about driving eco-boxes.....it's about driving smarter!

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by mcrews

no sweat....it's all in good fun!

remember....it's not about driving eco-boxes.....it's about driving smarter!

I think in his case he needs to wrench smart first to get the thing
1. Straight
2. Drag free (brakes)
3. Tuned
4. XMSN/fluids/etc in working order.

[slowmover]

1] Mechanical/Electrical baseline first: No assumptions that systems are good until checked thoroughly.

2] Smart Use: Combine all trips. Go to farthest point first via freeway if possible, and work back to house

3] Smart driving: The reduced number of annual miles driven better.

My rather recently retired 1971 big block Chrysler could achieve 14-16 mpg in town. Nearly 19 on the highway. And it weighed, with driver, full fuel and permanent gear aboard 4,780-lbs.

Were I you I'd start there: what's it weigh?

.

[JRMichler]

Originally Posted by slowmover

1] Mechanical/Electrical baseline first: No assumptions that systems are good until checked thoroughly.

2] Smart Use: Combine all trips. Go to farthest point first via freeway if possible, and work back to house

3] Smart driving: The reduced number of annual miles driven better.

This.

Make sure it's firing on all 8 cylinders. I've seen a 7 cylinder V8 that ran perfectly smooth.

Another poster recently found that his mileage was low because the ignition timing was retarded.

[Frank Lee]

SCHOOL BUSSES get 8 mpg. True!

[JRMichler]

Let's be nice to him. He DID say that he wants to get better mileage. And the advice to work on the basics first is spot on.

I have wondered what I could do with a 60's car. Let's see - mileage cam, rebuild engine for minimum friction, Megasquirt, wide ratio 6 speed and rear end for about 1400 RPM at 60 MPH, kill switch, electronic ignition, LRR tires, some aero tweaks to the front end to get attached flow over the hood, wheel covers, grille block, ....

Say 30 MPG? Or at least high 20's?