The new guy says "Great Site!"

[elhigh]

Tell us about the classics and the sport ute. Now that you've made big strides with your big Benz, what can we do to raise your fleet average even higher? For instance the first-generation Ford Falcon could, in 1960, deliver up to 30mpg with the right equipment. Granted you were in a bit of a penalty box compared to what was available, but imagine what could be achieved with a restomod, like a modern 2.3 that is both more powerful and lighter than the original six cylinder, and couldn't help but deliver better fuel economy.

That is a blue sky kind of project that I like to think about, and I have no money and little actual experience with that kind of thing. It's easy to build castles in the air, providing foundations for them is however a lot trickier.

[E550]

Originally Posted by jeff88

What part of the Bay are you in?

North Bay and I commute to Sac.

[E550]

Originally Posted by elhigh

Tell us about the classics and the sport ute. Now that you've made big strides with your big Benz, what can we do to raise your fleet average even higher? For instance the first-generation Ford Falcon could, in 1960, deliver up to 30mpg with the right equipment.

The wife's "ute" is an RX300 which is a less aerodynamic than a brick. She rarely gets over 20 on the highway but I can squeeze out 24 on the highway when driven under 60. MPG drops like a rok over 60, unlike the benz which has a sweet spot for MPG aroung 65-70. I'd like to replace the RX with a Highlander (hybrid, maybe) or an Explorer with ecoboost although the comments here about the ecoboost are less than I had hoped (but I appreciate the honesty!).

I probably should not get into much detail on the classics as I would be as welcome here as a Perrier salesman at a Texas BBQ if I did. Suffice to say all are Fords, none has less than 350hp (my rough guess), and none has less than a single 4 bbl carb. I do know that I'm not the only one here who appreciates '60s excess as one poster's user image is of a Mopar with 3x2s (can't remember their user name at the moment).

[elhigh]

You have nothing to defend from me. Keeping old iron running is a different, but just as relevant, kind of economizing. I mean, look at me: I have an old tractor because it's fun. I could have bought a boat, but you can't plow snow off the driveway with a boat.

If they're as old as all that, you probably don't want to make many mods to those either, though you could consider removing the original induction systems completely and replacing with appropriate Megasquirt or applicable TBI systems. You should be able to squeeze a few extra MPG out of them while retaining the capacity to return them to stock configuration in an afternoon.

The returning to stock would take an afternoon. Sorting out an all-new EFI for the initial mod would take considerably longer.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by elhigh

Keeping old iron running is a different, but just as relevant, kind of economizing.

Gotta have to second on that. You might also want to take into account that some old iron actually offer a lot of room for improvements regarding mileage and emissions than a modern vehicle with a comparable role, and some resto-mod/retrofit would still be less energy-intensive and consume less raw materials than all the processes involved in the manufacturing of a brand-new car.

[EcoManny]

Just dropping by to say hi. welcome aboard!

[E550]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Gotta have to second on that. You might also want to take into account that some old iron actually offer a lot of room for improvements regarding mileage and emissions than a modern vehicle with a comparable role, and some resto-mod/retrofit would still be less energy-intensive and consume less raw materials than all the processes involved in the manufacturing of a brand-new car.

I get what you and elhigh are saying. There is a lot of current eco technology that can be applied to old iron. That just isn't the focus of my classics.