Re: [Amc-list] Re; Mileage

["Armand Eshleman" <aje1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK,
All you guys have convinced me, off comes the stock intake and on goes a
performer intake, Carter 4 bbl carb, Hedman Headers, two and one half inch
exhaust pipes and mufflers (any suggestions as to which mufflers give that
sweet sound, not too loud or quiet, but not that staccato farting noise one
hears coming from the Chevy trucks), maybe I'll even toss the dual point
Mallory for electronic.
Gas mileage and performance, what could be better.
Armand


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Elle" <johnelle@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <amc-list@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 8:40 AM
Subject: [Amc-list] Re; Mileage


> Armand
> Snip
> Funny part about all this is when I bought the car as a kid in 72, it
> would
> routinely do 18 mpg on the highway.
> Snip
> I bought mine as a one owner  1977 late model used car about 1982 or
> so with about 56,000 miles on it. It was a California smog car. It never
> got any better than 12mpg, although I applied a number of tuning tricks
> to it that were guaranteed to improve the mileage and eventually I was
> able to improve it all the way up to 9 mpg. I backed everything off and
> settled for 12 for the rest of the ownership. I did some research from
> that point on and bought some 1970 parts like the distributor and the
> carburetor and a few other bits and pieces and compared them to 77
> parts and they were identical. I never really did find a real reason for
>
> the 12 mpg but I became really suspicious of the cam being the prime
> culprit. By that time I had installed an Iskenderian cam in my Donohue
> and was trying to work up the ambition to swap the used 70 390 cam
> in the 304 to see what it would do for gasoline mileage when I got a
> chance to sell the car for good money and did so.
> The truth is though that I never really had a 2bbl V8 car that got gas
> mileage worth a darn. I had a Chrysler 2bbl 383 prior to that and it
> would get 14 or so on the open road. And before that I put a lot
> of miles on a Plymouth Belvedere 225 slant 6 w/auto that did not get
> very good mileage either but after I bored it out .100, installed an
> Isky
> cam and a set of Jahns pistons for 13:1 compression and a Carter
> 465 cfm 4bbl it would get 20 mpg out on the freeways.
> The Matador was about the fastest 2bbl carb engined car I have ever
> driven though and I put another 50,000 miles on it in the 2 years I
> owned it driving it everyday.
> Snip
> By the early 80s after I'd rebuilt the carb, it dropped off to maybe 16
> mpg
> on the highway. Remember these
> figures are with the slush box automatic in it
> Snip
> Mine was a 998 car too and all in all except for the fuel mileage it was
>
> a pleasant car to own.
>
> The Donohue gas mileage went from aprx. 15 or so to a solid 21 on
> the highway and out on the open plains pushed a bit would clock 19
> with no problems at all. I am a great fan of the Mustang t5 bolt in on
> an AMC car and am about to do a second.
>
> I have always felt that the "Economy" versions of Detroit engines
> were rather cheap to build and economy was an illusion. The I-6's
> and the 2bbl v8s were so down on power and under carbureted that
> when flogged it was all they could do move the dead weight down
> the road. My experience has been over the years, put a good
> performance cam in them (do not over cam them) and move the
> HP  band up in the rpm range you did not flog them as hard
> and economy would improve and then install a 4bbl which will
> run on smaller primaries than a 2bbl is, the economy would jump
> again. But the car still had oomph behind it.
>
> I have built a couple of horse power I-6 cars that were quick
> enough but fuel mileage would improve like mad with them too.
>
> Anyway, that has been my experience.
> The 360 I am building for my Hornet will be a 2bbl car I guess
> 'cause I have the parts. Maybe I'll have to see how it runs.
> Later.
> John.
>
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