Jump to content

Fuel Milage


LazyK

Recommended Posts

Just curious what one might expect from a 1951 plymouth.

Been to long since I drove it, and at the time it was not a concern. Dad is no longer around to ask.

In the process of a full restoration. I know when it is finished it will be "mega grins per mile". 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 to low 20's depending on state of tune, driving habits and of course tire inflation and rolling weight.  If you live and traverse in a hilly area and or lots of stop and go city/urban low speed...expect less...same about any advertised MPG...all boils down to you, terrain and tune.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Plymouthy Adams said:

17 to low 20's depending on state of tune, driving habits and of course tire inflation and rolling weight.  If you live and traverse in a hilly area and or lots of stop and go city/urban low speed...expect less...same about any advertised MPG...all boils down to you, terrain and tune.

 

For any given level of technology you can trade off fuel economy and performance. And on the performance side you can trade off acceleration and vehicle weight.

 

It is my observation that US manufacturers were happy with building cars that delivered between 12 and 20 MPG from about 1925 until the 1970s fuel crisis. So the average driver in the average car got 14 to 16 or so. A performance oriented driver, especially in a bigger heavier car got closer to 12. And an driver with a bent toward economy in a smaller car might touch 20 but would more likely be around 18. Didn't seem to matter the make, model or manufacturer, those number seemed to be industry wide. I think that all the improvements in engine design were used to increase performance and/or passenger comfort rather than increase the efficiency (MPG) of the cars built.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When correctly tuned on my B3B I get 18 driving steady on the highway, but maybe 12/14 around town. They need tuning maintenance  both for best economy and power.

 

One mfg which had some MPG efficiency in mind was Rambler. Though not popular those were great cars. We had an early American, year 1960 which had overdrive, it was a 25 mpg car, better out on the road. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dad had a 49 and 54 Dodges. One a wayfarer and the latter a Meadowbrook. He drove exceedingly gently and kept a journal in which gas purchases and miles were logged. I recall 15/16 in normal driving and 18 on trip for the wayfarer, and 16 and 19. For the Meadowbrook. Both were this drive cars which he shifted normally through the three on the tree.  He was disappointed in his slant six 1960 Darrin that it only got marginally better at 17/20.  He was quite surprised when against his better judgement he purchased a 65 Coronet with a 318 v8 that got him 20/22.  He couldn't believe the 8 would get better mileage then his beloved sixes.  My 46 business coupe gave me 17 with a tired 218.  When 

I swapped in the somewhat heated up 230, milled head, dual carbs .030 bore it by 18 in local driving and 20 on trips with the 4.11 rear end.so I guess a more powerful efficient engine is better a gas mileage totting similar loads.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I followed a friend to the BBQ several years ago. He had a small Mopar V8 in a 47 Plymouth coupe. I had a 218 with a 3:73.  We filled up two times side by side and drove together the distance. The distance we drove between the two roll ups was approximately 160 miles.  He got 18.5 with his coupe and I got 18 with my truck! 

Edited by pflaming
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our '48 D24 has a stock powertrain, tuned up nicely, but still not in the best condition possible.  We get an average of 16 mpg, all stop-and-go rural (for lack of a better term) driving.  The best we've ever gotten was 18 mpg when we had more open roads to drive on in other locations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I get like 10mpg. I know though that 1 time cruising going around 60km down a back road to a cruise night was a total of 74km there and back home. I filled up before I left and filled back up when I got home. I had used 4. Something litters. It worked out to like 39mpg. Cant wait to put in the t5 to lower my rpms

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only time I ever worked out fuel consumption in my 318 Poly/Torqueflite powered 1940 Dodge was about 30 yrs ago coming back from a National Rod Run...........got 22mpg with a 600 Holley, dual exhaust over mostly flat or undulating ground.......probably still around that figure tho' around town and local driving it probably gets 15/16mpg........andyd 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Don Coatney said:

Who cares what the MPG rating is. I bought my cars to have fun with not count operating costs.

Well maybe its no big deal to you.

And maybe its not critical for the OP either.

But for curiosity sake he asked the question.

Others may or may not be interested for their own reasons. 

Its good general info and discussion.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Andydodge said:

The only time I ever worked out fuel consumption in my 318 Poly/Torqueflite powered 1940 Dodge was about 30 yrs ago coming back from a National Rod Run...........got 22mpg with a 600 Holley, dual exhaust over mostly flat or undulating ground.......probably still around that figure tho' around town and local driving it probably gets 15/16mpg........andyd 

Dang Andy.... I've run about 7 or 8 440s in my lifetime so far and none of them needed more than a 650 cfm to run smoothly and powerfully .........I would have said off the top of my head that a 600 would drown one of these little engines.......:eek:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Frank, yep its probably a little overcarbed and I could get away with maybe a 465 Holley or even a 500 Edelbrock but its got a mild cam and being a hotrodder it at least reminds me of my youth when it had a big cam and a pair of 600 Holleys on a pair of Offy Cross Ram adaptors on the DV800 cast iron intake.........idled like a pig, but when the cam came in at about 2800 all hell broke loose.......lol...........heres the only pic I have of the twin 4 setup with an old pic of the engine bay with the single 4........and a pic of how it looks now........andyd 

Andys318Poly.jpg

025.JPG

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.

Terms of Use