Will rodded 4-bangers & 6-bangers really save gas?
- Thread starter Tripper
- Start date
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Todd
He's just one of them Rusty-Chainers!
No, I have heard that the tax the government puts on it over there is in the area of $5 a gallon. I have always wondered what the actual cost was.
440shorty
Well-known member
Small V8's
I'd agree that if the power-to-weight ratio is favorable, a rip-snortin' Big Block is not necessary for a hot rod to be quick. Remember that a rodded flattie V8 in the 50s still made less than 200 HP. Our bare-bones rat rods shouldn't weigh much, so a small V8 making around 200 HP can still be enough for the car to be fun to drive, and yet get decent economy.
Don't forget that they all have made "junior" versions (under 300 cubes) of the popular V8s at one time or another, and they are also practically free because there are usually no desirable parts on them:
Chevy small blocks came in not only the 55-57 265, but also a 262 (Monza) and 267 (A body) in the late 70s; There was a small version (264 ci) of the LT1 in 94-96 Caprices. The small block Ford started out at a whopping 221 cubes (rare now) but also there was a 255 cube version built 1980-82; The "original" modern small-block Chrysler was a whopping 273 cubes, and was built 64-68. Smallest Olds v8? 260, made from 77-82. Of course, there are many more 307 Olds V8s available(81-90, and came in every brand GM built), and they actually do get good mileage. The modern "small block" Pontiac V8 was available as a 265 or 301, made 77-81. The Buick small block 300 v8 was built 64-67.
How about a Ford Mod motor, at 281 cubes? There is a carbed/ignition package for it, and hundreds of thousands have been built since 1991! The junior Chevy LSx truck engine weighs in at 4.8 litres, about 285 cubes - carbed/ignition packages available also. Perhaps a Dodge/Jeep 4.7 cammer?
Heck, all the "first" modern V8s of the 50s started out small: Ford's Y-block debuted at 239, then grew to 254, then 272 (the most common). First Dodge Red Ram Hemi? 241 cubes. DeSoto? 276. Plymouth started with a Poly copy of the Dodge at 259 cubes, then the A engine came out at 277 cubes - that one looks huge (same as the so-called "big block 318"). Pontiac? 287. Buick had a 264 Special Nailhead. Or the aluminum Buick/Olds at 215 (I have one now.)
What I'd do regardless, is plan on decent rear end gears, especially if you want to use tall tires, for get up and go, and an overdrive transmission for highway cruisin' at low rpms. These little engines shouldn't kill the venerable T5, or go with an automatic overdrive. IMHO, the days of the Turbo 350 or C4 transmission should be long gone - there are more overdrive cores available now anyway.
Besides, we can earn speeding tickets with normal, boring cars - unless you plan on taking your rod to the drag strip or speed trials, as long as you can keep up with traffic and get decent fuel mileage, even a small V8 will be a lot of fun, as long as the car doesn't weigh much (less than 2500 lbs.). Just get the engine tuned properly!
440shorty
P.S. I bet a lot of SBC "350" engines people have are really 305 or smaller!!! Get the numbers, check them in the books.
P.P.S. Smaller displacement engines also tend to be more quiet (tolerable?) with the open type exhausts we love than their big-cube brethren.
I'd agree that if the power-to-weight ratio is favorable, a rip-snortin' Big Block is not necessary for a hot rod to be quick. Remember that a rodded flattie V8 in the 50s still made less than 200 HP. Our bare-bones rat rods shouldn't weigh much, so a small V8 making around 200 HP can still be enough for the car to be fun to drive, and yet get decent economy.
Don't forget that they all have made "junior" versions (under 300 cubes) of the popular V8s at one time or another, and they are also practically free because there are usually no desirable parts on them:
Chevy small blocks came in not only the 55-57 265, but also a 262 (Monza) and 267 (A body) in the late 70s; There was a small version (264 ci) of the LT1 in 94-96 Caprices. The small block Ford started out at a whopping 221 cubes (rare now) but also there was a 255 cube version built 1980-82; The "original" modern small-block Chrysler was a whopping 273 cubes, and was built 64-68. Smallest Olds v8? 260, made from 77-82. Of course, there are many more 307 Olds V8s available(81-90, and came in every brand GM built), and they actually do get good mileage. The modern "small block" Pontiac V8 was available as a 265 or 301, made 77-81. The Buick small block 300 v8 was built 64-67.
How about a Ford Mod motor, at 281 cubes? There is a carbed/ignition package for it, and hundreds of thousands have been built since 1991! The junior Chevy LSx truck engine weighs in at 4.8 litres, about 285 cubes - carbed/ignition packages available also. Perhaps a Dodge/Jeep 4.7 cammer?
Heck, all the "first" modern V8s of the 50s started out small: Ford's Y-block debuted at 239, then grew to 254, then 272 (the most common). First Dodge Red Ram Hemi? 241 cubes. DeSoto? 276. Plymouth started with a Poly copy of the Dodge at 259 cubes, then the A engine came out at 277 cubes - that one looks huge (same as the so-called "big block 318"). Pontiac? 287. Buick had a 264 Special Nailhead. Or the aluminum Buick/Olds at 215 (I have one now.)
What I'd do regardless, is plan on decent rear end gears, especially if you want to use tall tires, for get up and go, and an overdrive transmission for highway cruisin' at low rpms. These little engines shouldn't kill the venerable T5, or go with an automatic overdrive. IMHO, the days of the Turbo 350 or C4 transmission should be long gone - there are more overdrive cores available now anyway.
Besides, we can earn speeding tickets with normal, boring cars - unless you plan on taking your rod to the drag strip or speed trials, as long as you can keep up with traffic and get decent fuel mileage, even a small V8 will be a lot of fun, as long as the car doesn't weigh much (less than 2500 lbs.). Just get the engine tuned properly!
440shorty
P.S. I bet a lot of SBC "350" engines people have are really 305 or smaller!!! Get the numbers, check them in the books.
P.P.S. Smaller displacement engines also tend to be more quiet (tolerable?) with the open type exhausts we love than their big-cube brethren.
Willowbilly3
A *real* tin magnet
Seems we actually have 2 threads on the same subject of milage.
Here's the basic scoop, not a big secret but worth mentioning;
The size of the engine and number of cylinders isn't really the main focus, it is haveing an powertrain that is designed so the engine can cruise in it's "sweet spot" for lack of a better term. I remember the early 80s when the manufacturers were going off the deep end with puny engines and tall gears. I test drove a new F100 with a 255 and an overdrive stick shift. I got it up to 60 in direct and shifted into overdrive and floored the gas. 2 miles later I was still doing 60 so all it was capable of doing in top gear was to barewly maintain 60 and not even able to accelerate. I don't know what it got for milage but I would bet good money it sucked. This is why some mid 60s Ponchos had a vacuum guage they called an economy meter, maybe olds too. If you put a vacuum guage on your engine and tune it so it has 21 inches or so and drive it so it is consistently at a high number, say 17-18 inches, you can be prety sure you are getting decent milage (relatively speaking)
Here's the basic scoop, not a big secret but worth mentioning;
The size of the engine and number of cylinders isn't really the main focus, it is haveing an powertrain that is designed so the engine can cruise in it's "sweet spot" for lack of a better term. I remember the early 80s when the manufacturers were going off the deep end with puny engines and tall gears. I test drove a new F100 with a 255 and an overdrive stick shift. I got it up to 60 in direct and shifted into overdrive and floored the gas. 2 miles later I was still doing 60 so all it was capable of doing in top gear was to barewly maintain 60 and not even able to accelerate. I don't know what it got for milage but I would bet good money it sucked. This is why some mid 60s Ponchos had a vacuum guage they called an economy meter, maybe olds too. If you put a vacuum guage on your engine and tune it so it has 21 inches or so and drive it so it is consistently at a high number, say 17-18 inches, you can be prety sure you are getting decent milage (relatively speaking)
