[Shawn F.]

Those of you with wagons, what kind of gas milage are you getting out of them with a 350 or 327 small block Chevy? Those of you with good gas milage, what kind of tranny are you running, cam, exhuast, rear end ratio, tire/wheel diameter?
I am hoping to get around 16-17 MPG around town and 20 highway if possible but doubt it. The car I believe is running a 3.55 gear and a powerglide but I have a Th350 tranny going into the car soon with taller wheels and tires out back and a 327 with headers and dual exhaust. I doubt I will even get 15 MPG around town unless I have a 700 R4 but I just dont have the money to buy one right now. If I can find a 700R4 for it then which year is the best to use and will the 3.55 gears be fine for it? I could be wrong on my gears out back but it is the stock rear end so I'm guessing 3.55.
The car is going to be my daily driver and used for my mobile detailing business so comfort and reliability along with fuel milage is important to me.
Thanks for any suggestions or oppinions!

 

[VooDooII]

to many variables, an overdrive trans will help with 308 gears, fuel injection would be another plus:yes::yes:

 

[jbon64]

64 wagon - 305 / 200r4, 3.42 rear gear, dual exhaust , HEI , 600 edelbrock carb. stock cam . i average 16-18 mpg (city and highway) . best i've had was 25 mpg which was solid interstate driving at 70-75 mph. however, the long road trips it usually gets a solid 23 mpg. i've been kicking around the idea of a cam swap with TPI .

 

[DesertDeuce]

I was getting about 22+ mpg interstate with a 283/th350 and 3.08s. I have 3.73's now so I do better around town than I do on the highway. Ive heard of guys with v6's and overdrives getting 30mpg. Electric fans will help over all also.

 

[Shawn F.]

I do have a dual fan setup from a 96 S10, if I remove the plain fan on it now then will this help any? I would like to add a 700R4 but just dont have $2000 or even close to $1500 for one.

 

[DesertDeuce]

Blue66deucex2 was also getting (if i remember right) 22-25 hwy on the power tour with a mild 350/t350/3.08s set up in his 2nd gen wagon with electric fans.

What motor are currently running because the s10 fan may not be enough or it may be to big for the radiator. Regardless switching to an electric fan will improve gas mileage by at least a couple miles per gallon. It will also help the engine rev faster, and lower rpms at certain speeds.

I'm using an inexpensive electric fan from napa/advance its a hayden imperial brand that flows about 1300 cfm. I used a painless electric fan wiring kit with a 180 degree thermostat switch. It keeps my 283 cool, and only kicks on for about a minute at idle and then shuts off for a few minutes. Summit also has some pretty good deals on basic electric fans. If your not running alot of horse power you can get away with a smaller fan. If you have an inline 6 you might need to find a thin or small fan and mount it upside down, side ways or behind the grill infront of the radiator.


You can always go with a ford taurus electric fan, just search for it on this forum. Alot of members have done that, the only reason I didnt was because i got my electric fan for free and so far its working awesome.

 

[hooksup2]

to many variables, an overdrive trans will help with 308 gears, fuel injection would be another plus:yes::yes:

Thats what I run in my wagon and I get 25-26 MPG

 

[aron69nova]

I've got a Holley 600 and a comp 280 magnum cam, roughly 3.08 gears and a 350 trans. I'm thinking somewhere around 10-12mpg total? I'm soon to invest in overdrive and am thinking it'd benefit dead dinosaurs if I went with a smaller cam.

 

[Shawn F.]

Wow 10-12 MPG? That is not too great. My 66 F100 is around the same with a 351 Windsor with a very mild cam, stealth intake manifold, headers, 500cfm Edelbrock, MSD pro billet dissy with box and in the cab timing control, head work, etc and it is horrible for some reason. The gearing is 3.70's but I am putting in a 3.24 (ah I can't remember right now, it's 3.20 something). which would help and it has a C4 in it.
I am just not wanting this wagon to be like my 66 F100 on fuel milage that is all... I will probably run 16 or 17 inch wheels out back with a 60 series tire if possible to kind of have a taller diameter tire out back and then one day change the gear out back. I'm pretty sure the rear end is stock but then again it's a 63 and 5 lug all around unless they just changed the axles...??? Heck if I can get 22-25 MPG out of this thing I would sell my daily driver that I never really wanted in the first place but had to get when gas got bad. I sold my 85 C10 pickup for a 93 Honda Prelude to help save gas and still using it as a daily but have been thinking about selling it and using the money to put in the Nova and add A/C, maybe fuel injection, etc etc. Then the Nova would be my daily. Who knows, it's all up in the air.

 

[Chevy Kid]

my 64 coupe has a 350 TBI/700R4/3.08. I get 17-18 overall and 20+ on a long freeway cruise. great little driver.


Tim

 

[DesertDeuce]

I'm pretty sure the rear end is stock but then again it's a 63 and 5 lug all around unless they just changed the axles...???

If its 5 lug its not stock for a '63.

 

[aron69nova]

Wow 10-12 MPG?

I blame this on the camshaft. It's not your 'daily driver' grind. With a small roller it'd make more power and probably get better mileage. I might just put a more mild cam in it anyways, but that involves work and it's annoying.

 

[Shawn F.]

Well guys I thought I'd bring this topic back up because I am getting ready to tear down my wagon and get it sand blasted, all rust issues fixed and primed and I want to start building the engine and tranny combo in my garage to get ready to have dropped into the car once done with priming...
I have a 327 in the car now but it seems to have MUCH too big of a cam. I have a 350 engine in the garage with very low miles that I plan to put either aluminum heads on or vortec heads a plain mild cam and keep the compression at around 9 to 9.5:1 ratio if possible. I have a TH350 tranny that I will use and a 5 lug rear end is in the car but I am not sure of the gearing. I am thinking about just finding another rear end with 3.08 gears and possibly an overdrive tranny, I'm just not sure. What I may end up doing very soon is selling my 93 Honda Prelude that I bought for a daily driver when gas prices got high and use that money (only around $3000-$3500) to put into the wagon. I want to get around 25-27 MPG hwy if possible and about 19-21 around town. I dont know how possible this is but I am guessing with a good breathing motor, mild cam, nice street carb, good ignition (HEI), overdrive tranny, 3.08 rear end, taller rear wheels and tires I can possibly get there? Would be nice to lighten the car up a few hundred pounds too but I dont see any way to do such a thing so that wont happen. Pretty much I want to have a nice daily and reliable car with a 350 in it (maybe the 327)...
Where can I find a good 3.08 rear end at and an overdrive tranny? If I go overdrive, what kind would be best? I am also going to carry a smaller 6 to 8 foot trailor with about 800 pounds on it here and there so keep this in mind.
I'd really like to use this TH350 tranny I have but if having over drive will really help a lot I dont mind getting one, I just dont have $2000-$2800 for a TCI 700r4 that's for sure!
Thanks a lot for any info here guys!

 

[HAHA I 1]

Mine is getting approximately 0 right now.

But once I get the LQ9 in it, I should be able to knock down about 18-20 in town and 25 on the highway. In my 2000 Z, I had the same basic setup but with 4.30s instead of the 4.11s I am planning with the wagon and had about 500lbs more weight in the Camaro, and got 24.3 on a road trip.

 

[DesertDeuce]

If you want to do it without breaking the piggy bank;
You can pick up used 700r4's all day long for a couple hundred bucks - just make sure you pick one up from someone legit. I have 3 in my garage with less than 50,000 miles on them that were bought for 200-300 each.
You could also buy a set of 3.08 gears and install them in your rear end.


I think a stock/mild cam with a th350, 3.08's and an electric fan would put you at mid 20mpgs. I dont think an over drive would give you but 1-3mpg extra. Or if you dont want to change your setup you could bolt on one of those overdrive adapters that bolt on to the rear of the tranny. They are pricey though.

 

[Shawn F.]

Yeah I think I am going to stick with the TH350 transmission for now because I was doing more research and people are only getting around 2 mpg better. That isn't worth the hassle and money to me when I already have a TH350 tranny sitting here waiting. I think with a 3.08 gears and taller wheels/tires in the rear that should be plenty enough. I will mostly be driving around town and then beach trips so I dont need to go too crazy with the highway driving or else my city mpg will suffer. I have a 3.77 in my 66 F100 pickup that is HORRIBLE on the highway but in the city it does great, I plan to switch to a new 3.25 posi unit I have for it which IMO is a great all around gear.