30 Mpg?

[PSU442]

In this month's JWO magazine, there's an interesting article on a '79 Cutlass Salon 442. The owner converted a 350 diesel engine to gas and with his 5 speed and 2:28 gears claims to get 30 mpg. He also adds that the car still has plenty of kick (but that's probably up for debate.) One of the goals for my car (and one of the reasons I've become content with my stock 2.56 gears) is fuel efficiency. I spent a number of years out in Los Angeles and will likely return in a few more... unfortunately a gallon of premium is currently hovering a few cents short of $4.00... that'll only get worse. So my question is, what can be done to increase my car's gas mileage while not making it the slowest car on the block? And and all ideas are welcome...

[damaged442]

Ummm, 2.41s were available. :D I think it would make it the slowest on the block though. Unless I moved on your block, then that would promote you to second slowest. Realistically though, I get about 19-20 mpg with my 77 if I run the highways at 65-70. It's been a few years since I've taken her on any serious road trip though. Although with the 2.41s, it is a weird feeling having the speedo buried and still have over half a pedal left. :eek:

[psquare75]

Dood, I've got just the thing for you :D

2.41:1 rear.. with posi, and massive trailer package drum brakes.

I went through this rear and checked clutches.

I got 19 MPG with my 455 in my 75 H/O with normal, not conservative, rural driving. I could also get 1 car length of tire marks if I tried.

I'm somewhat close to you.

Let's make a deal, as I'm selling this. :o

[442MUCH]

I've got a 3:42 posi. If I run 60 mph I get about 11-14 MPG. I get 8 MPG in the city.:rolleyes:

[PSU442]

i don't think i want to go any higher than my 2.56, the posi would be nice though, mines a limited slip (not sure of the differene... other than there is a difference.)

[psquare75]

i don't think i want to go any higher than my 2.56, the posi would be nice though, mines a limited slip (not sure of the differene... other than there is a difference.)

Posi=limited slip.

I'm putting 3.08s in my car, and it'll only see at most, 5 - 6K miles a year.. I can deal.

[PSU442]

Posi=limited slip.

excellent!

[442MUCH]

Posi=limited slip.

That's right. Posi or Posi-traction was Chevrolets (and the most popular) term. Limited Slip was Oldsmobile's term for the same thing. One wheel slips, and the differential transfers power to the other wheel.

[ragz442]

Chris, here's something that will help you get to the gas mileage your looking for:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Olds-Cutlass-Small-Block-Aluminum-Intake_W0QQitemZ150122166962QQihZ005QQcategoryZ341 98QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[PSU442]

really? so a better breathing car gets better mileage? i've often thought of throwing on a performer intake (and that price is insane) but worry what emission problems it would have. Currently I drive it so little I'm exempt every year but if I ever move back to California, I'd be worried about passing.

[ragz442]

Well actually that's an sp2p edelbrock intake, a very non-performance piece, that will make your car slower than stock. It is aluminum though and much lighter than cast iron. Way back in about 1980 I had one on my second car, a 1976 black/gold 442. My bro bought it from a local "speed shop" [?] for his '65 and before he figured out what it was, it was too late to return it. Not filling me in on the details, and being young and dumb, he conned me into buying it and helped me install it. I drove that car for about 5 years and it was slow as hell with that intake on there, it did get excellent gas mileage though :) . At least he kept me from getting any speeding tickets :rolleyes: .

[sledhead2]

Todd look at the ports on that thing they are triangles and small. was that thing made for a 260-307? I can see how that thing would not breath. but would be great for sipping gas and making sure a strong vacuum was present.

[ragz442]

Todd look at the ports on that thing they are triangles and small. was that thing made for a 260-307? I can see how that thing would not breath. but would be great for sipping gas and making sure a strong vacuum was present.

It was made for a small block Olds. When it came out, the 307 wasn't even thought of. I'm not sure why they made it, not for performance gains, that's for sure. I know it wasn't long after the gas crisis, and strong smog standards were coming into play, I'm sure that had something to do with it.

[PSU442]

i actually put the effort into tracking my gas mileage: driving mostly conservatively (I picked on a few rice burners) with a pretty even split between highway and city driving, my Olds pulled in 17 mpg. Not too shabby since most new cars average 20 mpg. Go Olds!

[damaged442]

That's not too bad at all. I can't get that with my 6 cyl TrailBlazer. Then again, my 442 hits about 8-10mpg. QuadraJet needs some HELP! I think that with some carb rebuilding, I should be able to get your numbers. Just like everything else with these cars. Nothing a big wheelbarrow full of cash wont take care of!!:D

[psquare75]

Thats not bad, combined city highway, babying it, my Cavalier gets 25 MPG

[PSU442]

yeah, its been frustrating looking at new cars (my ford zx2 has seen better days.) It was a tough realization to swallow that in the past 30 years, the automobile industry has done squat to push better mileage out of their cars. With the future outlook of gas prices not looking too good and my girlfriend's insistance that we move back to Los Angeles, I'm having a hard time putting the buck down on something that only gets 22-25 mpg (even if these are the models I'd prefer -- the Altima, Element, etc.) It seems to me that buying anything new that gets under 30mpg is a mistake. Needless to say, I'm really pusing toward a Civic (and maybe a hybrid civic) while my girlfriend is pushing toward the Honda Fit Sport. I'm hesitant to go with the Fit because of how small it is... but my girlfriend says that's just me being a stubborn American... haha. Ohh -- it should be noted that another reason 30+mpg is important to us for a new car is because when we do move back to CA, I'll be bringing my Olds along as MY daily driver and we want something to weigh against it's gas mileage. If i have a small car like the Fit getting us 35 mpg and my Olds getting 17 mpg, that averages out to 26 mpg between the two of them! not terrible! and it's nice knowing that, when the day comes, i can choke my engine into also giving me 30mpg!

[psquare75]

Personally, I can keep my Cavalier going until the Volt comes out :-) Which supposedly is all systems go.

[PSU442]

huh? the volt? fill me in!

[psquare75]

http://gm-volt.com/

[PSU442]

wow... if GM can pull that off it'll reinvigorate the American auto industry!