I am looking at possibly purchasing a 1960 Chevrolet Impala as a daily driver, but don't know what kind of gas mileage to expect out of it. It is a four door bel air that is original with a 283 2bbl and a powerglide. I think they came with 3.08:1 rears from the factory. Does anybody know what kind of gas mileage I might get out of this car or any suggestions on how to get better mileage out of the 283? Thanks for any help in advance.
All highway driving, high teens. Around town, nothing to cheer about, due mostly to the Powerglide. Those were the days when there was a definite difference between standard shift cars and automatic cars as far as fuel mileage potential went.
Add more grounds and upgrade the ignition, you may get 20mpg. If its got alot of miles, your mileage will suck.
I have a 64 C-10 with 283 and Powerslide. It gets about 10mpg around town. Manual trans or a more modern trans would help. The Powerglide hurts a lot on mpg.
I get about 17 MPG out of my 59 Belair. It has a mostly stock 300 hp 327, 4 speed, and 3:36 rear end.
I drove my '64 impala from KS to CT several times when I was in college. 283 'glide and I got 18-20 mpg.
I very much appreciate all the help so far guys. I was figuring I would get about 18-20 mpg. I mostly do freeway driving anyways so it wouldn't be too bad. The car is an all original 52k car. Very clean! Do you think I would get any better mileage with a small 4bbl vs the original 2bbl! Thanks again everyone!
A quadrajet may do better than the original two bbl if the secondaries don't get used much. The primaries are way smaller than the 2bbl. A regular square bore 4bbl probably won't do much better than then original 2bbl.
Thanks again guys for the help. Do you think swapping in a th-350 in place of the powerglide would make any difference? I know they both have 1:1 final drive, but would the three gears help around town more then the two forward gears? Just an idea, may be a stupid question, but I don't know and hopefully someone can clue me in. Thanks. -Jeff
i don't think replacing your tranny with a th-350 would be worth the effort and expense my opinion is to drive it and enjoy it as is..why mess up clean and original car? how much are they asking?
I get 16 on the Hwy.. '56 PU, '64 283, Edle Performer, Edel600 cfm, stock cam, 305 heads, 350C trans, 275:1 9". Would consider a Quadrajet trade to achieve better MPG.
I had a 60 chevy 2 dr post Biscayne 283 pg 2 bbl Rochester, 308's 50,000 mile car in 1968. Paid 50 bucks for it. Used to drive it from here to MI. For college, would get 16 MPG. but would only go 85 MPH cause the drag exceeded the power. Put 3.55's in it and increased the top end a lot, didn't hurt the mileage, but changed to a stick, too. It takes 25 hp to move you down the road at 50 MPH (air drag and friction loss) A TH350 takes 35 HP to run the hydraulics (I read at a transmission site), a TH400 takes 45 HP. A stick, not much. Keep the 2GC, they are very efficent and all you need on a stock, or mildly modified 283. Even with a solid lifter duntov, I could run to 6800 RPM with the 2 GC. (The tech inspectors didn't know, and let me run pure stock!) Frank
Do the usual trick's: Syntec lube in the drive train. Pentronix (spelling?) conversion for a hotter spark. The rear end is prob. the 3:08 cause of the factor auto tran's. A 200R would help too, but the rear gear should start in the 3:40 range. Super tune the motor. Check it's compression psi.
My 52' Chevy's got a 62' 327ci/300hp with a holly 650, turbo 350 and 2:42 gears out back and I get about 20 hwy and 14 city.
I have a 56 Chev 4dr I drove to the Pileup last year. It has a 283 and a 700r4 tranny with what I think are 4:10 gears and with 3 of us in the car we averaged 23 mpg for the trip......... well untill the tranny shit the bed.
I drove the crap out of a 59 moredoor with a 2 bbl. 283 and 3 speed. It averaged around 15. I had a 67 pickup with a 283 2 bbl. and 3'73 gears and it could do 20, averaged about 18. Had a buddy with a 66 moredoor with a 4bbl. 283 powerglide that got 20+ consistantly, even 22 on the highway trips.
my 50 has a 283 4bbl with a small cam nuttin to fancy with 2.73 gears 350 turbo and a shift kit and it gets 25-27mpg in town..i drove from here to KC and around KC and back prolly 250 275 miles and i only used a 1/4 of a tank...the car had a Big Block in it and it got about 19-21 on the high way...468 out of a modified
My '62 Impala SS with stock 283 with a 600 Holley jetted way down ( I know too big but it's all I had at the time ), Turbo Glide ( iron Glide) and 3.36's got about 14, the Glide slipped. Best think you can do is put a 200-4R with lockup converter behind it with 3.55 or 3.70 gears. It will run a LOT better and get better mileage. A friend pulled 22 out of a '63 Bel Air with a boneyard 305 with a Summit 1102 cam and a Q-Jet backed with a 200-4R and 3.08's. It needed a litte lower gear because it was lugging a bit in OD on upgrades and headwinds and he had to tip into the throttle a bit more to maintain speed.
Melling mtc1 cam and new lifters.. 700r4 transmission.. Carburator will do what is requestied of it according to the vacuum level. With the original 2bbl you most likely already have the 1.72" intake valves which improve low end torque relative to elevated intake port velocity. With that rochester 2gc or 2cg can't remember, I might try going as low as .48 main jets(depending on your elevation, that may be too lean near sea level) and dropping the plug heat at least one number. The main jets are just brass plugs accessable from the float bowl, real easy. Should make a lot of difference..
Does the 2004r swap out with his powerglide without a driveshaft problem? If so that's the obvious choice. The first gear ratio isn't that much different than the 700. I like 283s but I think they are naturally a bit short on bottom end city mileage with the 3" stroke especially on the '60. I'm sure it could be worked up to 20 hwy or better though if you stay with it.
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