a couple old timers were talking about feul conservation and one mentioned that he bought a chev c10 truck from a helicopter pilot with a vac***e guage and buzzer ...apperantly it will help keep your foot out of the throttle when cruizing...not sure of the basic prinicipal behind the idea...anyone else have exp.?
when you step down on the gas pedal, the vacuum goes down and so does your mileage if you keep the vacuum high you will tend to get better mileage
I had a vac***e gauge in my '55 Chevy and will put one in my A as well. They're great for optimizing the carb's mixture & idle speed.
where would the vac. be measured? at the carb base or inline w/ vac advance? i did a search but came up dry...
Years ago, my parents bought a '72 Pinto Wagon new in Southern California. Since my dad's family had all moved back to Oklahoma, they would take summer vacations here. My dad installed a vacuum gage on the pinto - 2.3l with a 4 speed - and taught my mom how to use it while driving. Back in the late 70s, my mom managed to squeeze 43 mpg out of that little Pinto with all 4 of us in it, as well as my dad's travel toolkit and luggage!
i was messing with this yesterday....my a idles at around 21 in.....and at cruising speed or atleast around the house its in the 15 to 17 range...going to try a smaller carb soon... brandon
Look in some of the "OLD" Motor Treand and Hot Rod Mags,,there used to be a co that Marketed a gauge by the name "Motorminder" same as a vac*** ga..This was in 50s & 60s...
Probably going to make a comeback if gas prices keep escalating. I used to have a little slant 6 valiant in college and driving with the vacuum gage I could make a tank of gas last a day or two longer. Basically it teaches you to use a light touch on the gas pedal. when the vacuum goes down so does the gas mileage. You'll also learn that at a steady speed you can back off the pressure inside your shoe and watch the meter go up still maintaining the same speed. It won't put many smiles on your face, that's what a tach is for. Frank
Used one on a 4 wheel drive blazer. When in the mountains the more vacc you could keep the less heat build up the engine would have. Used it for gas milege on the flat land. You'd be surprised how easy it is to keep the vacc. up when you keep a look at the gauge.
several of the vacuum gauges had reminders on the face for gas mileage. Some used colors and some used both.
I got an old SW Cluster in my 54 that has oil pressure, amps, and va***. I will have to keep an eye on it when driving
In the mid 70's Lincolns had a "Fuel Mileage" idiot light in the dash. It was just wired to a pressure switch on the manifold. When you stepped on the gas the light came on.
Mid 70s Dodge Darts had rear facing front fender signal indicators, and on special option packages, the driver side indicator light would come on as a vacuum indicator(to promote letting up on the gas pedal)
Common sight in the '60s/70s was dash-mounted matching tach and vacuum gauge. I've used one in my motorhome, but it is actually stressful trying to keep it in the economy area, so now I just put myself at the mercy of the cruise control.
I have a SW Motorminder in my pu and watch it all the time. And since there is no radio, heat, or ac it give me something watch while shifting.
I had a 75 Olds regency 4 door that had a factory one. Never understood why, that road locomotive with a 455 had a burn rate per hour not miles per gallon.
Just use your vacuum windshield wipers as a gauge-the faster they go, the better mileage you are getting.
Circa 1956 Circa 1993 Circa 2002 Gas mileage ain't the only thing vacuum gauges are good for. I've had one in just about every car I've owned.
I have on in my Hemi Roadster & just put a Motorminder in Carol's Fordoor, went to Santa Maria & did good on gas .My motorminder came in a pod & mounts in the dash through a hole I didn't fill looks cool .
My 56 came with an after market vacuum gauge mounted where the clock would be. It still works great. It will be replaced with a large SW vac gauge in the cluster barely visible below the dash.
ive got an old vac. gauge from a multi function engine tool. It was mounted on a small hand pump. was originally used to test different vacuum functions like distributor advance diaphrams and vac. operated items. well after many years of use the pump is shot so i removed the Gauge and plan on remotely placing it inside the car somewhere i can see it. it goes from 0 to 30 in.Hg vac. its not a really pretty looking Gauge but its function im after.
I just bought a Sun va***e gauge off of e-bay for like 15 bucks. It's going in a gauge cup right where I can see it on the dash of my daily OT 81 Camino. Gas is kicking my ***. How do you tune with one? Do you just go for the most va***e at idle? Sorry if this is a dumb*** question. Later Josh.
good tuneing tool to,carb adjust, ign timing,highest va***e reading is the goal,also if you have a burnt valve or flat cam the needle will bounce around alot
tried the vacuum gauge deal out today ...took my model a out for a couple out of the shop jobs....its amazing how much vacuum is lost with slight foot movement....no change in exhaust sound , but we're talking probably 5 in" ...again , depending on how i pedaled it, i could keep it in the 15to 17 range fairly easy sometimes in the 18/19 range on the flat roads and expressways....waiting for the speedo cable to show up for some actual numbers, but it had to help mileage wise...i probably got to put over a 150 miles on it round trip , in a variety of driving conditions...a couple young guys looked at it , and really started scratching their heads when they saw the boost gauge..... and really wanted to see under the hood.... brandon
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