Does anyone know how much mileage a 1963 Impala w/ a 283 cu Engine, 4 barrel carb, 2 speed powerglide trans and a 15 gal. tank would get per tank? I'm thinking of running my Chevy on route 66 from kingman to Chicago. thanks JQ
Had a '61 w/2bbl, otherwise same rig. Bias ply tires (in '68) and typically got 17 mpg. Drive on the primaries, maybe you'll do even better.
Who tunned it? I have tunned those to get in the 16-18 mpg range but I have seen common everyday ones getting in the 12 mpg range, it also depends on how worn the engine is. What type of gas mileage do you get? If you only get 12 MPG you will go @ 180 miles to the tank. You shouldn't have any trouble finding gas @ 180 mile intervals but it probably wouldn't hurt to carry a gas can.
If mileage is a concern for you ditch that 'glide. Go with a 350, 400 or for optimal mileage go with a 700R4 overdrive.
I'm real curious why you haven't just figured out the MPG yer car gets? Assuming each fill of the tank stops at approximately the same level each time, just look to see how many gallons it took between fill ups and how many miles were driven between fill ups... miles/gallons= yer avg MPG. Do it more often and get a better average. If you plan to do more longer drives in it, it's critical to figure what kinda range you can get on a tank. I recently had to figure out what my new '32 tudor could do, since I was the small tank running with a group out to West Texas and the infrequent gas stops were planned around my capacity... and we still cut it close a couple of times!!
What was the stock, from the factory, compression on those(283 and other) engines? i would think that one variable would influence the estimate quite a bit.
You'll improve mileage with the OD, but a glide has the same low gear and the same high gear as a 350 and is MUCH more efficient so your mileage will stay about the same with a 350. A 400 isnt nearly as efficient as the others and is heavier so putting that one in will lose you mileage.
This combination does great on gas! It loves gas! ... just kidding... depends on condition; cfm of carb; tires; rearend ratio; speed; payload. The real answer is probably,"not much in the way of mpg". I think chopped51 is probably spot on. I've run very much the same combination before and got about 12 mpg... she's not a Prius (thank God).
Ethanol free gas....add 5-6 miles per gallon. At least that is how much more I get with my Nissan PU... My old 51 ford with 305, Z-28 heads, quadrajet tuned by me, 327-300 cam, turbo 350 and 2.79 rear gear, got 24.4 mpg on the highway running 70-75mph and got even better one other time without a passenger with me. I am building a 283, Z28 heads, 327-300hp cam, 700R, and 3.42 rear to go in my fleetline...I think I will be busting close to 30 miles per gallon and it will still run good.
Yeah I'm going to have to just get in it and drive when i get time, The motor only has 56k org. miles on it. Sounds like 18. per gallon is avg. I keep going back and forth on the trans Part of me wants to keep it all org. Thanks for the input!
Overdrive improvement..... As long as you change the rear gear (3.2x - 3.5x) and dial the engine to make its torque peak at 30% lower rpm. Then take the cost of that alteration divided by the estimated savings to find out how long it takes to recoup the cost. You'll have to drive it an awful lot before you break even.
wife and i are plannin a trip down 66 this fall, only going in the other direction...in a ot 67 impala we just fininsh for herr. 283 .60 over big cam . 500 eldbrock carb real fuelly heads and a powerglide trans.. ouch. this is gonna hurt..........im kinda fiquring around 8-10 mpg..more would just make me smile!!
I get it... but you still put gas in it occasionally, right? If so, write that stuff down and do the math. If it's a new build, it's pretty important to know what it can do, mileage-wise, and it might give you some insight into tuning opportunities.
The $$ cost of putting in a new tranny will not equal, or surpass the amount of savings per mile you'll get... 700R-4 -----$2000.00-2500.00 (give or take), including driveshaft mods, new shift linkage, endless adjustments to cable to carb to make it work, worry about getting it correct so as to not burn up new tranny... Stock Powerglide---$20.00 (give or take) change filter, couple hours of work, couple of quarts of ATF, no worries on the way if it'll stay together... Mileage at 1804 miles @ 18 mpg= 100 gallons of fuel at an average of 4.00 per = $400 dollars...savings of $2100. You can pay for many nights in a motel at that price...and a lot of steak on the way... Having fun on a 3600 mile round trip---priceless...!!! FWIW, my bro has a stock 327" and a PG in his '64 SS...it gets 19-20 on the highway at 70 per...there's absolutely nothing wrong with a stock PG... R- PS sometimes my math sucks...so if I'm off on the price of a 700-R4, put in your own prices...there will still be a big savings...
just to add a couple things. 1. THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN MPG. where did you find a 63 chev with a 15 gallon tank? most 60's cars were 18-24 gal. 30 years ago I had a 38 ford pu with a 289 ford that pulled down over 24 mpg with a 48 gallon tank in the bed. was real nice I could drive from Boise to LA on a tank of gas. it gave me the freedom to buy the cheapest gas regardless of where I drove.
R- sometimes my math sucks...so if I'm off on the price of a 700-R4, put in your own prices...there will still be a big savings...[/QUOTE] Roger I like your logic. I laugh at my kids when they call my paid for old gas hog a money pit. while they pay 500-600 a month car paymemt to get 30 mpg plus the gas they burn. I spend around 200 a month for gas and no car payment. does that make me the dumb one??
Ha Ha! I had to read your post a few times. I wasn't sure if you were for or against 700R4's. But yeah, me thinks your numbers are a tad off. The only time I spent that much (actually more) on a 700R4 was when I went all brand new and full race.
My son accuses me of living in the '70's...but when you go to a theme park with your two grandsons, as I did last nite, and they want a 14" pizza for dinner and I have to shell out $32.99 for a single topping piece of baked...well, you get the idea...plus the cost of drinks at $5.99 EACH, then I prefer the '70's... Yep, sometimes a youngster's thinking simply doesn't make sense...and since they grew up in the land of plenty, everyone should have plenty, right...??? R-
No, nothing against 700R4's...and perhaps the cost is a tad high, but the above figures COULD include the cost of labor, would you not agree with that...??? Everything involves someone's labor and IF time is money...then I'm prolly not off that far... FWIW, a pal has a '56 Cadillac, running a 500" V8 w/a T-400...he had it all mounted/bolted in and driving...he decided he needed a 700R4 to increase his mileage since my 500" and T-400 in my '55 Caddy is only getting 12 mpg...it's taken him over 3 grand so far...plus countless hours of modifying his motor mounts and building tranny mounts and radiator mounts to move the engine forward 2 1/2 inches so that the tranny would fit and he wouldn't have to rebuild the tunnel...and/or then re-do the carpet... his logic doesn't make much sense to me... R-
Just fill it up and then fill up the extra gas can you'll take with you. My guess thought would be around 13-15 and that all depends on your foot. My A Sedan with 472 Caddy, TH400 trans get 14mpg @ 65mph and 10mph @ 75+mph. It has 3.23 rear gears. Then again I didn't build it for mileage. I built it for fun and that it is alot of. I think the enjoy of taking a voyage in an old Chevy will soon have you not too concerned about the mileage it gets. I bet you won't be dissappointed with it in the end.
Your buddy might be able to reduce fuel cost by $77.00 per 1000 miles if everything is perfect. If he was done spending money @ 3000.00 he needs to drive 38,000 miles to break even. 39,000 and up he'll saving money. If gas is cheaper than 4.00 it will take longer if gas is over 4.00 it will go faster. If he drives his car 5,000 miles a year of pleasure driving it will take 8 years to reach 39,000 miles. You could get nuts and factor in inflation vs interest accumulated an the 3000 and really fuck with him
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