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Pre 1990 mpg

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550Doug

08-15-2007 05:25:49




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Allen's rant about using an older pickup has relit my fire for a GOOD 'OL pickup. What pickups before 1990 have a track record of good mpg? I suppose the three main categories would be PINT size, FULL size and 2500+.

If I recall the Chevy K series were decent. Any other ideas?

Thanks




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jdemaris

08-16-2007 06:16:50




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
A few of mine I'm presently driving:

1982 Chevy full-size K10 4WD pickup with 6.2 diesel, 3.08 axles, and four-speed NP833 manual overdrive - all stock - gets a best of 24 MPG at 65 MPH.

1985 Isuzu P'UP 4WD mini-pickup with 2.2 diesel and four-speed manual trans along with 3.90 axles.
Truck is maxed out at 65 MPH (feels like it's going 100) and gets 27 MPG.

1989 Chevy 1/2 ton 4WD Suburban with 6.2 diesel, 3.42 axles, and 700R4 auto-OD trans. Gets 22 MPG at 65 MPH.

1983 Chevy K5 Blazer with 6.2 diesel, 3.08 axles, and TH400 trans - gets 20 MPG sat 65 MPH.

1986 Chevy K5 Blazer with 6.2 diesel, 3.08 axles, and 700R4 OD trans, gets 22 MPG at 65 MPH.

1989 Dodge W250 3/4 ton, 4WD full-size pickup, 3.50 axles, 5.9 Cummins turbo/intercooled diesel, and Gertag five-speed manual trans - gets 21 MPG at 65 MPH.

1969 Dodge W200 4WD full-size 3/4 ton pickup, 318 gas V-8, four-speed manual, 4.88 axles - is maxed out at 65 MPH and gets 7 MPG.

1985 Ford F250 3/4 ton HD, 4WD, ex-cab, 3.73 axles, C-6 three-speed auto, and 6.9 IH diesel. Screams at 65 MPH and gets 13 MPG.

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MarkB_MI

08-15-2007 18:32:43




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
Nostalgia is fine, but remember that throughout the eighties every state had the double nickel speed limit. Take those same vehicles that were getting maybe 18 mpg and drive them at 80 mph and you'll be lucky to get 14 mpg. When you figure towing capacity and performance, the current crop of full size pickups do pretty good compared to those produced in the '80s.

I had an '80 model Chevy half ton with a 250 straight six and a granny four speed. It averaged around 18 mpg as I recall, but I never drove it over 65 mph.

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Brad in WI

08-15-2007 14:01:22




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
When I used my 86 Chevy K10 4x4 as my daily driver I was getting near 20MPG. My dad was only getting 13MPG with his 97 Chevy 2500 2 wheel drive. We both had 350's in them mine was carburated and his fuel injected. I have the 700R4 with 3.08 gears. Cant pull alot but mileage is great. I have pulled my Farmall MD with a four wheeler on a tandem axle trailer with no problems at 12MPG.



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old

08-15-2007 09:23:03




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
My self I like the MPG of my 1980 chev heavy half but at one time it had a nautomatic tranny in it but now has a 4 speed. The rear end is a good bit hogh geared then it would be if it had come out with a 4 speed. I get 17-20MPG with it depending on how I'm driveing it



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Walt Davies

08-15-2007 09:10:28




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
Best truck I ever had was a 37 Chevy with a 48 engine, could pull anything in 1st and haul anything in the bed had more springs under that thing than you could shake a stick at.
Worst was a 67 Chevy, had a 327 that put out all kinds of power but got the worst mileage I ever had except for my 30 ft. motorhome.
Walt



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ohio

08-15-2007 08:58:11




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
as for pint size, the vw diesels got around 50mpg.



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georgeky

08-15-2007 08:52:44




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
I had a 85 F-150 with a 300 six and a bulldog tranny that would get 20 mpg and pull anything. The best gas truck I ever had. Ibought it from my brother who bought it new. Sure would like to find another like it.



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Tim...Ok

08-15-2007 08:32:27




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
I've owned over 30 older chevy pickups,and only had one that got decent mileage,an 87 with the throttle body injected 350,700r4 and 3.42 gears,got about 18 out of it..I'd say majority of mine averaged around 11-13..the older Cummins dodges were easy on fuel,the pre-94's got 20+ easy but were a little low on power..my 95 had the 215hp cummins and got 21 empty or 17 loaded..my 97 I still drive gets 16 empty,but it's a 4x4 ex.cab dually..it impressed me earlier this year,towing 10,000 across north texas with the pedal on the wood for hours at a time,averaged 13.3mpg..

Tim

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Bob Kerr

08-15-2007 08:10:35




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
I have only owned 2 trucks in my life. A 49 chevy 3/4 ton with the hard to find 17" standard wheels which got 30 mpg, No kidding there! It had the 15" optional wheels when I got it and most of them did as tires were cheaper, and it got about 23-25 on hwy, but got good mileage in town. when I put the 17s on it it jump to 30 hwy and dropped some in town. It was my first vehicle and I still have it, but I need a crank for it. My other truck is a sad excuse for a truck. 94 Dodge Dakota V8. Can"t haul nuttin. put a rick of wood in it and it squats like a woman peeing. it does get 20 mpg hwy, but drops to 15mpg with the trailer. I used to pull the trailer with a 71 Olds Vista cruiser station wagon and that car way out performed that Dodge. Had a High compression 69 Olds 350 and a 2.56 rear. Got 20 mprg towing 5000lbs+ at 70 MPH. Drove it all over the US towing and the car body had about 600,000 miles and the engine had over 300,000 and never rebuilt. Still have it , but getting rusty (finally). I am looking for a Chevy 3/4 ton with 6cyl granny 4 speed, or might consider a Chevy truck with the Olds diesel. The 350 in the wagon will bolt right in.

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Scott Campbell

08-15-2007 12:25:19




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to Bob Kerr, 08-15-2007 08:10:35  
Bob, you need to put a 235 in your '49. It's the same block and everything bolts up. They can be had cheap. I've got a couple in my garage with less than 70k on them. I'm trying to put a '48 1 ton back on the road.



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Bob Kerr

08-16-2007 18:25:36




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to Scott Campbell, 08-15-2007 12:25:19  
I had thought about going the 235 route, but it came with the 216 and nothing else is incorrect on the truck so I am going the 216. I may however have the rods machined for 235 bearing shells. I have heard that works great! I bought my 49 in 77 and have been buying NOS GM parts for it ever since. Got a pretty good pile of parts now so when I decide to restore it, it will be a dandy! It had only 2 options on it when I got it. The 4 speed and the 15" split rim wheels. I looked for years to find a set of 17" standard split rims. Man those are hard to find! Only ever saw 2 sets and one was rusted bad. My set came off a 57 chevy 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive and is as close as I can get I am afraid. Do you have the 17" on your 1 ton? I have noticed 1 tons are pretty scarce. I have seen a lot of these trucks over the years and can only remmeber seeing only 2. There used to be one sitting in the weeds at Bill Monroes Beanblossom bluegrass park in Brown County IN. The other I think is in a yard in Springfield MO. It was a yellow MO hwy truck and I got the rare RH mirror bracket off it, but that was 10 years ago so it might be gone now. I am looking for a NOS driver side 3/4 ton only running board.

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centralilbaler

08-15-2007 08:04:34




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
My dad bought a new 1977 K20 Bonanza 4x4. Pulling our gooseneck, it got 8 mpg and 12 with out the trailer. My girlfriend(wife now) always wondered why we never used the new truck! I couldn't afford gas then and i can't now.



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671DKS

08-15-2007 07:41:21




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
Had a 89 F250 with the 460 gasser in it, which i sold just last month and it would get about 7-8 mpg with or without a load. My 92 ranger with the 3.0 L motor got around 22mpg, I just got a 2000 F-150, the reason I gave the ranger to the youngest boy, and it gets pretty close to 20 mgp it's got the 4.2 v6



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Steven f/AZ

08-15-2007 07:20:27




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
Had an 84 Ford Ranger (pint-size) that made 17 mpg. Had a 2.8 V-6 and a 3-speed auto. Also had an 83 Ranger with the 2.3 4-banger and a 4-speed that would make 19mpg but you better not want to get anywhere fast, 60mph was top speed!

My 88 F-150 5.0 overdrive auto made up to 17mpg if you stayed at 55mph or less. Interstate driving at 80mph dropped me to 13mpg. Averaged 9mpg pulling a U-haul trailer from ND to AZ on the interstate, very much overloaded.

Dad had an 89 F-150 5.0 4-speed 4x4 that would get 20mpg if you were gentle and stayed under 65mph.

My 82 F-150 351W auto made a max of 12mpg no matter what I did.

The older Dodge Cummins had good mileage, but short on power by today's standards...

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wilson

08-15-2007 07:07:16




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
1977 chev 6.2 diesel one half ton . bought it after fellow had head gaskets installed ground valves new rod and main bearings but would not pay for new rings It smoked like fogging for moesquitos. Put rings in rebuilt pump and it consistently got over 30 mpg. it had 4 speed overdrive transmission and would not pull the hat off your head but sure was a cheap running pick-up for most driving

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RustyFarmall

08-15-2007 06:45:49




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
1971 Ford F-100 2 wheel drive, 240 cubic inch 6 cylinder, 3.50 rear, would get about 10 to 12 mpg. When that ol' six finally wore out, I dropped in a freshly rebuilt 390, and believe it or not, the mpg went up to 13 to 15.



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Jiles

08-15-2007 06:44:50




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
You can run a lot of gas through a 10 MPG vehicle for the difference in cost of a late model. Also, you need to considering the cost for insurance. I guess I will drive my 1977 Dodge PW till it wears out. At least I can work on it. Many times, at a gas station, I have someone ask about my truck even though there may be a brand new truck at the other pump.



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Allan In NE

08-15-2007 06:50:14




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to Jiles, 08-15-2007 06:44:50  
Jiles,

I think that "brand new truck at the other pump" was probably me. That's where it has spent most of it's young life anyways. :>)

Allan



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Jerry h

08-15-2007 08:24:31




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to Allan In NE, 08-15-2007 06:50:14  
Allen, You do you have a new 6.4 Ford ? Is the fuel milage as bad as I've heard? Also I 've heard something about them burning garages down with the emmissions systems. I have always had Fords and we still have two 1995 Strokers that get 500-700 miles on weekly pulling trailers, we know the one has over 550,000 miles on it. We get 17mph with the one empty and 15mph with the other at legal speeds, speeding does cost fuel in these trucks

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Allan In NE

08-15-2007 08:59:04




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to Jerry h, 08-15-2007 08:24:31  
I thought my 7.3 was just a bit on the thristy side, but this 6.4 makes it look like a pussycat.

Best I've ever seen is 17 empty, with a tailwind and on a long downhill. Most of the time just bangin' around it will run in there at 13.6.

There's not a pickup on the road today that will outpull 'em and no luxary car can rival it's ride or quiet operation. Just wish it would get better mileage.

I wouldn't worry about that exhaust thing; just more gossip from the city boys, I think.

Allan

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lgc

08-15-2007 06:18:20




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
Worst mpg i ever had was a 1967 chev short bed pickup.307 engine. 7mpg town 10-11 highway. MY 2001 silvarado king cab 20 hwy. Much better truck.



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barnrat

08-15-2007 06:05:16




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
I personally like new trucks over old ones. Mainly cause around here a pre 90 truck is mostly rust by now. ON the other hand I have 2 trucks one 3/4 ton dodge ram hemi 4x4 and one half ton dodge quad cab 4x4 with the 360 both get between 12-20mpg depending what your doing with them. I've never expected a truck to have good gas mileage no matter what the age, I mean after all the aerodynamics is what kill your mileage. Throw a brick through the air then throw a Frisbee and see which one goes farther on less effort.

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John A.

08-15-2007 05:43:26




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
550doug, Bought a New 1982 GMC 1/2ton, 2 wheel drive pickup in Dec of 81, 305-sm bk V8, /w ESC-ingition, 3spd auto, with 3:08 rear gears, 18 mpg was the norn for 12000 miles then I added an LP duel fuel system.
Still got 13 mpg on LP. Sooo..... ..... ..... .....
Gas was $.80 getting 18mpg.....
or
LP was $.33 getting 13mpg.....good swap or what?
Later,
John A.
PS... I personally new of two other 82 GM pickups that got 20/21 regularly.

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Mike M

08-15-2007 05:38:15




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to 550Doug, 08-15-2007 05:25:49  
Same with cars, the MPG has not improved and some have dropped since that time frame.

The best mpg truck I had was an old 1978 GMC with a 4 speed and I had stuck a 1969 327 with 2bbl carb. in there for awhile. Same truck was also the worst when I switched to a 454 and an auto tranny.

I have been driving a 1996 Ram 2500 360 gas auto 4x4 ext. cab and it really isn't too bad considering how big it is and what I can do with it.

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suptscottyb

08-15-2007 06:07:09




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 Re: Pre 1990 mpg in reply to Mike M, 08-15-2007 05:38:15  
I bought a '91 dodge deisel new. It got up to 24mpg on the freeway. Of course those early Cummins had only 160hp in front of a 5spd stick.
Nuthin' I care to own again... It's possible that modern engines may be efficient when you look at the combination of mpg,hp,& particulets emitted.



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