The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot '60-'66 Trucks Best gas mileage in a 60's Chevy?

i'm sure not saying horsenaround is wrong, but that has not been my experience. if that was the case my 292 would get better milage than my 250 because it doesn't have to work as hard. it does not! noice how he said "geared for highway use and updated". that makes a difference. if you are going to be pulling big loads, consider the bigger engine, he's right it won't have to work as hard- everything else being the same. notice also it was him verses the average joe too- he is going to have it set up right where the average joe is not. and how about the miles on either engine, that's a factor too. i bet if he set up both with same gearing and same tranny, if the six is smaller, it would get better milage. you were looking for a 1/2 ton truck right? the six won't be underpowered if you keep the orig rear. my 64 c20 wrecker pulls over 10,000lbs gvw now and then and can do it fine with a 250, but it has the gearing for it. but whenever i am empty i reap the benifits of better milage than a 350. more than 1/2 of my miles are empty, a 350 would be a waste for me. i might be able to rarely get to the top of a hill without having to downshift less than now when i'm fully loaded. for the most part it wouldn't help me.