The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop fuel mileage

My 1953 chevy 216 cid standard engine pickup only gets 10 miles to the gallon.I know this truck is geared low, would this be about right for the fuel milage?

I'd be looking for 12-14 mpg with the standard gearing and speeds up to 45 mph. If the engine's tired or the carb needs a rebuild or a tune up, that'll knock mileage down quick. Also check for fuel leaks, my gas tank shutoff petcok leaked a little when I got the truck. Picked up 2 mpg after I fixed that.

Beaver,

That 10-11 MPG area is what I get with both my 216 and early 235. Everyone says I should be getting more, but I don't.

I should note, that I tend to have a bit of a lead-foot, but I don't really push them that hard.

Yea, I figered that would be about right.12 year restoration from top to bottom so I'm pretty confidant that every thing is right.Haven't run down gear ratios but I'm pretty sure that they are low.With the 750x16 tires on back speedo shows 50 when in fact it,s going 60,engine running great,going to put my engine anylizer on and check the RPM.Thanks guys

If you've got an SM420, the gear ratios are as follows:

1) 7.06:1
2) 3.58:1
3) 1.71:1
4) 1:1
R) 6.78:1

Your shop manual will tell you what the three speed is geared like.

When I was in high school, my Dad bought me a 1959 6 cylinder Chevy Biscayne with 7,000 original miles that had belonged to the widow of one of his good friends to appease the insurance gods for me, and also because "everybody" bragged about the fuel economy of the 6 cylinder Chevy.

After a month (I kept good records) found I was averaging 12.3 MPG. Mentioned this to my Dad, who immediately suggested that I was "hot rodding" my driving. I suggested he drive it for a while. We swapped rides for a month, and he was able to average 12.5 MPG (so much for the myth of the 20 MPG 6 cylinder Chevy!!!).

Two vehicles later (old enough the insurance tyrants were somewhat more lenient), a 327/340 with 4:11 gears Corvette averaged 17 MPG.

Gasoline at the time was 18.9 regular and 20.9 premium at the "name brand" station; 14.9 regular and 16.9 premium at the "watered down" station. For you younger readers, these figures are cents per gallon.

Jon.

The myth of good mileage 6 cylinder Chevy's is absolutely true, not a myth! My '53 and '54 both std. 3 speeds got 16 to 17 around town, and always 20 to 22 on the road. My Dad and brother both had similar mileage. My '55 with overdrive always got over 24 on the road. I had stock Rochester carbs on all, with 56 to 58 jets. If you're not getting good mileage look to your ignition, wrong point gap will seriously affect mileage, should be .016 and timing set by ear to have slight ping when full throttle at low speeds (25 to 30) in top gear. Make sure your carburetor is clean, all internal passages clear and good springs and ball bearings in proper places, and automatic choke pulls off to no choke position as soon as engine starts. I also had good power for 6's, ran hard enough to beat many '55 v-things, low 16 sec. e.t's at near 80 M.P.H. (with Fenton Cast Iron headers and steel pack mufflers)

I also got excellent mileage out of my 230 in my 64-but I had the Roch B apart at least half a dozen times before it was right(as right as a B can be). I finally polished the metering rod w/steel wool, seems being clean just wasn't good enough. I got 16.5 avg w/a best of 18.5, 3.73 gears, std 3 spd ,,only mod being an HEI distributor. brian

Manual showes the 1/2 ton pickup to be 4.11:1.Would that be conserded a low rear end and cause me to only get the 10-11 PMG?

That is a low rear end but you have pretty tall tires. You should get better mielage. Chevyman has some real good tuneup pointers. Make shure the vacuum advance is working. It is primarily for fuel mileage. Remember when figuring the MPG you are going farther then the o-dometer registers.