fuel efficient 289?

2+2GT · May 4, 2011

No one has ever liked paying for gas, look at the 50's-60's cars with small engines, like the 170 Falcon, or overdrive Fairlane, etc. The 1965 31¢ per gallon price in 65 works out to nearly $2.50 today, which is what it was about a year ago.

PoppyMod · May 4, 2011

Hi,

I'll chim in with this. I'm running a T5z(.63 OD), a 3.55 rear, and dual 40 mm Webers and I'm getting about 16-17 mpg. depending on how long I can cruise in 5th. The engine is not stock by any stretch.
Happy Trails!

zigmont · May 4, 2011

I guess I'm just a non believer. Back in the day, (I'm 66 yrs old) The boys with the mustangs were getting 18/22. Nobody was getting 28. I would have to see that one for myself. My 351W and T5 gets about 18 on a good day, and I keep my foot out of it. Any horseplay and I'm down to 14 or so. I have seen too many people look at the fuel guage and say "I only burned a quarter tank and went 200 miles. Thats 25 to the gallon". And that's what they tell everyone. LOL

rbohm · May 4, 2011

if i can get 25 on the road with the wrong combination, then i should get the same or better with the right combination. as for my current daily driver, i would kill to get 5 more mpg as that would save me $20 every 250 miles at current prices.

Hack · May 5, 2011

gregski said:
lets' see...

$4.00 per gallon x 16 gallon tank = $64 per tank

$64 x 52 weeks in a year = $3,328 per year

$10,000 \ $3,328 = 3 years

at 15 mpg that puts it at 12,480 miles per year (that's as average as it gets)

Ok so yes if you drive a lot of miles you can burn $10k worth of gas in a few years. What I really should have said is how much gas will you save. For the comparison to be useful, you have to factor in the gas you'll burn with an "economy" car. If the new car gets 30 mpg, then it will take 6 years to add up to $10k (since the 4 banger burns 1/2 as much gas). 12,000 miles in a year is a lot for a classic unless you live in California. It probably takes me 12+ years to get that many miles on my '70.

By the way, good luck trying to buy a new car for $10k or getting something decent and fun to drive for that price that also gets 30 mpg or more.
Edit: and when it comes to mpg, don't believe what others say. EPA ratings are somewhat close, though. I would trust the EPA ratings and my own experience by far over what I've read on the internet. For instance, I was looking at a 2005 4 cylinder Focus and it is rated 25 highway. I'd probably get slightly over 20 mpg in mixed driving with the ethanol they force us to buy here. When I compare that to some people's claimed mileage I get the feeling something doesn't match up. I don't know if their calculations are off or what.

gtss · May 5, 2011

I have read this thread over and over and I just have to through my 2 bits in.
firstly, I firmly beleive 90 % of the fuel economy concerns are driver induced, if you drive around town at 4000rpm...you will get crappy fuel economy. and you deserve it.

if, as said by others, you build a sensible build, overdrive etc you can get decent fuel economy. and you can have fun doing it.

performance and efficiency are not mutually exclusive. The idea of building a performance engine is to increase the efficiency, air and fuel in effectively = volumetric efficiency. Your right foot controls the fuel flow. having the power and using it ALL the time are two different things.

I commute 135km per day.
I have an Escape V-6(wanted 4x4 for the winter) 30 mpg
97 Taurus SHO 30mpg
09 GT500 30 mpg (highway cruise set)
65 fastback 347 with T-5 .63 od 27mpg

all of them get way worse when I drive fast

And "Hack" hit the nail on the head, with the 40 year old car comment regarding carbon footprint of new cars, we ARE recycling!!!!!!

sorry to be so long winded

gregski · May 6, 2011

gtss said:
I commute 135km per day.
I have an Escape V-6(wanted 4x4 for the winter) 30 mpg
97 Taurus SHO 30mpg
09 GT500 30 mpg (highway cruise set)
65 fastback 347 with T-5 .63 od 27mpg

with those types of numbers do you also own a Unicorn? or did you mean kilometers per gallon since you say 135km per day and hail from Canada

Not being a jerk, just having some fun with this since I have been watching my fuel consumption for years and am a bit more realistic. How exactly do you get those calculations, especially that 46 year old stroker V8 that does 27 miles per gallon - my 97 fuel injected Chevy Tahoe V8 gets 14 MPG

here's what I do when I test MPG I fill up my gas tank until the pump clicks and shuts off, I never over squeez it, print and keep the receipt, then I fill up a 2 gallon red portable gasoline can, I reset the odometer / trip meter you know what I mean, then I drive the car until I run it dry out of fuel, being very careful in the last 5 miles or so so I don't get stuck on a freeway in the fast lane, coasting does not count, I record the miles traveled, poor the 2 gallons of fuel in the tank, go home, and do the math, that is real life average MPG (some highway / some city driving, like god intended)

2+2GT · May 6, 2011

A properly-tuned smallblock V8 should have no trouble getting 20+ on the highway with overdrive.

brianj5600 · May 6, 2011

And at what speed gtss? I drive 75-80 on the interstate and don't care if it gets bad mileage. If it was my daily I might care a little more, but I doubt it. I have a Suburban daily driver, 18mpg@80mph.

68RCodeConv · May 6, 2011

I drove many C-code (289 2V) Mustangs back in the day. Retrofitted them with 4100 carb and 3.00 gears. Some manual, some auto. Even driving as gently as possible (and I mean gently) the BEST I ever saw was about 22 mph. Maybe at a steady 45 mph you could do better.

Anything over 25 mpg at 60 mph would be amazing.

DukeGnarley · May 6, 2011

If you really wanted to sqeeze out a couple extra mpg you could install a fiberfab front end for the slightly better aerodynamics.

(not my car)

It is ugly though, and engine cooling would suffer.

gregski · May 6, 2011

DukeGnarley said:
...you could install a fiberfab front end for the slightly better aerodynamics... It is ugly though

agreed

gtss · May 6, 2011

gregski:
valid point, I should clarify. I am calculating with an Imperial gallon which is approximately 20% larger than a US gallon.
when calculating I am at our highway speed limit 110 kmh approx 68mph
I they are repeatable numbers, can do it all day long
If I drive like I normally do, then I get about 15. I do have a heavy right foot
p.s.
I sold off the unicorn so I could keep the dog sled team fed haha
gtss

rbohm · May 7, 2011

DukeGnarley said:
If you really wanted to sqeeze out a couple extra mpg you could install a fiberfab front end for the slightly better aerodynamics.

(not my car)

It is ugly though, and engine cooling would suffer.

duke, you should be beaten with a tire iron for posting apisture like that one.

DukeGnarley · May 7, 2011

Haunting your dreams is it?

horseballz · May 7, 2011

The one who needs the tire iron treatment is the A--HOLE that mutilated that poor Mustang. Although, it appears to be all bolt on crap that could be easily undone.
My $.02 or $.03,
Gene

rbohm · May 8, 2011

DukeGnarley said:
Haunting your dreams is it?

if it were haunting my dreams then i would have to hunt you down and kill you. then hunt down the guy that built the car and kill them in the most foul and cruel manner.

DukeGnarley · May 8, 2011

It might take you a while, there are more than a few of those out there. And I think there's a company that still re-pops that front end.

gregski · May 8, 2011

rbohm said:
duke, you should be beaten with a tire iron for posting apisture like that one.

that's hillarious, post of the year, I am peeing my pants here laughin, that car doesn't know what to suck at, ferrari yellow, it looks like the yellow teletubby

rbohm · May 8, 2011

DukeGnarley said:
It might take you a while, there are more than a few of those out there. And I think there's a company that still re-pops that front end.

thats ok, i still have some life left in me.

gregski said:
that's hillarious, post of the year, I am peeing my pants here laughin, that car doesn't know what to suck at, ferrari yellow, it looks like the yellow teletubby

i am so happy that i could bring some joy into your life.

fuel efficient 289?

2+2GT

PoppyMod

Member

zigmont

Member

rbohm

Hack

gtss

Member

gregski

Active Member

2+2GT

brianj5600

Active Member

68RCodeConv

New Member

DukeGnarley

Member

gregski

Active Member

gtss

Member

rbohm

DukeGnarley

Member

horseballz

rbohm

DukeGnarley

Member

gregski

Active Member

rbohm

Similar threads

fuel efficient 289?

Member

Member

Member

Active Member

Active Member

New Member

Member

Active Member

Member

Member

Member

Active Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency