36 gas mileage
- Thread starter Brendan
- Start date
Adam/Mill Valley CA
Senior Member
Hi Brendan,
I went through the same deal with my '36 pickup, stock 221ci motor-terrible mileage initially. I have flat top pistons, the cast iron truck heads have lower compression than the aluminum-if you are using heads for domed pistons, your compression ratio must be REALLY low. I would find the correct cast iron heads (very cheap and available). I had mine milled 100 thou (yes, you read that right) and it worked very well-I'm guessing that the CR is probably now up around what the aluminum heads run. With a 3:78 rear end I get around 14-15mpg. Remember, these trucks have the aerodynamics of a brick.
Adam
I went through the same deal with my '36 pickup, stock 221ci motor-terrible mileage initially. I have flat top pistons, the cast iron truck heads have lower compression than the aluminum-if you are using heads for domed pistons, your compression ratio must be REALLY low. I would find the correct cast iron heads (very cheap and available). I had mine milled 100 thou (yes, you read that right) and it worked very well-I'm guessing that the CR is probably now up around what the aluminum heads run. With a 3:78 rear end I get around 14-15mpg. Remember, these trucks have the aerodynamics of a brick.
Adam
hdleaksoil
Member
My 36 dome top gets 6.3 miles to the gal all new,411 gear Have a repop 97 runs great ,the carb was dynoed before it was sent to me. pass anything but a station.
Walt Dupont--Me.
Well-known member
Are you sure you didn't leave a number out in front of that 6 ? I'd have to morgage the farm to run that thing. Walt
This may sound like BS but my 34 ford 3 window (all steel) with a 286" built flathead (offy heads, Potvin super 3/4, Weber jetted Holley 650cfm, B&M blower running 5psi at 5000) will get 23 mpg on the highway at 65 mph. I have a Tremec 5 speed with 4:11 gears. With overdrive it has a final drive of 2.82 to one........65 mph is only 1800 rpm...This will drop big time if I start hitting the loud pedal around town....Still going strong after 22,000 miles..
Bruce Lancaster
Member Emeritus
Ford had perormance specs for the early V8's that the dealers could use to analyze complaints...for the mileage spec, cras were run at steady speeds on level road with the Zenith mileage tester hooked up. If car met spec under those conditions, the driver was the problem, if car failed test it needed work.
1936 85 with 4.11 fuel consumption:
20 mph 22.6 mpg
30 20.1
40 19
60 15.6
'37's with 3.78 gave a couple more mpg
These were minimum specs below which car was considered to have a problem.
The level road steady speed test using the meter were of course to eliminate factors of driving style and terrain.
1936 85 with 4.11 fuel consumption:
20 mph 22.6 mpg
30 20.1
40 19
60 15.6
'37's with 3.78 gave a couple more mpg
These were minimum specs below which car was considered to have a problem.
The level road steady speed test using the meter were of course to eliminate factors of driving style and terrain.
41Fordor
Senior Member
My machinist swears the gas of today is not the gas of yesterday. Not just because of ethanol blending, but lower octane levels today. Computer controlled fuel injection and ignition these days can tolerate poor gas and automatically adjust timing and mixture.
Kurt in NJ
Well-known member
46 1-1/2 ton truck,2 speed rear, 49 merc engine stock, 12 foot box, 2ton load ----averaged 15 mpg, if I kept it to 50mph it would go up to 17, when it was sold it went to California, made that trip with an airplane hanging out the back, it took 4 days, averaged 15mpg
I will expect my 36 to get much better mileage with a 53 merc,columbia/4:11
The 39 std with 60hp got in the low to mid 20s on the road (best trip 26mpg), the mileage would drop when driving over 65
I will expect my 36 to get much better mileage with a 53 merc,columbia/4:11
The 39 std with 60hp got in the low to mid 20s on the road (best trip 26mpg), the mileage would drop when driving over 65
Hank the 36
Member
Test # 1: 11.6 MPG
H36
H36
Mark Slight
Senior Member
Anyone think of jacking the '35 up and trying to turn the wheels by hand with the transmission in neutral, hand brake off, to make sure they arn't draging a little?
Bruce Lancaster
Member Emeritus
On the gas...we have problems there, but not in octane...it is a LOT higher now than when flatheads were designed, which is why the vac brake on most flatheads can be run backed off almost entirely. The higher octane the macinest mourns might have been the supers of the late '60's, when some production cars were running over 11 to one. Our problem is the alcohol, not just the problems with corrosion, failures of soft parts, and the effects of water carried in by alcohol. The problem is that our primitive cars meter gas by volume, not combustion analysis, and a gallon that is 10% alcohol contains several percent less heat than a gallon of petroleum gas. This is getting up into a significant metering problem, and if alcohol content goes up any more it will certainly be a running problem. Rejetting can take care of a particular situation, but I suspec there are many formulas out there and many more coming and compensating will not be simple.
Brendan
Well-known member
Today i went for a 100 mile drive, 28 lb of air in the tires and speeds up to 50 mph. i went on some nice back roads and i got 15.6 mpg, that is the best i have ever got. i figured that my old junker likes the back country roads and not city driveing, that is when the mileage gows down the tubes!
31chevy
Well-known member
Hi Brenden, did you modify your air cleaner to fit the K&N filter? & what # K&N did you use ? If you would post a picture it would sure be appreciated. Thank you.
Gary.