200, 250: What's your mileage?

[Anonymous]

If you have been reading the other sections of this group, you will know that I am considering replacing a gas guzzling 428 with either a 240 or 250. But before I go through all the work (against everyone else's better judgement), I would like to know what kind of mileage a 200/240/250 can get. So if you can tell me what engine you have, what type of tranny, and what differential, and give me your mileage, I would greatly appreciate it. And if you can tell me what your car/truck weighs, that would help me too.

Thanks,

Doc

Doc: the 6 will kill that lovely bird. But, here's what I can suggest, being a 60's Ford man myself (I have other cars besides my inliner..):

If you keep the 428, do this: replace the distributor's lighter spark advance spring with one of the Mr. Gasket 925D springs and reduce the static spark advance by 1 or 2 degrees. This will immediately improve the MPG. If you're ambitious, change the differential gearing to 2.79 or 2.75. There are junkyards all over the Internet that will sell you these 3rd members for $50 or less, plus shipping. That 9" differential will probably have a 3.25 or so in it now, because that's what a lot of 428s came with. This will make a great difference in MPG, too. Then, disconnect the 4-bbl vacuum opener on the carb, or fit a FoMoCo 2100 2-bbl from a 390 engine. It will bolt on with either an adapter plate (Mr. Gasket has these, too) or a 2-bbl manifold from a 390 engine. It will bolt right on, carb and all. Jetting will be right on, too. All of these changes together can net you 14 MPG in town (428) or 15+ in town MPG, like my 3800-lb, 1967 LTD, 390 "H" engine. Its highway MPG pushes 20 now, where it used to be 10/16.

Option 2: get a 352 or 390 engine and drop it in: it will likely drop straight in if you also get the bellhousing. I would also change the differential, because the 390 torque and 428 torque at 2200 RPM is within 12 ft-lbs., i.e., unnoticeable difference. If you can find the 352 HP or 390 HP engine of 1964-66 vintage, these will give real good MPG without losing much power. My old 1963 390HP got over 18 MPG hiway with the 4-bbl, 15 MPG in town. In V8-dom, FE rules!

(NOW I'm in trouble... )

 

[Anonymous]

22-28 but with a small tank it seems im always putting gas in the thing. just filled up gas is 3.68 a gallon i was like S*** cost me 145 bucks to fill the truck and the falcon
wes

 

[CobraSix]

My 200 actually gets worse milage than my V-8 Camaro. The Z28 gets around 18-20 while the Ford gets around 15 -16. If I figured it out correctly. It's a good thing I'm not driving both cars right now with gas being $2.85/ gal .

That's pretty bad...


My 200, Aussie 250/2V converted to 4V with 390CFM Holley 4V, vac secondaries, T5 transmission, 3.20 rear end, electronic ignition, 2950 lbs

I get 26-27 Highway, 23 City.

I do agree, you won't get those results with a 200/250 in a Tbird. I think MarkP has good advice. Maybe a smaller V-8 (302, 351) would give you the power you need and increased mileage.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

I guess you are all correct. I did some final measurements of the T-birds engine compartment and I couldn't get an I6 in that thing with a ten foot shoehorn. The 240/300 are too long and the 250 is too tall.
That means either a 302, or a 351. And since neither engine falls under the heading of FORDSIX, I guess I will just have to thank you all for your responses and join a FORDEIGHT website.

Thanks again, I really appreciated the inputs,

Doc

 

[MustangSix]

a 351W/AOD is probably the best compromise for a heavy vehicle like that. With some judicious cam selection, decent compression, and use of EFI you could get mpg into the mid 20's easily.

 

[Anonymous]

My vote would be for an EFI 5.0/AOD combo from a late eigties Town Car. We had one (I think 87? 88?) and it had plenty of zip, even being only a 302!

 

[Anonymous]

This was mentioned at the start of this thread .......... and it is exactly what I am thinking of doing.

I found a 56 Ford Pickup truck without an engine or transmission, but the body and chassis has been in a garage for YEARS.

It is in good shape, and with a little work, it will look great.

I thought a small turbo-diesel engine would be great, with either a standard or auto trans.

Would be interested in routing the exhaust pipe straight up behind the cab (on either side) ala over the road trucks and give that diesel sound a new look. Something new and different.

What small turbodiesels do you know of ------ I'll be darned if i can find info on any in this country.

 

[Anonymous]

small diesels aren't too terribly hard to find.... Toyota and VW both used to sell good ones here.... but they are small! sub 100hp

 

[Anonymous]

Look to the Isuzu line, up to 6 liters.

Nissan makes some nice diesels in the 3.0 -5.0 liter range, too.

Olds 350 diesels were good as long as you knew how to take care of them. Most people had no clue. My '80 Cutlass got 32 MPG. The engine was fine, the rest of the car was a POS.

 

[Lazy JW]

This was mentioned at the start of this thread .......... and it is exactly what I am thinking of doing.

I found a 56 Ford Pickup truck without an engine or transmission, but the body and chassis has been in a garage for YEARS.

It is in good shape, and with a little work, it will look great.

I thought a small turbo-diesel engine would be great, with either a standard or auto trans.

Would be interested in routing the exhaust pipe straight up behind the cab (on either side) ala over the road trucks and give that diesel sound a new look. Something new and different.

What small turbodiesels do you know of ------ I'll be darned if i can find info on any in this country.

Shouldn't be too difficult to locate a Mercedes Five-cylinder Turbo diesel. Those are a mighty sweet setup 8)
Joe

 

[Anonymous]

Shouldn't be too difficult to locate a Mercedes Five-cylinder Turbo diesel. Those are a mighty sweet setup 8)
Joe

Not very reliable, Parts are expensive, difficult to repair, require many special tools :thumbdown:

 

[LEROY POLL]

HEY DRPEPPER


.....FOR MILEAGE THE 302 IS GOOD. I HAVE A 1985 FORD VAN ABOUT 4600 LBS. WITH 302/CARB./AOD/LOADED WITH WEIGHT. I GET 20 ON THE ROAD. THAT IS CLOSED TO WHAT YOU HAVE....BUT MY AREO IS MUCH WORSE. I STILL GET 15 IN TOWN WHEN I'M EASY ON IT.

.....I ALSO HAD A 1977/351/LOADED/ THREE SPEED WITH AN OVERDRIVE (RANGER..ADV.ADPT.) THAT GOT ME OVER 18. THAT'S CLOSE ON THE MILEAGE.....BUT THERE IS A WORLD OF DIFFERANCE IN THE POWER.

.....I THINK I WOULD GO WITH THE 351W WITH EFI. THAT WOULD BE A GOOD BALANCE.

.....GET ENOUGH OF THESE POST AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO TAKE A VOTE..!!

LIVE IN GRACE

LEROY POLL

 

[Straight Six]

I thought a small turbo-diesel engine would be great, with either a standard or auto trans.

Would be interested in routing the exhaust pipe straight up behind the cab (on either side) ala over the road trucks and give that diesel sound a new look. Something new and different.

What small turbodiesels do you know of ------ I'll be darned if i can find info on any in this country.[/quote]

Something along these lines? http://www.isuzu.co.jp/world/product/au ... index.html

 

[Leddemo]

I have a post on another forum about smaller diesels.

Small diesel thread

I've managed to find quite a few. And there's always the Cummins L4BT engine (4 cylinder version of the I6 in the big Dodges), there are some dodge sprinter vans I've seen running around with diesels in them too. Don't know what those are though.

 

[matt1967]

I'd say suck it up and keep the 428. you have the best FE engine Ford made, besides the 427 SOHC, your car would be worth more with the 428 as the value it holds alone is great.

 

[matt1967]

Shouldn't be too difficult to locate a Mercedes Five-cylinder Turbo diesel. Those are a mighty sweet setup 8)
Joe

Not very reliable, Parts are expensive, difficult to repair, require many special tools :thumbdown:

actully the 4cyl is the hard 1, internal vac pump that you break if you spin the engine backwards ect... the 5cyl is simpilar, found in 300 D's. but ither engine would net you 300k+ miles with little maintanence other than a valve adjust every 50k.

 

[ASMART]

I would have to vote on keeping the 428/413. I am assuming your performance build included a performance cam. This and the low compression are hurting you. Put in a very mild cam, bump the compression up as much as you dare, fine tune the carb and ignition. You may be surprised with the results. These changes will likely improve your low - mid torque for better around town driving.

Even though this is a siz forum. It will be good to see what you do and the results.

 

[wallaka]

This thread died a long time ago...

Just FYI.

 

[Anonymous]

'79 Mustang, 200ci, C4, stock diff (2.77?) 16-20mpg, weight ?. '85 F150, 300ci, auto trans (?, haven't checked, came with it), stock diff (?), same 16-20mpg, weight = 3700+lbs

 

[Anonymous]

'79 Mustang, 200ci, C4, stock diff (2.77?) 16-20mpg, weight ?. '85 F150, 300ci, auto trans (?, haven't checked, came with it), stock diff (?), same 16-20mpg, weight = 3700+lbs

The Mustang weighs about 2800-2900 and the F-150 around 5000-5200 or so.