keep it simple

cisco170

Well-known member
can anyone share tips. i have 64 falcon with stock 170 1 barrel holley, would like to improve my miles per gal? where do i start, thank you for replys 8)
 
if youre still running a points ignition, it will help to upgrade that to a module. you have a few options for this. the first is a duraspark, found in all fords from late 60s to 83. using junkyard parts this swap can be done for very cheap, new parts will obviously raise that price tag to a couple hundred. other options would include putting a pertronix kit in your existing distributor, and still another option would be to have your points trigger a TFI module (from EFI-era fords). you can read up on this a little more at gofastforless.com. for all of these, wiring is simple if you don't suffer from wirephobia (fear of wiring).

beyond that, gearing plays a big part, driving habits, which includes short trips vs long-haul driving, the way you hold your foot on the pedal (no, seriously, i mean that)... a vacuum gage will help you see how much pedal youre giving it so you can see how much youre giving it and adjust yourself for better mileage.
 
The Plankster Prankster":37nw9dk1 said:
if youre still running a points ignition, it will help to upgrade that to a module. you have a few options for this. the first is a duraspark, found in all fords from late 60s to 83. using junkyard parts this swap can be done for very cheap, new parts will obviously raise that price tag to a couple hundred. other options would include putting a pertronix kit in your existing distributor, and still another option would be to have your points trigger a TFI module (from EFI-era fords). you can read up on this a little more at gofastforless.com. for all of these, wiring is simple if you don't suffer from wirephobia (fear of wiring).

beyond that, gearing plays a big part, driving habits, which includes short trips vs long-haul driving, the way you hold your foot on the pedal (no, seriously, i mean that)... a vacuum gage will help you see how much pedal youre giving it so you can see how much youre giving it and adjust yourself for better mileage.

where do i start with the dura spark change? thank you for information
 
The best purchase I made was the Falcon Performance manual available from this site. Filled with low cost peformance upgrades and mileage improving tips.
 
cisco170 said:
mugsy said:
Higher rear gear...
thank you for reply. can you suggest the change>

Hate to answer a question with a question: but what ratio is in there now? when I went from a 2.93 to a 3.23 in my '68 Catalina with a 428-4V the highway mileage dropped from slightly less than 16 mpg to about 13...


My Mustang had a 2.5X in it when I bought it. You can have it if you want, its behind the garage right now!!! hahaha
 
Changing the rear gear doesn't automatically make for better mileage as u see above.
If u r running the 2 speed try to find a C4 or if possible an AOD? More gears can make for better mileage if u do a lot of stop and go or city driving.
 
Remember that was at 70-75 mph and the top down in a 4400 lbs car. And 3 mpg is almost a 19% decrease in gas mileage...
 
for the duraspark, you start by finding another distrubutor, either from the junkyard or the parts store. the 6s are common enough at my local yards i'd grab a used one. AFAIK, the small 6s all use the same one, but someone else should chime in to confirm this. you will also want to grab the wire harness from the donor car, as its much easier to connect if you have all the right plugs, as well as having an idea of the order wires were in. as youre there, you might also grab the module, which is usually attached to the left fender. when you get home, untape the wire harness, set aside all the parts you don't need, and the rest should be pretty simple to figure out.
 
I also like the DSII swap but for best results you will need to mod your carb or replace it with a later unit
 
bmbm40":3gwgiudq said:
The best purchase I made was the Falcon Performance manual available from this site. Filled with low cost peformance upgrades and mileage improving tips.
Where do I find this manual?
 
You should be getting around 25-28 mpg with you current setup. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the Duraspark won't fit some '64 blocks with a 1/4" distributor shaft. The round headlight Granada 2.79 rearend is a direct swap to the 64-65 Falcon. I don't know of any AOD with the correct bolt pattern that will fit a 64 block. Other things that could help in the mgp is taller tires with a lot of air pressure and driving style
 
Cisco,

I have a new Malloy unilite electronic distrbutor for sell. PM me if interested.

Thanks,

Rick
 
1bad6t":39bzzhbd said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the Duraspark won't fit some '64 blocks with a 1/4" distributor shaft.
i can't say i've tried, but i can say this...
i was recently working on a friends 65 (IIRC) mustang w/ 289, his points were giving him trouble, so we went to the junkyard and grabbed a duraspark from a 70s 302, went to install it and found it wouldn't fit the block. we proceeded to disassemble the 2 distrubutors and install all the duraspark components in the housing of the points distributor. i would expect we could do a similar rebuild on a 6 cyl distributor.
 
The Plankster Prankster":344mt9pp said:
1bad6t":344mt9pp said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but the Duraspark won't fit some '64 blocks with a 1/4" distributor shaft.
i can't say i've tried, but i can say this...
i was recently working on a friends 65 (IIRC) mustang w/ 289, his points were giving him trouble, so we went to the junkyard and grabbed a duraspark from a 70s 302, went to install it and found it wouldn't fit the block. we proceeded to disassemble the 2 distrubutors and install all the duraspark components in the housing of the points distributor. i would expect we could do a similar rebuild on a 6 cyl distributor.

If there were a provision for using centrifugal advance on the Load-O-Matic, sure. I guess you might could use the Load-O advance on the new reluctor assembly, I don't know. The two distributors are very different.
 
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