[AT] OT: Gas story

[Cecil Bearden]

I bought an 89 chevy 1/2 ton 2wd pickup the month after I retired.  It 
was an old state park ranger pickup and had about 140,000 miles on it.  
It also had a new starter,alternator, and completely new air conditioner 
system.  It also had one white fender and the rest of the truck was 
forest green.  After driving it a few days, I started checking the 
mileage and the engine and drive train.  It has the 305 v-8, with a 3.73 
rear end and overdrive automatic.  Everything else is just a work 
truck.  It gets 18mpg no matter whether I am pulling a trailer or not.  
My other 89 chevy is a 3/4 4wd and has a 350.  I had to put a bed cover 
on it to get 14.5 mpg...

I attribute part of the lower mileage on the 4wd to the drag on the 
front axles.  can't get lockout hubs on the lighter duty trucks 
anymore....   I painted the fender with a can of spray paint from Dollar 
General stores, put a tie rod end and pitman arm and one U-joint in it 
and drive it everywhere...  I was going to sell it, but for $1600 
including parts It can't be beat. I just wish it was a 3/4 ton so I 
could use the 16 inch tires that are on everything else....  I pull the 
5000 Ford with a brush hog around with it and leave the 2000 one ton 454 
at home....  It gets 9mpg loaded or unloaded....

I have two 95 Ford power stroke diesels with a crewcab.  The one with a 
3.73 rear end gets 16 to 28 on the road unloaded with a trailer.  With a 
trailer and load, it gets about 11 mpg.  The one with a 4.10 rear end 
gets 9mpg loaded or unloaded.  With fuel prices, I do a little 
calculating before hooking up now....  Guess we should have done that 
before.  Also try to make every trip to town count too....

Cecil in OKla

Mark Greer wrote:
> You have to work those 175 horses harder to do the same job as the 300 in
> the newer truck. It used to pi$$ my brother off when his Silverado with the
> 4.3 V6 sucked way more fuel than mine with the 5.7 V8 and his was a gutless
> dog to boot.
> Mark
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Mike" <msm10301 at juno.com>
> To: <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2007 3:07 PM
> Subject: Re: [AT] OT: Gas story
>
>
>   
>> My Grandfather told me, "More horses eat more hay". May still be true
>> in some cases, but take a look at how horsepower has also increased
>> over the years. I had a '95 Chevy Silverado with a 5.0L V-8 that
>> pushed out 175 HP +/-. The new Silverado has a 5.3L V-8 that pushes
>> 300+, and get better mileage. Mike
>>
>>     
>
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