Rebeldryver's '70 Caprice Granny's Luxo-Muscle-Barge

[TheSilverBuick]

Not EVERY car I own has to be "fast".

This is my sentiments. My first Firebird with a Pontiac V8, Q-jet, points and 2.73 gears with a 700-r4 got 18mpg around town and 25+mpg on the highway. It also ran 16-17's in the quarter =P I expect this current Firebird to do about the same. Last road trip car got a hair over 20mpg cruising at 3,000rpm. I'm considering sticking the 3.42 gears in it later this year to see how it does. An overdrive transmission is the biggest bang for the buck on increasing fuel mileage.

[DanStokes]

I'm still voting Corvair.

you'll never have to worry about leaking coolant all over the place.

Or you'll ALWAYS have coolant leaking all over the place. (Think about it.........)

Dan

[Shelty]

Or you'll ALWAYS have coolant leaking all over the place. (Think about it.........)

Dan

I dont get it. corvairs are air cooled


you can point and laugh, that one went over my head

[squirrel]

Dan's right, there's always air around and under it.

They make up for the lack of coolant leaks, by having even more oil leaks

[DanStokes]

Air is the coolant so it's always "leaking" so to speak. Of course, oil is also a cooling medium in all engines and as Jim mentioned they DO have a tendency to leak a bit. We had several in town when I was growing up and some were pretty good while others could be rented to oil your dirt roads (I'm exaggerating just a tad). I grew up in Milford, MI, the home of the GMPG and the engineers often had GM's latest offerings. One of the guys bought the first Turbo 'Vair which was PINK! It was a mule and evidently they thought it was stock enough to put it on the sales lot for an employee to buy. It was pretty quick but like most cars of that era was water-soluable.

Dan

[Shelty]

well now I feel sily lol

touche' lol

[hotrodfords]

Better mileage you say?

70-72 Maverick 6 cyl. Swap an AOD which fits 250 and 300 six-cylinder engines.

Or how about a Vega or Pinto? Better yet, a Gremmie!

[RustyRodder]

Better mileage you say?

70-72 Maverick 6 cyl. Swap an AOD which fits 250 and 300 six-cylinder engines.

Or how about a Vega or Pinto? Better yet, a Gremmie!

Why not a 3.8/T5 from a late model mustang?

[Scott Liggett]

Why not a 3.8/T5 from a late model mustang?

How about I stick a hot poker in my eye? GAG!

[Russell]

How much do you drive each day city / highway? What MPGs are you looking for? I don't know anything about corvairs but I don't see it getting great milage. The best way to spend less on fuel is to reduce the miles driven, can you move closer to work?

I sold out a while ago and parked the V8 for a small I4 car. Its hard to have it all comfort, performance, milage. I have yet to find a car that has all three most dont even have two.

[TheSilverBuick]

How about I stick a hot poker in my eye? GAG!

You always have a way with words that express what I want to say but don't know how to say it.

[Beagle]

This is my sentiments. My first Firebird with a Pontiac V8, Q-jet, points and 2.73 gears with a 700-r4 got 18mpg around town and 25+mpg on the highway. It also ran 16-17's in the quarter =P I expect this current Firebird to do about the same. Last road trip car got a hair over 20mpg cruising at 3,000rpm. I'm considering sticking the 3.42 gears in it later this year to see how it does. An overdrive transmission is the biggest bang for the buck on increasing fuel mileage.

No doubt it's great to have an o.d. but at 75 mph or more, you can't really discount aerodynamics. That's where this modern crap gets a lot of it's gains.. .31 cd and 18 sq ft of frontal area.

[Scott Liggett]

How much do you drive each day city / highway? What MPGs are you looking for? I don't know anything about corvairs but I don't see it getting great milage. The best way to spend less on fuel is to reduce the miles driven, can you move closer to work? I sold out a while ago and parked the V8 for a small I4 car. Its hard to have it all comfort, performance, milage. I have yet to find a car that has all three most dont even have two.

My commute is probably fifty miles a week which is nothing compared to some. I was thinking about trips to Omaha and such. 350 miles round trip. At 12 mpg, thats $102 in gas at the current prices. If I can get something that makes 18 mpg, its about $65. I am just doing some thinking out loud. I really dont feel like sacrificing the Caprice to winter rust. Buying a winter doesnt seem financially smart either. A cheap car usually requires a lot of work to be reliable. $$$$$. I have also wanted a pickup to be able to haul stuff. Three cars just arent in my finances right now. I absolutely hate japanese commuter blobs. That Corvair is different and looks to be fun to drive. Sure its slow. They are good in snow but have terrible heaters.

[squirrel]

wife's miata is a crappy import...but it is fun to drive, and it was cheap, and gets 30 mpg. There are a few out there that aren't too bad. My son got one too, 4k for a nice 2001 with 40k miles on it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

My commute is probably fifty miles a week which is nothing compared to some. I was thinking about trips to Omaha and such. 350 miles round trip. At 12 mpg, thats $102 in gas at the current prices. If I can get something that makes 18 mpg, its about $65. I am just doing some thinking out loud. I really dont feel like sacrificing the Caprice to winter rust. Buying a winter doesnt seem financially smart either. A cheap car usually requires a lot of work to be reliable. $$$$$. I have also wanted a pickup to be able to haul stuff. Three cars just arent in my finances right now. I absolutely hate japanese commuter blobs. That Corvair is different and looks to be fun to drive. Sure its slow. They are good in snow but have terrible heaters.

Detroit diesel with a Banks turbo.... something along the lines of a Suburban with 2.73 gears and you'll get 28 mpg and have a winter beater/camping rig. I'm still mad at myself for selling my other suburban...