MPG after 289 upgrades

I could use some advice from this group...I have a 68 with a 2 barrel

289 that was rebuilt last year that gets about 11 miles per gallon. I'm soon going to be commuting 360 miles a week, and would like to get better mileage given that gas costs about $3.20 a gallon where I live. I know that I can get better mileage by switching to a 4 barrel and not driving like a maniac, but am not sure how other modfications would effect things. Would dual exhaust make the engine more efficient and lead to better MPG, or would it make things worse? What about different camshaft or heads? Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks,

ashwin

Reply to
ashwin.gokhale
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Buy a 30 mpg '96 - '99 Taurus commuter car for about $1,000.

Rob

Reply to
trainfan1

There has got to be something seriously wrong there. Even the 400 ci smog motor in my old Torino could manage 15 mpg in mixed driving. On the highway I've never gotten worse than 25 with any of my 302's (carb'd or injected). You should be able to get well over 20 without any problem.

(*>

Reply to
Hawk

I believe you need to look closer at your current ride. 11 MPG is way low unless your running a slipping automatic with 4:56 gears. running 3:55 in my stang with a 2bbl I averaged around 21mpg when I was in sales-lots of hiway- and around 16 in town.

around here (southwest Florida) you get a mid 90's Lincoln continental for under $2K at that is a 20 mpg car with all the toys. Smaller car such as the Taurus are a little pricier around $2500. but mileage is around 23MPG

Reply to
walt peifer

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote in news:1149838460.879647.103050 @c74g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

Something is either badly wrong with your 289, or your driving habits.

Reply to
elaich

My 65 289 4bbl 4sp gets 14.5 mpg commuting to work on city streets with lots of hills. I use a light foot.

G
Reply to
Gene Wagenbreth

You could get a cheap beater $500 to $1000. My 87 Escort w.std was $500 and it pushes around 30mpg-and it needs work. When it dies, I can toss it to a salvage yard and get another. Insurance is dirt cheap, too. So, what I've saved spending the $500 over the 5 years I have had it, adds up.

My 65 FB has a new rebuilt engine, but the odometer isn't working yet, so I don't know what the mpg is, but if I had to guess, the 302 4V with the C4 and trac-lok is getting a lot closer to 17 around town, and I'm hoping for somewhere around 23 highway. UNLESS I put my foot in it. :0) Then I pay the price for having all that fun.

As for yours, what transmission are you running? With what gears? An AOD would be better for distances. Fuel injection would also be a plus, but the cost is pretty steep for an aftermarket like Edelbrock's.

Reply to
Spike

Thus spake snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com in news:1149838460.879647.103050 @c74g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

Wow, that's some low gas mileage! I know the '68 is heavier, but my '65 averaged 21 MPG in rural driving with a mild cam, 4-barrel carb, 4-speed manual and 3.00:1 rear. I think the worst mileage it ever got when I was running it hard was 16 MPG.

I do remember that you could get better mileage with a 4-V carb, possibly because its jets were smaller than the bores of the 2-V (thirty years later, I could be mistaken about the reason). You could get even better mileage if you also installed a mechanical secondary kit on the 4-V (which I did), which used adjustable, mechanical linkage to open up the secondaries instead of the usual vacuum linkage. The mechanical secondary kit was an aftermarket item -- don't know if it's still available -- which improved both mileage and performance.

-- Jim

Reply to
Jim J

I suggest that you check your engine running temperature and thermostat if it's running too cold.While it's unusual for an old 289 to run cold you may have a good cooling system. Running at too low a temperature would affect your gas mileage.Also check for optimum ignition timing. Ken

66 289 cnv 67 390 cpe Don't even ask the gas mileage.
Reply to
Keng2

thanks for the all of the replies...I think I am going to take the car in to a mustang shop other than the one that I had do the rebuild and have them check on the work of the first guys in terms of how they set up the timing and everything else that has been suggested here before getting involved in other upgrades. Buying another car for my commute is out of the question, since I live in san francisco and have no place to park it...getting rid of the mustang is out of the question as well since my dad is the original owner of the car.

-ashw> I suggest that you check your engine running temperature and thermostat if

Reply to
ashwin.gokhale

Like in some parts of most cities, owning a second car, let alone a first, is a problem for parking, etc. My uncle and aunt live down there. He stores his classic Mustang at some private place that is secure. No idea what he pays. However, it would seem that what you might be saving in gas, over time, especially the way traffic can get in the Bay Area, it might still pay you to get a beater and store the good one.

Reply to
Spike

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