Quote:

My 87 Diplomat was running a 318 with a 600 cfm Edelbrock carb, MP ignition, A833 and 2.94 SG rear. Got 25 mpg highway regularly, on regular.

No skinny tires though, which might have bumped the mileage a bit. Dead reliable, cheap and easy to fix.

A benchmark, FWIW.



One i keep coming back to as i think about this idea is my 78 Volare. 4dr, 100% survivor-original car with a special-ordered 360, 727 and 8 1/4". I dont know what gears it had (2.7's? 2.4's?) but that thing got crazy mileage. It had 245 and 255's all around too. Bone stock, crappy/super-restricted single exhaust, AirCare tune-up, etc. It wasn't slow, for what it was, had incredible top-end for what it was (ran out ov power not RPM at 130mph), and it was probably 3700lbs as well.

I'm thinking a Magnum 318 has to make as much power as that 78 360 2bbl, a 5-speed stick wont rob nearly as much, and if i could find out what gearing the Volare had i could match it in my 8 3/4" so the 5th came out to the stock Volare's 1:1. That would be a great START...