Just thought I would share my latest on going saga to get rediculously good MPG in my dakota. It is a 318 magnum right now with a deep dull thud going on inside the engine at start up so digging around the shop I am formulateing a plan
KB107 pistons 4.030 bore
5.9 block, tq plate honed, thinking about square decking (if the 318 holds out till I get enought $$) to get a tighter quench.
318 magnum cam, again this will be updated if I get some $$$ together before the 318 blows. I may send one out and get the exhaust duration reduced and tighten the LSA a couple degrees for a little more burn down time before the ex opens and get perhaps, less overlap and .050 more intake lift and keep the duration about where it is.
Beer barrel intake with minor clean up in the port entry, still trying to figure out a really good way to insulate the steel plate and space it 1/4 to 1/2 inch down to allow the ports more air flow, that plate is real close to the port opening and can only contribute to the lack of RPMs. Thinking about grinding out the entire water passage in the front, drilling and tapping holes in the head for a pipe fitting and running a remote thermostat (what is a good one and where to get it?) to keep the heat out of the intake, that front port runs about 30* hotter than the rear one.
Ford yellow fuel injectors, maybe someday upgrade to the accel cone spray pattern ones later.
Stock magnum heads with a quality VJ and minor port clean up of ski jumps, casting flash...
I have a nice pair of the early big magnum manifolds, need to get them ceramic coated to keep heat out of the engine compartment to help reduce detonation.
Gonna shoot for about .030 quench at the tightest spots and near 10.5 compression.
Ignition I will probably get some firecore wires and a blaster coil and call it good, the stock ignition works pretty good.
I already have a K&N CAI (didn't do much on the stock engine).
Ported stock throttle body, thinned shafts...
3.55 gears, I would like a 3.23 or 2.94 even but I can't find anything higher than what I already have for the front difff.
I have the sway bars and torsion bars from an R/T durango so I don't got to slow down around the corners as much.
I will get a custom mandrel bent single exhaust and probably a diesel muffler as I need it real quiet for hunting.
Electric fan.
I already run 0W20 synthetic as well as thin weight synthetic gear oil.
Best I have been able to milk out of it is just a hair under 20 mpg, hopeing to get a couple more MPG since I need to swap engines soon anyhow. Keeping the RPMs low, giving myself plenty of stopping distance and useing the engine to brake (the computer shuts off the injectors when doing this) I can get about the same city and highway MPG.
Any thoughts?
