power plus gas milage

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theshootist

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so I want a driver that gives good mileage but more hp than is in the stock engine. My buddy says new intake manifolds for more air, and a turbo, but whats a newbie to do? Now lets not get too elaborate because this is hard enough for me:prayer:
 
Depends on what exactly you want from your slant...more air always helps, along with better evacuation through your exhaust. Turbos normally give the best fuel economy with hp in mind but they also come with a price. and anyone looking for fuel economy is normally working with a budget so my suggestion is consider getting everything tuned in correctly like Carb and Valves, and do your tune up. Air cleaner, pcv, plugs, wires, switch to electronic ignition. once you do the basics, then think about a turbo and all that it entails.
 
scroll thru this section,there is many a member here that have great running slants.but yes turbo is the way to go.start slowly buying parts.carb,intake manifold,ex manifold etc.people here will help you if you can learn your all good.....
 
I'll agree with awines, decide on a goal first or you'll never get there :) One issue that you'll get into is that most of the performance stuff wont get you to a "wow" factor.
On a slant, "wow" = turbo or head work.

I daily drive a turbo slant. Turboing is not an easy undertaking and it's even harder if you are working on a shoestring budget with scrounged up parts...definitely not easy on gas if you drive like I do :lol:
IMHO the best bang for the buck is a 2bbl intake and a bigger exhaust, and if you have a solid mount cooling fan, switch to a clutch type or electric fan.

With the 2bbl intake ( carter BBD ) and the electric fan I was getting 24 mpg on the highway running about 65mph
 
If you don't want to spend a ton, go with a super six setup, put a 2.250" exhaust pipe on and use Comp's largest solid cam. It will run good.
 
Better ignition is cheap and will improve both performance and mileage, while reducing emissions. You can then increase your spark plug gap to 0.060, which allows you to run leaner. Lookup the HEI posts, which gives better spark than the Mopar electronic. Next would be more aggressive spark timing. You might try 15 - 20 deg BTDC at idle. Insure you have the "high mileage" vacuum advance, which uses the inner hole (bent arm, "8.5R"). Downside is more tendancy to knock (going uphill in 3rd at high throttle). You can install a GM knock sensor to monitor that. By the time you hear it in the cabin, it is too much.

A turbo will give you more power, with minimal loss in mileage at low rpm. Some claim it will also improve your mileage, but I don't see how. If not at WOT, any boost energy the turbo recovers is just dissipated by the throttle plate. A diesel has no throttle plate, and thus uses the recovered energy. That is why a turbo-diesel is a wise design, and most use that. A turbo slant is neat, and the best way to overcome the restricted breathing, but there is no store-bought solution.
 
If you run a knock sensor with a solid lifter camshaft, you might run into trouble.
 
i agree with all of you.and stroker scamp i'm the biggest cam guyb too,**** my smallblock has an oval track solid that is a beast.i thought he had already decided he was going turbo.after seeing cars here with the way they end up running,i would be saving to buy turbo parts.and i know all about skrimping trying to do it as thrifty as you can,my friends 84 turbo ford i made have 300 hp at the rear wheels.the only after market part was an ebay turbo.i made an ajustable boost controller and fuel pressure reg.oh yea unhook the knock sensor on that it gave it twice as much power.....
 
Well in this case, the biggest solid camshaft offered by Comp is quite small. I think it's 264 advertised duration.....but it would be perfect for what you want to do.
 
If it will be a while until you are ready to turbo one, the 2 BBl along with a heavy milling of the head made a huge difference for me years ago. I believe I had .100" milled off the head, I did a back cut on the valves with a file in a drill press, (stay away from the actual sealing portion), and do a little bowl porting, run a little bigger single exhaust. I saw a dramatic increase in low end power, with a good bump in mileage as a bonus.
 
nice,264 advertised will wake that thing right up,i bet it would pull real good through the midrange.....
 
If you don't want to spend a ton, go with a super six setup, put a 2.250" exhaust pipe on and use Comp's largest solid cam. It will run good.
This sounds like a great idea. Reletively speaking, what kind of mileage could a guy expect with this set up? Thanks!
 
This sounds like a great idea. Reletively speaking, what kind of mileage could a guy expect with this set up? Thanks!

Depends on what else you've got going on. My engine is stock with 30k on it. Has HEI ignition, 2bbl super six, 2.25 exhaust with the NGK ZF5RN plugs and timing set at 10* btdc. I get 20mpg no matter what and 22mpg on my best fillups. This is on a 71 Duster.

Not to mention it's a lot quicker than it once was.
 
well IF it was available

aluminum heads, which would give you lower weight and allow higher compression ratio.

just cutting weight alone increases mileage. higher compression burns fuel more efficiently, getting more power from the same amount of fuel.

other things to cut weight.... there is a ton you can do. one bad mistake many make is larger tires which usually reduces your mileage. (they not only weigh more but higher rotational mass also, so more hp is lost turning them)

good tune up... fresh plugs / wires etc gives better mileage

fresh oil changes = keep oil clean

dont buy into some of the advertising crap: increasing spark is one. you might gain .00005% or somthing. just having clean spark plugs will do the trick. or the K&N air filter crap... just run clean filters. more times than not the K&N people are running them dirty and gummed up and engine is running rich and wasting gas.

get rid of roof racks, spoilers, other stuff that increases drag.

dont use the A/C if you can avoid it. taking it off the car (unless you live down south) cuts weight and reduces drag on the engine.

dont go dual exhaust .... get a large single exhaust, it will weigh less than a dual. headers can help also, they weigh less and restrict the motor less.
 
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