Out of curiosity, what was the lightest weight slant powered truck or van excluding the A-100s and A-108s?

Reed,good question.My 83 B150,/6 833od says 3316 scale weight,thats the figure the great state of Washington makes me pay for anyway . Thats for a no interior cargo van.I would think a shorty D100 would come in less than that but sheer guessing on my part Fixing to make a light weight street racer

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Well, I still have enough parts to put together a one barrel slant six with a 727 transmission and with the price of gas in my area my 84 Ford van with a 351 is somewhat expensive to use as a daily driver, as is my 89 Ford van with a fuel injected 302 (even though it has overdrive).

I don't fit comfortably in any passenger car smaller than a b-body, but prices on those are beyond what I am willing to spend. Further, I prefer to be up high for better visibility.

I am kicking around the idea of getting the lightest possible truck/van body and stripping it to build a maximum gas mileage vehicle. I suspect that a short wheelbase pickup with the bed removed would be the lightest of all.

i see where your going reed, i forget is the 727 a 3spd od trans right? if you were to follow the "feather" duster in a sense on the truck. replace heavy parts with lighter weight ones. like rubber bumper mounts and fiberglass hood. with 2.76 rearend gears, with a OD trans even if you got it down to 3k lbs you should be able to manage high 20's MPG on the highway.

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1976 Plymouth Feather Duster
2002 Dodge Dakota 4.7l v8

The 727 is just a heavy duty standard three speed auto.

I was thinking pull the bed (leave it bare of maybe a flatbed), pull all non-essential items, run lightweight components where available, and tune and gear it right. I don't think I am required to have a hood, and bumpers can be made more lightweight than the factory versions, I have set of aluminium rims to fit a 86-87 vintage truck. Hmmmm. I'd have to sell a van first. Something to think about anyway.

I'd be interested to see what numbers you could get, Reed. I dunno about highway mileage, though. Vans (and trucks) sure punch a big hole in the air. Maybe it would be more successful biased towards city mileage, or is your commute a mixed bag?

Keep us posted if you decide to proceed!

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vm

wel my 03 daktoa is no light wieight at around 3.4k lbs on the highway at 60mph i can get 18-20 with the 4.7L v8,3.55 rear,4spd OD trans.

another thing to help reed would be to run bigger rims/tires. thats what im planning to do on the duster when i get to that point.

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1976 Plymouth Feather Duster
2002 Dodge Dakota 4.7l v8

I set my brother's 83 Dodge shorty van up similarly. It has a 225, super six, 2 1/4 single exhaust all the way with high flow cat and muffler, a 727, and 3.2 rear gears. I was able to squeeze 18 MPG highway out of that van staying at 55-65 with nothing but the factory seats (two buckets, two benches) in it. I think high 20s would be a bit optimistic unless you had an overdrive. Of course, he was getting 8 MPG before I got my hands on the van.

My 84 Ford (351) will get high teens around town and low 20s on the highway if I drive the speed llimit (hard to do with a 351 four barrel), and my 89 Ford with the 302/overdirve gets high teens/low 20s around town and mid 20s on the highway.

I think it all comes down to building, tuning, and gearing for low end torque and driving a lightweight vehicle.

Reed,FYI running sans the hood not good.Better areo with a hood and tall narrow tires are what you want,less rolling resistance plus cross section looking head on to tire less air pushing with skinny tire,right? Also my guess would be better mpg with the 4spd od,it's aluminum so less overall weight than a 727 plus without a lockup torque converter you'll have some "slipage"running the 3spd auto. Back in the day I had a 76 B200 with 318,727,eddy manifold with holly 600,recurved dizzy,hedders duals,full interior yada yada...18mpg on the cruise at 60ish.Should be easy squeezy to nail 20+ with right slant and body.Have fun

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Yeah, I guess if I am serious about fuel economy I need to learn to drive a stick.

Yeah, even the hillbilly cops out in the 'yonderville' consider that a sign that 'you ain't got no insurance'... so they automatically pull someone over on that one (did that when I broke in the Hpak duster when I just put it together... me and a buddy out driving on a windy side road checking for 'ping'... marion county just thought we were a couple of yokels...)

Too bad you just missed it, my buddy had a slant six with A-833OD 1983 shorty van at his tow yard... went for $500 (needed interior bad, and could've used a better built motor...)

-D.Idiot

My Buick Roadmaster has a coefficient of drag of .34 and will haul the same as a 1/2 ton truck. I can get mid 20s at 65 mph.....but I prefer 80-90.....then I get 21mpg.



My 73 Suburban get 13mpg.....coefficient of drag ...about 8.3

Your lightweight truck with no box is so non aero you will be better off with your van. Weight is nothing....aero is everything.

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Yeah....Im the one who destroyed this rare, vintage automobile.....

Hmmmm. Thanks for th einfo. Food for thought.

Reed,if you are really serious pm me I might let the 80 B100 /6 4spd go for not a whole lot.Might even run good enuf to make it to Fircrest,don't know,still waiting on paperwork

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83 B-150 slant 6,4 speed. 79 B-300 360 pathfinder 4x4. 74 W-300 318 4x4 git-r-done 80 B-100 sl6,4speed

Thanks, but I am not in the market just yet. I need to get my current vans sorted out and my sister needs to get a new car. I am just toying with ideas long term. I am also starting to get the slant six bug again.