For the /6 pickups of the early 80's, what kind of gearing did the 4spd w/OD typically get? 3.55:1? Did the /6's really get upwards of 20mpg (assuming 55mph) in real world conditions? What about the automatic versions? I'm guessing 16-18 on the 3spd auto.

Just curious, still would love to have a pickup once again. But I'm a miser at heart, and with a 90 mile roundtrip commute, any "spare" vehicle would have to be good enough for backup usage.

I got 18mpg at one point. But that was mostly after a 150 mile drive at highway speeds. I also had a developing intake manifold leak. That's on the truck version of the A833OD.

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The Old Goat '83 D150 225-2

AKA Ice Titan

My dad used to be able to get 18ish highway mpg out of my '82 Ram with the 727 and 3.23 rear; that was with the worn out stock engine with a craptastic parts store re-man carb.

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Used to own:
'82 Dodge D150
Erson 270 Cam, O/S valves, mild port work, ~9.5:1 compression

Currently fighting with an '85 VW Cabriolet

My other passion

My 82 D150 (225 A833OD) came from the factory with the 3:55 rear end. My wife's grandfathers 81 D150, which was also a 225 with the A833 OD, came with a 3:23 rear. My 82 would average 22ish mpg on a good highway run.
Todd

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1968 Valiant V200-a Work in Progress

I did some math, assuming a 26" tire, the 3.23 rear would turn 1650 rpm or thereabouts at 55. 3.55 was 1800 rpm, 3.73 1900, and 4.11 2100. Fun playing in Excel. The 727 would be turning 2300 with 3.23's.

Anyhow, thanks for the responses, will keep that in mind if I get to go shopping someday.

My '82 came with 2.94 geared 8.25!!! When tires larger than the OEM 195-75x15 were installed, it had trouble pulling OD. It now has a 3.91 SG 8.75 rear.
My '84, which came with 3.21 geared 8.25, will also get a 8.75 with 3.55 SG or 3.91 SG, I have the parts, just need the time.

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Slant Cecil

I was starting to think that closer to 4:1 would make decent sense, assuming one didn't take it much past 55--or didn't care about mpg to begin with. Of course, wind drag picks up sharply with increasing speed anyhow.

With the large gear splits of the 4spd, and the small 6, a modest rear gear would seemingly be a nice change. Not a race horse, but (hopefully) decent rpm at 55mph for decent mpg, decent takeoff acceleration unloaded, and hopefully limited clutch slipping when taking off under a moderate load. [Not heavy load, it's a half ton with an economy six, afterall.]

Did you recall what you used to get with 2.94's? Actually, did the speedo gear get changed at the same time too; otherwise, you really couldn't say could you? I'm thinking the 2.94's would be a bad choice, if you couldn't hold OD, dropping down a gear is a good size drop, and would eat gas. Plus, it would just, well, suck under any amount of loading, in any gear.

Thursday morning musings, avoiding work, dreaming about trucks...

So were y'all using the a/c? What was the average for city driving?

The goat don't got no darned AC. And I was only able to track the mileage for a few tanks as it progressively got worse. (Part of the reason I finally pulled the manifolds.)

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The Old Goat '83 D150 225-2

AKA Ice Titan