Great forum has helped me a lot.....finally getting out of the big blocks and back in my sl/6 s...

My Problem...i did a complete redo of 85 Dodge Ram short bed. 225 /6
body off/ suspension/etc..

Mechanicals +..including 3:55 gears, engine all stock, less than 30,000 miles, quiet, uses no oil, new (not rebulrebuliti]) 1bbl, starts great, smooth

MY two problems ... 1st is any tricks to get a bit more tourque fom it, I pull a small (14ft) camping trailer and truck is absolutely under-tourqued (is that a word ?)... thought gears would help but got very little results...

When towing top speed on flat surface 55-60 mph, forget a slight grade (and I mean Slight) 2nd gear downshift comes real quick.....


2nd problem is pinging at highway speeds(?) towing or not towing...60-65 mph (doesn't go much faster)...timed and tuned the best i can on a newer ignitionsystemy horrible mileage towing or not 11 mpg max w/o trailer 7 w/trailer....

I am completely lost here, all my old tricks were w/out the comput. or electronic ign, I had a 225 in a couple of older trucks and a Belvedere and was able to massage them a bit and had a lot of fun...., and even have one in my T Bucket (stock except w/2bbl and headers),

But dunno what to do here for the 85

I could use any help at all

Once again , great forum...thanks a lot

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moPar, all the time, anytime, goodtime

Hi there. Where are you located, what kind of emission tests (if any) does your '85 have to pass, and what modifications and equipment additions or deletions have been done already to the vehicle?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

11mpg, thats low. I have an 86 with 140,000 miles. I first replaced the exhaust, no cat's 2 1/4" all the way back. Then i replaced the carb with Holley 1920. With this setup I was getting 14.8mpg. Then I did the HEI conversion and replaced leanburn distributor with electronic unit out of 73 dodge and now I am getting 17.8 mpg.


Thanks Dave

HI...

Live in MA, which now has very strict emission tests, however only have to pass every two years.....so I can play a bit in between ...(however-there is stiff fine for removing cats...Staties will check, if stopped especially on a rebuilt older truck like mine),

I have replaced carb w/new one, played with timing as much as I can with the computer (found reccomended settings best) replaced all wires, plugs etc, disconnected and reconnected air pump, checked and then replaced all lines, , better flow air cleaner, (ducts to grill for cooler air too) put new gear on distributor, and 'high flow' muffler, larger diameter single exhaust, bigger gears, all increased h/p a bit but seemed to decrease tourque...towing power is a joke

And the pinging at highway speeds (speeds!?!) has remained through-out all tuning. never changed,...at gas prices and 7-11 mpg ...regular is the only option for me...

On my old Belvedere replacing the 1 bbl with a two bbl (even gave a bit better mileage) helped but I had to do a bit of dist/timing work to make it work right..I don't seem to have that option with current setup ..

What about 2 barrel set up I see mentioned here often, or a split manifold
(headers?)

Any suggestions, especially tuning, would be greatly appreciated I love the truck and the /6, and don't want to put a (dare I say it!!!) eight in it....

thanks again...

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moPar, all the time, anytime, goodtime

I would almost be willing to bet that you are not getting any vacuum advance with the computer, I had the same problem. After i went to HEI and add the electronic distributor with vacuum advance it made a big difference. Should be able to check it with advance timing light to see what total timing is.

Dave

I will try ..... and then post results


thanks again

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moPar, all the time, anytime, goodtime

Doctor Dodge suggested advancing the cam. I went 6 degrees which helped enormously. No more pinging.........
He also suggested upping the compression ratio to 9.2 - 9.5. and 2.25" single exhaust. He also suggested getting rid of the Holey 1945 and trying the Holley 1920.

I am very happy with the suggestions. I have lots more useable power and better mileage as a result. I went from 18 mpg to 23 so far with the 1920 Holley.

Hope this helps.

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Aggressive Ted

http://cid-32f1e50ddb40a03c.photos.live ... %20Swinger


74 Swinger, 9.5 comp 254/.435 lift cam, 904, ram air, electric fans, 2.5" HP2 & FM70 ex, 1920 Holley#56jet, 2.76 8 3/4 Sure-Grip, 26" tires, 25+MPG

This is a mpg more than the trucks got when they where new from the factory. I don't think I'd base your personal results on this benchmark. For a car, such as a light A body, 18 is a good bit more attainable. My tired old slant in an 85 d-150 was regularly getting 9 to 12 miles to the gallon last time I checked. The 12 was the result of 3 tanks of straight highway driving, while 9 was short trips around town in the winter when the choke eats a lot of fuel each morning. I can't say I have much complaints about power, I have around 3.23 gears and 235-70 15 inch tires and the truck will really haul between 10 and 40 mph. I do notice a very flat spot between 40 and 55, but I have run the truck up to 85 on the flat, and it will easily hold 65 on a grade. I had to ditch the lean burn because half of the wiring was missing when I got the truck and It didn't work well that way.

If you get ping all the time, then you really should take a closer look at the timing curve. On a TRUCK, you should have very little initial timing and a slow advance (mechanical) for heavy work like towing with lots of vacuum advance to help out mileage during light duty.

If you've got the lean burn ignition and a non lean burn carb, you may have a non workable setup that will never get decent results at anything. I say, PICK A TEAM, either make the lean burn work right or get it out of the way. I have yet to hear anyone get results with one of those half breeds.

If you are in a state where the inspection involves comparing the vacuum routing diagram to the equipment in use, then you will need to get a factory service manual and follow the troubleshooting instructions to restore your lean burn to factory operation. While this is complicated and expensive, a PROPERLY working lean burn system will give excellent fuel economy and should automatically adjust settings to give good towing results.

If you would rather go with the older style mopar electronic ignition, a wiring diagram and under $150 worth of parts will get you back into a more adjustable system. This is what I did to my own truck. The articles section of this website has the details of how to do the conversion (lean burn delete) I also have parts available at better than ebay prices if you'd like to send me a PM.

Yes, a 2bbl carb setup will get you more power, but may not help mileage. On the lighter side, the mileage can't get much worse, that's about the worst I've heard in years from a slant. I have a 2bbl on my truck and I like the extra power.

I don't suggest you do an ignition swap and a carb/intake swap at the same time. This will make it very difficult to get a baseline and you may end up with a truck that doesn't run at all for a little while.

You will always notice a 14ft camper behind such a large truck with as small an engine, but you should not have so much complaint when without the load, And I can hardly imagine why you can't get up to speed when you arn't hauling a load.

Have you done a compression check to confirm that the valves are functioning properly? Are the parts matched properly (push rods, rocker arms, cam/lifters). Are you sure you don't have a dead miss due to a bad wire or spark plug. What is the base timing and does any advance happen?

Good luck,
Paul

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

I had a 73 dodge pickup I just recently sold that got between 8 and 12 mpg and it had a 400 in it with a 4speed. I drive 10 miles one way to work taking back roads, not highway driving but some stop and go because it is not a straight shot. With HEI and Holley 1920 i am getting 17.8.

Dave

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86 Miser 170,000+
2 1/4" exhaust
Holley 1920 #55
HEI MSD BLaster 2
17.8 mpg