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"Best" slant car for mileage
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Author:  tlrol [ Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:45 pm ]
Post subject:  "Best" slant car for mileage
I grow weary of commuting in my slanted D-150. No amount of tuning voodoo will ever get a pick-up truck to break past the mid to high teens for mileage (especially at interstate speeds).

So, I could buy a used Geo Metro or any number of new rigs. Generally speaking new rigs ride better, seal up better, and get somewhat better mileage than older rigs--probably because they ARE newer...

Anyway, I was giving some thought to buying another slanted rig as a commuter car. Any suggestions? My commute is nearly all interstate, I sprint into town on I-90. A total distance daily is ~36 miles round trip. Does anyone have a similar drive? If so, what Slanted rig do you drive and why would you recommend it (or not as the case may be) for commuting.

I'll go first, trucks get comparatively sucky mileage no matter what you do.
They ride rough without a load.
They are noisy, even with adjusted doors and spanking new weather stripping

They do haul stuff quite nicely.
No car payments are a huge plus.

I am trying to give a Slant a chance before I cop out for an easy choice of a Toyota Echo or Geo Metro. I have a colleague who drives a new TDI VW Jetta--very nice but the economics tell me to keep buying gasoline for a truck. My math says I need 30 mpg, > $3 a gallon gasoline, a rig less than $5K, and about 3 to 4 years to look good with a third car. Additionally , I have a 14 year girl who would probably get said Slant to drive so dent resistance is probably a plus...
Author:  rustyfords [ Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:12 pm ]
Post subject: 
I'll let you know how my 76 Valiant does. My commute wont be as long as yours but it will be on Interstate.

I'm swapping in a temporary 225 this weekend, to make the car mobile while I rebuild the original engine.
Author:  hellion_locdogg [ Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:24 pm ]
Post subject: 
I'd say a 2dr Dart/ Valiant of any yr would suit your needs. They are a dime a dozen and fairly easy to get parts for. I've heard people say they can get 30ish mpg. But, anything in the 20's is good in my book. I've always settled for 4drs because they are mostly unwanted(ie cheap) and w a slant most people wouldn't know what the hell do do w it.

,Cliff
Author:  tlrol [ Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:31 pm ]
Post subject: 
I just surfed Craig's List locally to see what is out there. Yep, a bunch of 4 doors. It is like you deduct about 1000 dollars for the extra two doors. Amazing...especially when you consider that it is likely more expensive to build a four door to begin with...I've noticed that 70ish horrible brown color is seemingly a popular color as well, as is green. Looks like the cars that have survived this long do so for a reason, other cars were afraid of them!
Author:  Joshie225 [ Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:57 pm ]
Post subject: 
I think the aerodynamics of an early Barracuda are better than any of the sedans or Duster style coupes, but finding a decent one at a fair price is getting tough. The aero on the highway is more important than the extra weight, but around town weight is more important.
Author:  Dart270 [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:51 am ]
Post subject: 
I have some non-scientific, but possibly useful experience.

I have had on average better mileage on my '64 Dart 4dr, with a big cam and ~250HP than my '68 Dart 4dr. I think the rear window on those cars (67-up Dart/Valiant and especially 4drs) really sucks for air resistance.

My feeling is that the Duster/Demon is about as aerodynamic as a 1st or 2nd gen B'cuda ('69-down). Those are the 3 body styles I'd bet on for best hwy mileage.

Good luck getting reliable 30 MPG. It can be done, but is not trivial.

I think 25 is not excessively hard to get, and 20-23 is relatively easy with about any A-body.

Lou
Author:  ESP47 [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 12:55 pm ]
Post subject: 
A 76 Feather Duster or Dart Sport Lite would get you the best mileage. Since those are fairly rare, my guess would be a 64-66 Dart, Cuda or Valiant with the proper parts and tuning procedures that are talked about on this board.

Just calculate what you're total mileage may be in a year. If you say you do 10,000 miles in your slant car at 20mpg and gas is $3.00/gal, then you're spending $1500 a year on gas. If you get 21mpg, then you spend about $1430 a year on gas. Then decide if spending the money (HEI, recurve, 4 speed OD, exhaust etc) is worth it in the end. The longer you drive the car then obviously the more its worth.
Author:  Rick Covalt [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:00 pm ]
Post subject:  MIleage
FWIW
I went to Carlisle Friday in my 85 Short bed truck with 3 of us in the cab. Checked the odometer on a 10 mile stretch and found it off .2 of a mile in that distance. I took that into account when I checked my mileage. I filled up at the same station and at the same pump and filled till it clicked off 2 times each time. That is as scientific as I can get. :D Long and short of this is I got 19.8 miles to the gallon and much of that was idleing in traffic trying to get in and out of the fairgrouds. On the interstate we drove 65 & 70 the whole way. I believe if it was all highway miles I could get 22 MPG. I am very pleased with that. The truck has a 3.55 rear with OD tranny.

Rick
Author:  volaredon [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 7:28 pm ]
Post subject: 
I used to get 22 MPG (hwy) from my 79 D 100 with /6 3 on the tree 3.55s out back and manual steering/brakes. 2WD shortbed. Bad part? (some on this board would say this next part is "taboo" since it relates to a 318 instead)
the rear end blew up. so I put a 3.91 rear in (what I could find at the time) Later on, I then swapped in a fresh rebuilt'69 vintage 318 with an extremely mild cam (Mopar Perf "Purple cam, last 3 # of P/N "757") 4 BBL "Streetmaster" intake, 600 AFB, and an 833-OD tranny and I got the same MPG from it, in that truck.
My Dad had a 76 Feather Duster; /6 manual everything, 4-wheel DRUMS, 3 speed tranny unknown rear gear 9it was a long time ago) and it got mid-high 20s;
he then had an 82 Gran Fury w/a /6 and was in the low mid 20s regularly; one "fluke" trip to WI my brothers took (did this once and never again) it got as high as 28;
My Mom's 79 LeBaron ("super Six") was also a low 20s MPG car.
but these numbers were all achieved before there was ethanol "enriched" (yeah-right) fuel and "regular" gas meant "leaded".
Author:  ceej [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 8:50 pm ]
Post subject: 
The Hooptie got 18mpg stock after a tune up out on the freeway. ('74 Valiant) After ditching the 1945 Holley and installing a feather duster exhaust, a dizzy recurved by DusterIdiot, and running the Offy with the 390 Holley, it got just shy of 24 mpg freeway on the original 2.76's. Combined it hit around 18 mpg. With the 600 Holley, the freeway mileage was pretty close to the same, but combined tanked. 12 to 16 mpg. If your in town, a four barrel isn't going to do the trick.

Keep the slant truck as a weekend driver. Go get something that makes sense, emits less, and keeps you warm and dry on the way to work. The 2011 line-up may yield some high economy options. A 3000 dollar used car with 50K miles in a 40 something mpg four popper will pay for itself rather quickly. My $3k '99 Metro base purchased in '03 paid for itself inside two years with the miles I drove. It's still alive and kicking as Linda's driver. 148k miles and has never thrown a code. She got 51.2 mpg her last fill up. (She doesn't drive over the limit, and doesn't take the freeway.)

CJ
Author:  hellion_locdogg [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 9:24 pm ]
Post subject: 
My alternate gas saving vehicle is a motorcycle and I ride rain or shine. Mostly shine, I live in AZ and do ride when it's 120 out. 8)

,Cliff
Author:  Joshie225 [ Tue Apr 27, 2010 10:47 pm ]
Post subject: 
I have about $500 into my '97 Neon base coupe. It saves me $100 for every 1000 miles I drive it instead of my '01 Dakota Quad Cab. It's not as thrifty as a Geo Metro, but cruising happily at 75 MPH and pulling down 36+ MPG at the same time is just fine by me.
Author:  Slanted Opinion [ Wed Apr 28, 2010 4:47 am ]
Post subject: 
I think Ceej has the right formula... get something small and light for your daily driver, then enjoy the truck when you want to.

My 97 Accord Wagon gets 33 mpg on a bad day... you'll tweak and tweak to get an A-Bodied slant six to reliably deliver over 26 under the best conditions.

I've looked at electric conversion several times, but I notice that most people who start this end up with almost $10K into it by the time they are done.

Maybe a new Leaf?

- Mac
Author:  tlrol [ Wed Apr 28, 2010 7:09 am ]
Post subject: 
Yes, a new leaf is likely the way to go. It is hard to beat a car that is purpose built to get good mileage. I've started looking at Geo Metro's, Chevy Sprints, and similar econ-boxes.

I work with a guy who turned a Geo Metro into an electric car--as he says every time he touched it he spent about $1000. Electronics--$1K, motor--$1K, batteries--$1k (and he got away cheap on that), etc. If I were to go electric (and I may) the best rig for ease of conversion is usually a two drive mini pickup truck. Something like a Chevy Luv, etc--you put the battery in the bed and slap a cover on the bed, much easier than converting a car of any sort. I can charge the batteries free at work so that may make sense but getting the conversion done for under $10K would be a real challenge. You DO want to start with the best base vehicle you can.
Author:  Aggressive Ted [ Wed Apr 28, 2010 1:41 pm ]
Post subject: 
Heck just get a 72 Duster coupe with a 4 speed and drop the nose a little. They are much safer!
My co-worker had one with a 225 and we would get 32-36 on our trips back and forth from Bellingham to Portland depending on if there was much of a head wind. I had a Chev Sprint with a 5 speed that would get 65 mpg on trips. Ultimately it was totaled when a Honda hit my wife head on at 35 mph. They had to cut my wife out of the car and several surgeries later she still has problems. It's not worth the risk.
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