Re: gas milage

Posted by Tim Cole On 2022/3/11 19:58:23

For the 288 motor with overdrive, one source reports 12-14 average, and 16-18 best. That sounds about right. For most of the postwar straight 8's fuel consumption was 14-15 average with Ultramatic and displacement didn't have much effect.

I agree that cars don't like to sit, but maybe the fuel suffers from sitting. I had a little Dodge that would get into the low 50 mpg range driving 55 mph. It had a carburetor. But that was driving from Oklahoma City to Miami Florida. At 65 it got around 45 mpg.

Maybe they lose some compression that is not offset by the lower pumping effort, but I suspect on a long trip the mileage performance will return for a car that is used only weekly.