Inline six VS 302 would a stock 302(4bbl) backed by an AOD tranny get as good gas milege as my 250 inline. i would guess my six gets about 23+ mpg on a full tank. the 302 is a 60 somthing. or should i stick with a mild inline six setup. my car is a daily driver.
if you build the 302 with stock components, get a decent flowing carb, intake etc, you should be able to get 20mpg from a 302 and still have a little pep from the pedal my 302, which wasnt stock, and wasnt full out racing condition, i would get about 15mpg on the freeway my 170 got 35mpg on the freeway
Using a small vac secondary Holley and the AOD, I would think you could match the 250 with C4. Now, if you put an AOD behind the 250, you would do good IMO. I wish an AOD would go behind a 200... Oh, and don't forget headers. There are quite a few speed parts that help economy as well. Usually they are the parts that reduce weight and/or friction.
Definately. I used to run a 302; torker 289, holley 4011(like the autolite 4100) fireball II cam, cheapy headers, 3.00 rear and a C-4 and I got 19-20 hwy.....with the AOD very good chance of getting there. Robb
Put a Holley/Weber 2-bbl carb on the 250, install an AOD, and 3.55 gears and you will be amazed the quickness you will pick-up and your highway mileage should increase. For every person who posts on this thread, you're going to get that many opinions. There is no definitive answer to your questions. There are so many variables. You've said it's a daily driver, but what kind of daily driver do you want? Do you want a granny car, a hot street machine, a street/machine, a pro street machine, etc? What do you ultimately want to do with your car? Answer those questions and then get a realistic picture of a budget and then you can get close to finding some common opinions.
I'm getting 26mpg highway on my 5.0 HO, with moderate cam, ported and polished heads and intake, 600 cfm carb and a t-5 w/ 2.80 gears
You must cruise at 85 mph at around 1800 RPM or less. You're final drive ratio in 5th gear is at around 2.01.
If you are truly concerned with gas milage from driving a Maverick/Comet, here is another option: The money you will spend swapping over from a 6 cyl to a V-8 (Buying the motor, frame and motor mounts, running exhaust, etc, etc, etc.) could easily be spent buying a used compact car that gets 40 mpg and you would save A LOT OF MONEY.
Another idea: a 2.3 4 cylinder swap. You could find a turbo-coupe donor. Also, I've always wondered how the 3.8 V-6 would fit as well.
I agree with the turbo 4 idea. I'd love to see a stout little SVO or Turbo Coupe engine with overdrive, installed in a Maverick/Comet. I believe Shaun's probably got the best idea, but not the cheapest. I would pick up a complete donor car with 5.0/AODE and transfer the whole harness and all into the Mav. If I was just tooling around, then a 3.00 gear 8" rear would be awesome. If I wanted some pep, I would shoot for a 3.55 gear... maybe a 3.80 at most. EFI will do a great job, and you can do all the little mods that folks do to make the EFI even more effiecient... Like better headers, better air filter and housing, free flowing exhaust, touch more fuel pressure, ported MAF and TBI, etc... Btw: The final drive ratio on a Z28 is 1.71:1 IIRC. I could cruise at 80 mph doing only 1700 rpm.
other than what Craig said I would send ole 71gold a PM and ask him what kind of fuel mileage he gets with the AOD he loves so much
I tried dropping a 3.8/AOD from a '96 Mustang in my '73. At the very least, custom headers would be required. Even the 2.3 is surprisingly cramped.
I get around 26 mpg on the highway with a mild 302 H.O 5 speed with 3.89 gears. It runs at 1700 rpm at 60 mph
