Anyone Build 302's for MPG? And General Wagon Economy

[IPreferDIY]

... Of course it is always god for the car to clean the carbon out from time to time (cough, cough).

After all, cleanliness is next to godliness.

[ootdega]

Well anyway, 250hp is easily achievable with a 302 even without a supercharger, but it would make it easier to accomplish and more efficient. The problem is a supercharger would be pretty expensive.

If you look into it, the cams that are made for economy also have pretty significant gains in torque. With a good aftermarket camshaft you should see gains in all areas. Comp can get you a custom grind for the same price as their numbered cams, just gotta tell em what you want and what you're going to use it with.

GT40P heads will give better economy than standard GT40s because they give better engine compression. A mass air conversion will probably be required to use them, but if you already did an HO conversion that's pretty simple.

You don't really need forged pistons unless you're pushing a hilarious amount of power. Hypereutectic pistons work just fine, and if I correctly understand how they work, they should help with compression as well.

You can also build an AOD to be just about as good as a 4R70W without the computer hassle. If you're not building it yourself, though, it's cheaper to buy a built one.

[DerekTheGreat]

I know of the opposite swap, a 5.0 into a roundy. No idea what he gets for mileage though. The square body does fairly shit things for efficiency, no doubt about that. I get 3-4 mpg better with the Mark VII, and its pushing similar weight with a high mileage engine. I could probably put the driveline out of the Towncar into the Mark and get that same 3-4 mpg improvement.

This. You reminded me that my dad's "Rich man's Mustang" used to do very well. Even when I was a snot nosed teen racing 300M's with it(LoL) I would cruise around watching the tripminder and I'd see instant econ numbers in the high 20's. Of course you had to press one button and then press the Econ button and the instant number would only appear for a few moments before reverting back to tank average, pfft. I loved that car, can't believe I passed up the opportunity to own it.. Anyway, I bet a T-bird with it's LoPo does pretty well too, essentially the same thing if not a lighter due to less "goodies." What years could you find a VII with a LoPo? Also, in '85 did they have the same CFI set-up as the boxes or did they actually get a throttle body with an IAC? What about the Mustang HO CFI??

...I know "you can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes..."

Nice Stones reference, Ashley would be proud haha.