20mpg....I'd kill for 14 at this point.
20mpg....I'd kill for 14 at this point.
Looks like this:
Bobzilla wrote: 20mpg....I'd kill for 14 at this point.
I can squeak out 12mpg if I'm really nice, which is pretty good considering it's a fairly lumpy cam (idles at 8inHg), a loose converter, and 3.73 gears with no overdrive.
I should stop complaining.... this will only be the second tank of gas that didn't involve something silly like auto-x runs, 0-60 runs, WOT or lots of idle time.
Bobzilla wrote: 20mpg....I'd kill for 14 at this point.
Yeah I'm very pleased with that. The truck is NOT fast though, so keep that in mind. It's a stock 305 with a 700r4. Not exactly thrilling performance. Although frankly it's not boring to drive, and with the 20mpg on cheap gas I'm loathed to really change anything.
In reply to SkinnyG:
Yeah I'm just going to grab one of those tonight. Doesn't seem worth trying to fiddle with anything else.
In reply to Gunchsta:
Mines not fast either. 19.4-second 1/4 miles, 11.2 second 0-60....
In reply to Bobzilla:
Hmmm... Mine went low 17's earlier this year. I have a hard time believing that yours runs 19's hahaha.
Try quick shifting an SM465. It doesn't happen. In fact it will accept the next gear when it damn well feels like it.
Yeah that 4 speed doesnt like too shift, i laugh alot pulling away from my friends truck in an 88hp wagon. I never realized how bad it was until i drove it, i always thought he was making excuses!
In reply to dropstep:
and the gear spacing is wiiiiiiiiiide. I can't imagine this trans with a 3.42 or lower rear gear. Even with my 4.10 it feels yuuuge.
I've always liked q-jets. They were what we had to run on the circle track cars so I've been through dozens of them. (We had 6 cars at one point.) Plus 3 hauling rigs and a myriad of personal cars running them, not to mention customer cars.
One thing I usually recommend is epoxying over the base plugs under the float bowl with some JB Weld. They have a tendency to leak, and after chasing my tail 4-5 times I just do it out of habit.
Of course, this would have been more helpful before you put it all back together.
Bobzilla wrote: Try quick shifting an SM465.
Make sure you and the tranny agree on a safe word first.
Crackers wrote: I've always liked q-jets. They were what we had to run on the circle track cars so I've been through dozens of them. (We had 6 cars at one point.) Plus 3 hauling rigs and a myriad of personal cars running them, not to mention customer cars. One thing I usually recommend is epoxying over the base plugs under the float bowl with some JB Weld. They have a tendency to leak, and after chasing my tail 4-5 times I just do it out of habit. Of course, this would have been more helpful before you put it all back together.
I was actually recommended this beforehand, but my carb had none of the symptoms of leaking main well plugs. When I pulled it apart it kinda looked like somebody had already done it as well.
I guess time will tell. So far so good.
Bobzilla wrote: Try quick shifting an SM465. It doesn't happen. In fact it will accept the next gear when it damn well feels like it.
I too didn't realize it was that bad. My 700r4 doesn't exactly snap through the gears either, but apparently it's enough!
Gunchsta wrote: I too didn't realize it was that bad. My 700r4 doesn't exactly snap through the gears either, but apparently it's enough!
You're just a TrasGo kit away from better shifting!
I did (most, but not all of) the B&M kit on my TH350 (I didn't throw away the check balls, and I didn't delete the 2nd accumulator - these are there to protect things), and then when I rebuilt it later (after losing 3rd gear) I did the TransGo -2 kit. Both of these really firmed up the shifts. Also cut some weight off the governor to shift higher than 4000rpm.
In reply to Gunchsta:
It's bad in so many ways.... and it's noisy. JEebus the gear whine in 3rd (my 2nd) is obnoxious. Just glad the finance manager OK's the trans for this winter.
Had a chance to play with the truck a bit last night, and I got to buy a new tool!
Got the Quadrajet idle mixture screw tool, got out my vacuum gauge, and went to town!
Started with about 16" of vacuum, not horrible but could be better for a stone stock engine
Fiddled with the mixture screws for a couple minutes and ended up in a better place, closer to 19".
It seems to be peppier down low and idle cleaner. The idle also smoothed out a bit.
SkinnyG wrote:Gunchsta wrote: I too didn't realize it was that bad. My 700r4 doesn't exactly snap through the gears either, but apparently it's enough!You're just a TrasGo kit away from better shifting! I did (most, but not all of) the B&M kit on my TH350 (I didn't throw away the check balls, and I didn't delete the 2nd accumulator - these are there to protect things), and then when I rebuilt it later (after losing 3rd gear) I did the TransGo -2 kit. Both of these really firmed up the shifts. Also cut some weight off the governor to shift higher than 4000rpm.
Yes! A shift kit is on the list of to-do's for this fall/winter.
In reply to Bobzilla:
I had a Richmond Super T-10 in my last car (1964 Nova Wagon) and it was also a noisey son of a bitch. I hated it. Trans worked nice and was smooth but man it sounded like it was tearing itself apart every time I drove it. Was also a used unit so who knows what happened in it's previous life.
Glad you're approved to get away from the noise- that can make a vehicle really hard to enjoy.
Love the truck. Good job on cleaning/painting stuff every time something is apart. I have a habit of replacing stuff, painting then spray everything with Fluid Film to keep the underbits protected from corrosion.
I don't mind the noise. Transmission whine makes me all nostalgic.
crankwalk wrote: Love the truck. Good job on cleaning/painting stuff every time something is apart. I have a habit of replacing stuff, painting then spray everything with Fluid Film to keep the underbits protected from corrosion.
Thanks! this one has some of that lanolin underfilm stuff on the under parts as well, although it won't see any snow.
Crackers wrote: I don't mind the noise. Transmission whine makes me all nostalgic.
In a certain black 55 Chevy it's definitely awesome. In my personal life though it always sounds like something is on the verge of breaking.
So tonight I went out and rode my BMX bike for a while then took the ol' truck to the liquor store and for a quick jaunt down the highway. I haven't driven it much since setting the mixture screws but it felt good.
So getting onto one of the busy freeways in my area they still had the christmas tree, I mean traffic lights, on the entrance ramps on. I decided this would be a good instance to test out the 0-60 acceleration of the newly adjusted carburetor. So I got up to the light, put the truck up on the converter (stock... so like 1,200 rpm), and matted it when the green came on for me. I was rewarded with noise, smoke, and a single black mark for about 60' until I let up because there were other cars merging and I felt like a juvenile delinquent [disclaimer- I also looked all around the ramp for cops, so I'm a big wuss these days]. BUT, the truck seemed responsive and ready to tear the tread off that one tire for about as long as I wanted it to. It was glorious and I laughed like a child until the next ramp.
I got home, backed the truck into the garage and cracked a beer. I proceeded to make a very poorly designed corner shelf to house my 14" round air cleaners that I'm not using presently.
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