Best BUDGET Fuel Economy Combo Advice

[rustyroger]

Is the 305 already in the car junk?. If it is in good order perhaps a thorough tune up might be your most cost effective option.
If you swap the engine or transmission for ones which give better mileage you will have cover a lot of miles to recover the cost of the replacements.

If the engine is shot don't forget Chevy and BOP have different bellhousing patterns (the 200r4 is dual pattern) which may influence your choice.

If performance isn't an issue both the 307 Olds and 305 Chevy have a lot going for them, a 200r4 transmission will almost certainly help mileage if you use a sensible rear end ratio.

Roger.

 

[olds307 and 403]

The 330 has the small bore, high compression and also longer intake runners compared to the sbc. I think the flat valve angle makes up for the short stroke, nice flat torque curve. Modern mutiport EFI is obviously huge and don't forget modern pistons with thin ring pack=low drag. I run at 1850 locked up at 60 mph with a stock height 25.6", 245/60R14. Problem is new gears made it so much more fun, playing cat and mouse and easy 1/2 throttle burn outs which equalled less mileage. Also didn't help the lock up torque converter wasn't hooked up right for awhile, gained back 200 rpm and no doubt mileage. If I tuned my Qjet carb to the current 7.8 to 1 Olds 350 with a Performer cam, I would easily get low 20's imperial. I am probably close, it still has stock 403 jetting, had a small fuel leak and still did Ok mileage wise.

 

[QS442]

Unless you put on a mpfi setup the sbc will NOT get better mileage then anything else. Guys seem to kick butt with the LS in power and mpg, even carbureted. I got 32 mpg out of an 81 Delta 88, 307, TH350C and 2.41 gears. Great and decent power. If you have all the accessory brackets, put in the 330.

Olds307 and 403
-You got 32 mpg out of a Delta with a 307 or with the LS?

 

[QS442]

The Olds original 305 isn't in the car. Car currently has no engine or trans. The 200-4r is a dual pattern trans, thats another reason why I open to whatever. I had a 442 that had 3.73 gears, 307/200-4r and my mpg wasn't that great at around 15 but I felt like a king every time I drove it so I wasn't worried about the gas mileage. But i figured on the highway which is about 15 minutes of my commute to work the 3.73 would be better than the 2.56.

 

[online170]

2) My friend has a 350 chev with TPI, trickflow heads, roller cam in the 227ish* duration, with a T56 and 4.11 gears, and he can regularly get 27-30mpg highway! And close to 20mpg city. This is in a Gbody.

WOW!! I would drive car ALL the time with that MPG! I really want to park my truck and not touch my Omega during winter. So, I am up to making good mpg but don't want to break the bank.

He does. His its his regular daily driver in the summer. The car cost about $20,000 to build, and he got extremely lucky and bought it for a fraction of the cost. Those numbers seemed insane to me, but I have been on road trips in that car, and the range it gets is amazing.


The TPI is a system built to produce torque, and his build concentrates on torque for sure. Excellent flowing heads, and a mild roller cam to keep it nice and efficient. The car is also lowered almost 2.5" so the aero is probably helped a lot.

 

[online170]

I know a lot of people would like to see you put something in there besides a sbc but if this is going to be a budget build then the obvious choice is a sbc.
SBC is probably one of the most affordable engines to build or buy new and there is nothing more budget friendly than an engine that drops directly in place of your current engine with every bracket and accessory bolting right on.

I agree. BUT.... except for certain years of SBC, the BOP engines are about the same cost or sometimes cheaper to buy because they are not as desireable. If you can find a sound running BOP, the bottom end torque will help the MPG's a lot.

That being said, my 1971 Buick 350, got about the same mileage as my friends 1970 SBC 350. The SBC in this case had a slightly higher power/torque figure.

 

[565bbchevy]

I would like to know what the actual budget is for this since this could be anything from having the money to put a good running engine in "as is" to rebuilding or buying a new engine and then adding fuel injection.
I personally would not install any engine in a car I intend to use as a daily driver without completely going through it regardless of brand, since along with wanting decent mileage I would think being extremely reliable would be equally important.
When I think "budget build" I'm thinking stock or mild rebuilt engine running a carburetor.

 

[DRIVEN]

This^^

 

[QS442]

My budget is $1500-$2500 MAX. I prefer to max out at $1500-$2000 range. I can be drop in my 330 and trans and the cost would be minimal but I want to get advice and info from members regarding the best choices for my situation and funds. Winter will also be time saving to paint my 78 Omega so I don't want to throw too much into the Cutlass right now.

If anyone knows of any reliable powertrains available for sale, please let me know also

 

[online170]

That is a realistic budget.

My comments above about an "as is" engine apply for a $200-$500 budget.


For the money you have, you have a few options.