i think i gave up on anything of mine getting good gas mileage. Ive been driving my wifes Scion XA lately. It's nice getting 30mpg out of an automatic, no matter how we drive
i voted for 3800 swap btw
i voted for 3800 swap btw
Thinking about engine choices (POLL)
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I like the idea about the 3800 swap because thats something i wouldnt mind doing except not turbo, id go super charged. But as 307Regal wrote, Id do like he said, get a good tune up done to it. Find ya a good 200r4 and put behind that 260. A buddy of mine had a 82 Monte with that 260, a 3 speed and duals. but his gearing in the rear was so low, it gave him 26-28 mpg on the hwy. you can go that route too for a limited time but hey what ever floats your boat man, id like to see the progress when you get it goin 8)
The 4bt have gone up in price lately you will spend a grand to two to get one that runs now.A lot of jeep wrangler owners are starting to swap them in now.The 4.3 vortec is just as hard on fuel as a 350 i had a s10 with one 15mpg is about the best i got even as a 2wd. The reason a v6 f body gets 20mpg is the aerodynamics of the car i have seen a few ls1 t56 cars get 20mpg highway.If it was me i would get a tpi 350 from a 3rd gen f body and a overdrive trans 700r4 or 2004r whichever one you can get cheaper.See if you have a pull a part junkyard close to you they are dirt cheap on stuff.You can get any v8 for 200 bucks no matter what size it is.
3.8 was on my list before my ls1 and for as much trouble as i was going to go with it i decided ls1.. I wanted to do the supercharged version and in the research i found that i had to clearance the firewall... Not my idea of fun!! :lol: plus the rest of the issues mentioned!! I voted vortec but agree with andrewmp6 TPI or maybe Lt1??
I think this is your best option. That will give you time to save up, and do the swap right and exactly what you want.
If you plan to run the 260 for a while I wouldn't put an overdrive behind it without going to lower gears. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. The 260 isn't very powerful and over gearing it will only make it work harder...worse mpg and less power. Adding lower gears and an overdrive will make it more efficient around town but not likely to see any improvement on the highway. I feel the 260 combination is probably best left stock. Don't waste any money on dual exhaust, 4bbl intake, high dollar ignition systems or chrome. There is no financial return and very little performance or mpg return on any money spent. At least if you focus on the transmission and rear gearing you can keep those benefits if you put a better engine in front of them later.
A TPI might get 20mpg in a Gbody. An LT1 might get 22. Neither is likely to be done for under 1K. The last LT1 swap I did came in at around $2500 by the time it was finished. It's possible to build an LT1 based 305 using a combination of LT1 and L99 parts. I'd be interested in seeing how a high compression version would do in a Gbody for power and economy.
When chasing mpg the key factors are high compression ratio and a cruise rpm near max torque. Pay attention to what the OEs have done over the last 20-30 years. Engines are getting higher c/r along with smaller bores and longer stroke. Turbos (which enhance torque) are becoming much more common. Gearing is also getting deeper. The biggest hurdle is the crappy fuel we have now. Figure a percentage penalty equal to the amount of ethanol in your fuel.
A TPI might get 20mpg in a Gbody. An LT1 might get 22. Neither is likely to be done for under 1K. The last LT1 swap I did came in at around $2500 by the time it was finished. It's possible to build an LT1 based 305 using a combination of LT1 and L99 parts. I'd be interested in seeing how a high compression version would do in a Gbody for power and economy.
When chasing mpg the key factors are high compression ratio and a cruise rpm near max torque. Pay attention to what the OEs have done over the last 20-30 years. Engines are getting higher c/r along with smaller bores and longer stroke. Turbos (which enhance torque) are becoming much more common. Gearing is also getting deeper. The biggest hurdle is the crappy fuel we have now. Figure a percentage penalty equal to the amount of ethanol in your fuel.
DRIVEN said:
Agreed.
When I was in college I swapped the 455 in place of my 307 in the '87 keeping the TH-2004R and 3.73 gears it already had. With the Q-jet I could manage 14-16mpg in combined city/highway mileage.
I drove the '81 with the 260/TH-350C/2.29 combo a few times to school and it managed around the same if not a little worse in mileage than my 455.
If it was me and the drivetrain in the car that you're getting is sound then I'd just do a basic tune up and call it good. Drive it as is and be happy with it. Especially since all you're looking for is something around 200HP. In my opinion that's not even worth swapping engines for.
Agreed with some of the other posters here. Bang for the buck & mpg to get you through.. tune the 260, maybe open the exhaust for sound & flow assuming you can do it yourself for cheap. Sometimes this alone makes a person happier with driving it. Swapping for the 200-4R and a lower gear (numerically higher) would be ideal and a great upgrade but doing both at the same time may not be in your budget. Or take time to source both for cheap. The too tall of gear or final drive ratio is true especially with the 260 gbody & the 2.14/2.29 gear/final drive ratio. If the trans is healthy and you can find one a simple rear swap to a 3.08 would make it a lot more fun to drive and usually delivers the same overall mileage.
Down the road when you source a cheap little puddle jumper for cheap commuting you can start to hunt for a driveling to do what you really want to do with your G.
Down the road when you source a cheap little puddle jumper for cheap commuting you can start to hunt for a driveling to do what you really want to do with your G.
REALISTICALLY, I don't see any of these being in your budget target.
Unless running donor cars in your area are dirt cheap.
$1000 will barely buy a running driving reliable anything these days (even if they look like hammered sh*t), and most of the choices you listed are going to have a zillion miles on them due to age (and price point).
Like others have said, best bet is to optimize what's already there.
Unless running donor cars in your area are dirt cheap.
$1000 will barely buy a running driving reliable anything these days (even if they look like hammered sh*t), and most of the choices you listed are going to have a zillion miles on them due to age (and price point).
Like others have said, best bet is to optimize what's already there.
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