For now, my 350 motor is used for a daily driver. And will be for about 2 years, so since I only get about 11 mpg, how can i increase it while still maintaining hp and torque?

 

Around town, on the highway, or both?
Gearing will have a big impact. You could change the rear differential gear ratio, or you could try out an overdrive transmission, or a gear vendors unit, or a manual. Something to keep the rpms down.
Intake & exhaust mods can slightly increase gas mileage.
Other than that, other things you could do would hurt performance.

 

yea, best thing is to put rly low gears in it, while your HP/TQ stays, it will feel less torquey, but to get better mpg, your going to have to sacrifice something....

cory

 

yeah...buy a new car...

leaning out your carb and changing the gears will have the biggest impact.

 

Do headers increase gas milage? I ask because it falls under an exhaust component.

 

Since you have a 3 speed automatic the easiest thing to do would be to replace that with a 4 speed over drive unit.
This will deffinetly improve MPG while maintaining your performance. What three speed do you have? TH350 or a TH400?

You can get a new trans pretty cheap... but if you don't mind destroying performance a bit new gears are an option. My 2.41's get awsome mileage but turn my low 13 second car (3.73's) into a mid/high 14 second vehicle

 

Well, i dont have 3.73 gears, but I am thinking of putting a new 3.73 rear-end in so I can also have disc brakes. It's a 3-speed TH350 right now. JMy uncle owns a transmission and race shop, so should i ask how much it would cost to get a 4-speed OD put in!? I'm seeing that as the best idea.

 

It is for mostly city driving. Some local highways, but not much interstate driving at all.

 

Since you have a TH350 ask your uncle how much it will be to get a 200R4... since that will bolt right in place. It is the same length as the TH350 so you won't have to change the drive shaft.. you will however have to play with your shifter and trans mount.

 

Or you could just put taller tires. I went from 26's to 28's and not only did it hook better and better for the track but it also looks bad ***.

 

Or instead of doing somthing to your car that will hurt performance you can pick up a $1000 beater for a 2nd car that gets 25mph.

 

Reducing engine speed is going to give you the most. So, either an overdrive transmission (the 200-4R, 700R4 autos, or T5-5sp or T56-6sp manuals), or going to 2.41/2.56/2.73 rear gears.

Second, Holleys aren't exactly known for their fuel stinginess. You'll pick up a couple MPG just by going to a Quadrajet carb. I would do this, regardless of whether or not you put in the overdrive transmission (which I'd recommend also).

Headers will generally improve gas mileage a bit, as will nearly anything that allows the engine to breathe easier.

More power and MPG are not mutally exclusive. My '80, when 100% stock (350, TH-350, 3.42 rear gears) got 14.5mpg city, and 17.5mpg highway. It ran 16.2@82mph. I did some engine work (heads, cam, headers, etc), put in a T56, and I've been enjoying 18mpg city, 25mpg highway since. That was 9.5 years, and nearly 50k miles ago. I have saved almost $1300 in fuel alone over that period, and have a much stronger engine to boot.

Todd

 

$1000 cars tend to break themself since there old and most the time well beat up. Not to mention sometimes extra insurance is more than a pain on the wallet. My uncle rents a little "spec" type car between probles once a year sometimes twice for 2 or 3 days at the most.

 

Hey Todd80Z8, I saw that you lived in FL. I am up in north GA, but I was wondering what exactly you did to you're 350 '80 and where you got it done. Thanks man.

 

I've done all the work on my car myself, at home, in my garage.

Check my webpage for what I've done. Click on my name on the left, and select the homepage.

www.nastyz28.com has a forum strictly for 70-81 Camaros. LOTS of info there.