New trapping rig!

[foxman]

I got myself a 1983 Chevy silverado!

[trappnman]

that truck looks too nice to be a trapping truck

fresh paint and some trick rims, and you got a profile truck!

[milkie62]

There is no such thing as a 1983 anything in my salty neck of the woods of upstate NY

[lumberjack]

I just picked up a 93 silverado. 4wd, ext cab, 60,000 miles, new transmission, 8ft bed. It gets 12/16 mpg, which I thought was phenomanol. I like it so far.

[trappnman]

I got a 94 with the 6 cly, 4 x 4, 5 speed- I'm getting right under 20.

[TurTLe]

I know it's a little off topic, but I see talk of 20mpg, and such. I was looking through some old car magazines of my dad's from 1958. Most of the cars and trucks in there were listed from 35 mpg to 43 mpg.

How can gas be through the roof, yet fuel efficiency has gone in reverse? Were carbirated engines that much more efficient then fuel injection? Removal of lead from gas? Just got me thinking, and I can say, I know little to nothing about engines.

[ohioandy]

Turtle, the cars then did not have all the emissions bs that they do now. The cars of today run cleaner while using more fuel to do it. In addition, how accurate were the mpg ratings then?

[cmr2]

gearing has the most of the problem in it ,transmissions are not in the rite gear on most cars theres no reason that they could of not improved the gears (more)

cars/trucks of the late 80's to mid 90's where getting better mpg ,the manf./make/model of truck got better mpg than truck of newer

[mattduncan]

i owned an 84 2 wheel drive just like that one with a 4.3 6 factory 4bbl and got 20 all day long with it and better on longer trips , new vechiles suck as far as i'm concerned and it's good to see a young person who will drive somthing less then a 35000 dollar vechile

[FWS]

Most of the cars and trucks in there were listed from 35 mpg to 43 mpg.

Simple answer is that info was inaccurate, most of the 50's era American made vehicles got less than half of that, usually much less than half.

Ford's Model T with the little 4 cylinder got around 22-25 on a good road, Model A's were around the same with the 4 cyl.. From that point on engine size increased and fuel economy decreased.

This site gives all the specs, including claimed mpg, from pretty much every vehicle made since 1945,

AutomobileCatalog.com

Here's a family trapping rig from 1958, the Ford Ranch Wagon 'Mileage Maker' with a 6 cyl. engine and 'Fordomatic' trans. 13 mpg.

Woo doggy !!!!



I'd opt for another model with larger tailfins.

How can gas be through the roof, yet fuel efficiency has gone in reverse?

Americans want big power in their plushy pimped up rides.

Look at Toyota pickups, in 1985 they had a basic model Toyota 4wd pickup with their wonderful 22R 4 cyl. engine and a manual trans., 22 mpg or better. Now they're all larger vehicles with v-6's or v-8's and automatic transmissions and lower fuel economy.

And then consider that there's a wide variation in gasoline formulations today, usually with ethanol added as the oxygenator which itself will decrease fuel economy.

he cars then did not have all the emissions bs that they do now. The cars of today run cleaner while using more fuel to do it.

The emissions control systems are not the problem on fuel economy, much of it actually helps as long as the components are working properly, like the O2 sensor. We've had the toughest emissions control requirements nationwide here in CA for about 40 years and the debate on it's effects on fuel economy have raged for years with the result being that it doesn't when it's operating properly. Other factors, like fuel blends and quality do.

I get pure gasoline with a petroleum based oxygenator in my area, no ethanol blend, so my mpg remains high. When I go elsewhere and am forced to buy the fuel with the ethanol blend my fuel economy drops between 2 to 4 mpg.

it's good to see a young person who will drive somthing less then a 35000 dollar vechile

It used to be that way for all of us, when we were young we'd buy used and rebuild it, but that knowledge and those skills seem to be dead with the majority of young guys today.

Some of us still buy used and rebuild, and I honestly trust my older trucks that I rebuilt more than new manufacture. But I was a fleet mechanic years ago so I rebuilt engines, trans., and everything in between and behind, so I can do it. Plus I like to.

Over the years I've given a lot of people rides out of backcountry areas when their new vehicle failed, usually due to an electronic problem. O2 sensors going bad, 'shift on the fly' 4wd getting stuck, one of the 2 or 3 high pressure fuel pumps not working, fuseable links popping, etc, etc, etc.