Hey guys, new to the forum and it looks great. I was hoping to get some help with a sweet 1970 Ford Ranger I have. Currently running a 300 straight 6 with the smallest holley 4 barrel they make. It has a 4 speed but I still am not getting good gas mileage and am thinking of putting a more modern motor in it for increased gas mileage. Any suggestions?

no... the 4 bbl is killing you.. go with a stock 1 bbl and you'll make plenty of power with a stock engin and get pretty good mileage depending on your tire/gear setup...

at most a 2 bbl should be used with a a slightly hopped up 300...

300's are they best in between on torque and gas mileage, no modern engine can come close to the simplicity/greatness......

the best simple upgrade you can do is go to the late model EFI 2 piece manifold...

Unfortunately, the truck is 40 years old, the gas mileage will never be that of a Prius. If your really concerned about gas mileage, i'd consider daily driving something else and just using the 70 as a fun truck.

Not necessarily..a 390 4 bbl, which I assume it is will keep the air velocity up giving you better atomization than a large 1 or 2 bbl. You might want to check out Clifford Performance....Offy used to make stuff also but I think they are long gone.

I agree with checking out Clifford. That said, how bad is not goo mpg's???? In my book, that would be sub-5. Your 300 should top out around 15-16mpg's. I've heard rumors of some guys getting upwards of 20, but that's more the exception than the rule. And I really don't think you can expect much more than mid to high teens out of any engine you swap in there except for maybe a diesel. Then you have to stop and think about the complexity of a modern swap, and how much gas you could purchase for the cost of that swap, and how long it will take those extra couple mpg's to offset the cost.

Thanks guys. I have already put headers from Clifford on it and the high performance intake manifold. I am getting about 16-17 miles to the gallon and guess I should not complain. The truck is a tank that just keeps on running and since I added the AC a most comfortable tank..lol.

Nothing wrong with 16-17 IMO!!

Oh god that's right were that truck should be mpg wise...

too2tall said:

Thanks guys. I have already put headers from Clifford on it and the high performance intake manifold. I am getting about 16-17 miles to the gallon and guess I should not complain. The truck is a tank that just keeps on running and since I added the AC a most comfortable tank..lol.

Click to expand...

I'd take that with no qualms what-so-ever.

That's great mpg. I get 11-12mpg with my 67. It's the same mpg as when it was all original with a 1bbl carb. You may get a wee bit better mpg by getting an AOD, or M5R2, and either will have overdrive. Swapping over to a 240 head can squeak a little more from it. Other than that, you will have to put in a diesel to get any better mileage.... but that's just my 2 pennies

too2tall said:

Hey guys, new to the forum and it looks great. I was hoping to get some help with a sweet 1970 Ford Ranger I have. Currently running a 300 straight 6 with the smallest holley 4 barrel they make. It has a 4 speed but I still am not getting good gas mileage and am thinking of putting a more modern motor in it for increased gas mileage. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Holley carbs are known for getting terrible gas mileage. I ran a a Holley 650 or 700 double pumper on my 78 400 with a Edelbrock single plane intake, but that was for performance and not efficiency. Changing out carbs would help out some as others have said.

put an fe in it. that'll take care of any fuel mileage issues. lol
seriously, a 300 with the right gears should get some "ok" mileage numbers. i'm thinking around 17.

I'm gettting right around 6mpg with my truck. and 15ish with my Monte Carlo, and our F-350 gets around 10

Heck, even moms '93 Lumina only gets 20ish.

So, I'd say your doing fine with 17mpg, IMO

my 61 has a 223 with a t-18 4sp and i forget, but i think 3.50ish rear gears and i can milk about 17 out of it on the highway at 60mph. about 12 or 13 around town, but then again i drive like a granny.

ezernut9mm said:

put an fe in it. that'll take care of any fuel mileage issues. lol
seriously, a 300 with the right gears should get some "ok" mileage numbers. i'm thinking around 17.

Click to expand...

Hell, that's what my 2002 F-150 gets on average stock.

Yourabout 3 times what I was getting, so I thinkk your doin good...

countryboytn said:

I'm gettting right around 6mpg with my truck.

Click to expand...

Holy bajeezus, if by truck, you meant Bronco...there's something wrong there. You should easily be getting 10, and I've gotten my Bronco to 14mpg's on several occassions...hell, Red gets 6mpg's.

klatt_89 said:

Hell, that's what my 2002 F-150 gets on average stock.

Click to expand...

And a 2008 Suburban gets 14.

UTfball68 said:

Holy bajeezus, if by truck, you meant Bronco...there's something wrong there. You should easily be getting 10, and I've gotten my Bronco to 14mpg's on several occassions...hell, Red gets 6mpg's.

Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I meant.. and I dunno why it's so horrible. I drive it just like I do everything else. I calculated it the other day, and I'm right around the 6-7mpg range.

uh...... it gets so horrible cause ya floor it every time just like i would...

i've seen ya do it!!!