What Fuel Mileage did the 41' Chevy get?

[John in Covina]

Speaking of Gas - Does anyone remember Sunoco's Custom Blend pumps? It has a series of settings so you could blend the various octane levels. Union 76 may have also had that type of pump.

 

[in/y]

I remember the Sonoco blended pumps well, I think the top grade was 260 (and distinctly remember 190 being the lowest grade).

Anyone know what the octane rating was for Sonoco 260?

 

[John in Covina]

I remember the Sonoco blended pumps well, I think the top grade was 260 (and distinctly remember 190 being the lowest grade). Anyone know what the octane rating was for Sonoco 260?

From Wiki:
Custom blending

Sunoco is perhaps best known to consumers for its "custom blending" pumps, an innovation that, beginning in 1956, allowed customers of Sunoco service stations to choose from several octane grades through a single pump. Sunoco stations offered as many as eight grades of "Custom Blended" gasolines from its "Dial A Grade" pumps ranging from subregular Sunoco 190 to Sunoco 260, the latter a super-premium grade of 102 octane that was advertised as the "highest octane pump gas" and very popular with the 400 horsepower V8(299 kW) muscle cars of the 1960s.

 

[John in Covina]

I also recall people going to the small airports and getting some aviation grade gas. The av gas was around 110 octane I think. They would put some into their tank to bounce up the octane from Super for those long stroke V8's. Here is some thing that many don't know and often starts arguments. The higher the octane the slower the gas burned. The reason for it is that the long stroke of the piston needed a longer burn time to get the most umph out of the gas. Where a low octane might burn too fast, the short bang made for less power and not running well, it lead to pinging- an early detonation. For gun owners that reload it is similar to why the powder for pistols is quicker burning than the powder for rifles.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Also driving with drums all around in wet weather offered a challenge if you went through a deep puddle the water would pool in the drum and the brakes were pretty much useless until they dried out.

Another reason everything was manual back in the day? I have several friends with trucks that basically have no brakes and they shift to slow down.:eeek:

 

[John in Covina]

Another reason everything was manual back in the day? I have several friends with trucks that basically have no brakes and they shift to slow down.:eeek:

Engine braking can be done with A/T Automatic Transmission and if you live in mountain areas you will see the truck symbol and use low gear for down hills.

 

[Travis Lee Johnston]

I upgraded to power drum brakes on my 61 Impala bout a year ago. Definately a difference. It stops just fine. I never wear my seat belt and down shifting comes in handy to stop quicker.
Most people don't respect that you're a person who drives an old vehicle that has to slow down to handle a corner better in a turn. Those same nimrods always have car problems too. Some people are just jealous or know how inferior their Fisher Price car looks and performs so they act out from the safety of their driver seat.

 

[scottyrocks]

I had a '67 Impala that featured 4-wheel manual drums, manual steering, and a 2-speed automatic transmission. That car definitely required me to adjust my distance from the car in front of me.

As far as following distances, the one car length for every 10 (or 30) mph is too complicated. I always use the 2-second rule. When the car in front of you passes a marker, count 2 real seconds. If you get to the marker at, or after, those 2 seconds, you're at a safe following distance.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Engine braking can be done with A/T Automatic Transmission and if you live in mountain areas you will see the truck symbol and use low gear for down hills.

JohnInCovina, I have used engine braking in both automatics and manuals (manuals do it better). I usually drive a manual and I actually hardly ever use the brakes out in the country where there isn't much traffic. My brakes last a long time, but I know when to use them.

 

[in/y]

I remember my mom telling me when I was leaning to drive (on a manual shift '63 VW) that her father always told her to "drive with the engine" when she was learning to drive (on a '37 Chevy). My mom explained this to me as basically using engine breaking whenever possible and only using the brakes when absolutely necessary or when coming to a full stop.

 

[Forgotten Man]

Hi all,

A while back I found a four door, 41' Chevy fleetline special that I am thinking of buying sometime. I'm just curious to know what gas mileage a 41' Chevy would get?

Now, I can't speak about Chevy's, never owned one my self, however I own a '46 Plymouth four door. I've owned it for 6 years now... When the motor had a valve job, and was tuned in right, I was getting about 20 miles to the gal on that flat head 6. Also, it depends on your driving skills with a three speed... the best fuel economy really depends on how heavy one's foot is on the accelerator and shifting.

It all depends on how you want to go about restoring a car, if you want a stock classic or if you want to change a few things to get more bang... But, I will say, if you customize your power-plant, you will be feeding that thirsty beast and not saving much of anything at the pump.

After all, gas may have been cheaper back in those days, so it seems, however I'd say to the people of '41 .15 cents a gallon wasn't all that cheap. Detroit had to appeal to buyers and having guzzling motors wasn't going to sell cars.

One last piece of advice, find one that's restored! Restoring a car can be a fun project... But it takes a lot of work, time and also money. People sink more into restoring a car than buying one already finished. Also, I've seen people buy old cars with the best interest for the car, then life becomes too busy and the car is left in a back yard or awaiting in the garage for the time to be rebuilt... Then it's sold because of neglect to ambitious buyer.

Food for thought.

Let's see some photos of this prospective purchase shall we?

 

[John in Covina]

I remember my mom telling me when I was leaning to drive (on a manual shift '63 VW) that her father always told her to "drive with the engine" when she was learning to drive (on a '37 Chevy). My mom explained this to me as basically using engine breaking whenever possible and only using the brakes when absolutely necessary or when coming to a full stop.

I believe that those that learned to drive in the Depression were indoctrinated on saving money and the WWII era that parts may not be available so don't wear them out. My dad would stop of a traffic light and put the car in neutral so the brakes weren't working against the engine.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Forgotten Man,

I'm not sure about the pictures yet. When I am interested in buying anything I try not to seem too interested. Wheeler-dealers can always tell you want something and take advantage of the fact. Here is a link showing the exact body style:

http://www.autabuy.com/Vehicles/Det...Make=Chevrolet&Model=FleetLine 4 Door Special

The one I looked at is a gray color, not sure if it is original paint or primmer. The exterior needs re-painted (body is pretty straight except one fender). Motor runs but has a lot of miles for an old car (75,000?). I believe the owner wants $2400 for it, but I would offer way less. Oh, I've got the bug, but I don't know if I should!!

 

[Fly Boy]

That's a beautiful style of car. I wish I could pick something like that up at that sort of cost over here. Alas, I have no chance!

 

[John in Covina]

The guys at Egge had said that when some one wants to restore a car and do an engine rebuild Pontiac and then Oldsmobile are the toughest ones to get the right parts. It seems that they made changes a lot more than most parts catalogs noted. They seemed to be the most likely to have to have the part to match it up correctly.

 

[LuckyKat]

I've got an original 37 Plymouth & I'm getting right around 20 mpg...

 

[Guttersnipe]

Atterbury Dodd, 75k is very, very high mileage for a Chevrolet 216, unless it's had a rebuild. Remember, those old odometers didn't even go higher than 99,999 miles, so it's always safest to assume that there's an extra 100K on any old car. Before buying do a compression test (rather than taking the sellers word that it was "freshly rebuilt") and go over the car with a fine tooth comb, which includes doing a 30-60 minute + test drive; take the car on the freeway, through residential streets, on big surface streets, through some stoplight stop-and-go, etc. $2,400 is exceedingly cheap for '41 Chevy, so you should be extra careful. In gearhead-speak that price says "I have some series issues."

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

Guttersnipe, I am sure I would do well to be careful. He said running, not running well. This is by no means a restored car, but rather a project. I guess the question is if it is a good candidate for restoration. I would say the body is the high point of the car. I don't think the car was ever in the colder parts of the US, so it does not have bad rust or dents. Another thing going in its favor is that I think it is a fairly rare body style. The link I showed in the previous post is the only picture I have been able to find online. My Granddad has been into vintage cars since the 50's at least (before they were that vintage) and he said this car is a little less common for a 41' Chevy.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

75k is a ton of miles. Back in the 40's if your car had 100,000 miles on it, it was like a car having 250,000 miles now.

 

[Atterbury Dodd]

I guess it really comes down to what condition the motor is really in--whether the body would justify the replacement or rework of the motor if it is shot?