Fuel Cost Warning & Caprice Fuel Mileage

Hey everyone... Bad news: If you haven't already heard because of hurrican Rita, fuel prices are expected to increase to $5.00 -$6.00 per gallon. I'm assuming that the mid-80's Caprices such as my '84 has a 21-ish gallon tank. Thats over $100 to fill it when the prices sky rocket again. :banghead:

Does anybody have any hints, ideas, or techniques that could increase fuel economy in these cars? I love my car to death (exaggerated), but Its going to murder me in gas prices when it happens. Any info would be a big help to everyone here. Thanks!!





I'm going to use the tank from my parts wagon as a fuel reserve... I'm going to drop it, clean it out and fill it up. But that'll only last me about 2 weeks, 4 weeks if you count the tank already in my sedan.

Here in Iceland it costs me 196$ to fill it up :screwy:

fill up gas cans when price is low.. store them in the garage

When was the last time you rebuilt the carb? I have a 143,000km 85 Lesabre with original 307 olds with carb I rebuilt two years ago. Car gets about 22mpg in the city and 30mpg on the highway, which is far better than my 91 TBI 305 Caprice with 102,000km which averages 17/28. I also replaced all the many yards of vacuum lines at the time I did the carb. BTW, have you priced a QJet carb kit lately? They (NAPA) doubled the price two to three years ago.

Mine will as sure as shit be up for sale in the spring, enough is enough!

Well these cars aren't nearly as bad as trucks (my father's GMC Sierra gets 12 to the gallon on a good week) but to answer the question above I rebuilt the carb this past winter.

Mine is about 12 mpg

befor i swaped out my hunk of junk engine i was getting about 7 to the gallon. now that i have a new engine even though its bigger im getting about 16 on the 90 caprice.

I sit in heavy traffic every morning and accelerate HARD at right-hand-on-reds and STILL get 16mpg. Our lumina is only getting about 23mpg and it's not driven nearly as hard.

Lets see 350ci, 350 hp 370 ft-lbs, th-350 (three speed trans no OD) and a 3.73:1 rear.. gas mileage in the toilet 11 city 14 highway on 93 octane. Why do I drive this car? Have you ever see the look on the face of a punk teenager in his 90's hatchback civic as he gets smoked by a plane jane 1977 caprice 4dr sedan? It's priceless...

have you gotten rid of your catalic yet? (if it's legal wherever you're from...) That is going to be my next project: new exhaust system minus the catalic.

The cat only shaves about 2-3hp off of the car - no sense disabling it, especially when the fine for doing so (it is a federal offense) can be $25,000.

Lets see 350ci, 350 hp 370 ft-lbs, th-350 (three speed trans no OD) and a 3.73:1 rear.. gas mileage in the toilet 11 city 14 highway on 93 octane. Why do I drive this car? Have you ever see the look on the face of a punk teenager in his 90's hatchback civic as he gets smoked by a plane jane 1977 caprice 4dr sedan? It's priceless...

I bet that is priceless. My personal favorite is a plain jane Caprice smoking a mustang. While some mustangs may be real muscle cars, they're everywhere and so overrated.