Mechanic's....I have a question?

[mtn_extreme]

With the high prices of gas these days, I don't want to pay premium fuel prices for the gas in my truck but when I run 87 octane it has a pretty bad pinging problem. This is a Chev 454 bb so I think it has solid lifters. What can I do to reduce pingage and improve milage (I know, it's a 454). It is in the rig in the picture:

 

[H2SNOW]

run half n half ....or park it ???

hate to see ya crater that thing becuase of junk gas ..

shes a real sweet heart ..treat her like one

 

[freerideordie]

one word, propane

 

[H2SNOW]

one word, propane

uh ...I think thats 2 ....pro and pane ....but thats just What Bobby Hill would say

 

[Skogen]

Can you run propane on a BBC with somewhat a higher compression ratio?

I run 91 octain in my chevelle that has a 454. Runs like crap on anything lower.

 

[Backcountry]

Back the timing off on the distributor. Performance will suffer- but you should get to a point where it stops pinging under load.

 

[Gaz]

Back the timing off

Ditto. That or buy a beater car to drive around. You'd be amazed at what you can find for < $1K. My daily driver is an '89 Park Avenue that I paid $500 for. Not the nicest car in the world but she gets from A to B and does it w/ decent mileage. Breakeven would be about 3 months for a car that cost $1000 assuming you drive average miles / year.

~Gaz

 

[opus]

Shouldnt have solid lifters, certainly shouldnt require high test, either. Check the timing to see where its at, before you retard it.

People are pretty confused on the use of high test gas.

 

[Vern]

first off thats a sweet truck! i got a '71 that has a hopped up 350 in it and ive had the same problem. i ended up retarding the timing like mentioned before but i didnt go to far to keep some performance but low enough that i can run 89 octain which is a bit cheaper than 91. last fall i also did the other suggestion and went out and bought a "beater" for the summer time, an 86 mustang GT (wanted something fun). wasnt to spendy at 1500 bucks but should be cheaper to drive than my estimated 8 mpg in my truck.

 

[sldgy]

Shouldnt have solid lifters, certainly shouldnt require high test, either. Check the timing to see where its at, before you retard it.

People are pretty confused on the use of high test gas.

what opus said^^^

timing has nothing to do with the pinging associated with using low octane gas in a high compression engine

 

[H2SNOW]

guy comes up to me the other day ...says "Gas sure is expensive " ......I wait a minute go "Nope .....you just can't afford it"

have a nice day

 

[MTm7]

i didnt see anything about the "quench" being wrong? is that viable?

 

[Estevahn]

Improving gas mileage with a 454 in a truck is asking a lot. What kind of MPG are you getting?

Judging by the pic someone has spent a few bucks on it. And probably has a few goodies under the hood.

Do you know what (if anything) has been done to the engine? If the engine was built with too much compression you'll have problems even if you retard your timing.

Are you using an HEI distributor? I've seen the total advance on them exceed 40 degrees. That's way too much.

What carburetor do you have on it?

Which heads and intake?

Has someone poked a lumpy cam in it?

How much vacuum do you have at idle?

Headers?

You say you think it has solid lifters. Can you hear them ticking?

 

[mtn_extreme]

E,

All good questions and I can find out the answers, I just have to go through all the reciepts. This was an off body rebuild and I have over 30,000.00 in reciepts for it that describe everything.
I am just guessing on the lifters, no I don't hear them. Yes it has a very lumpy cam, idles like whoop, whoop, whoop. Hijacker headers, edelbrock manifold (have to look on carb but I notice it doesn't seem to kick in the other 2 barrels when you floor it, like it is already running on all 4) It has Axell (sp) wiring, and I will have to check on the other.

 

[pwdrhogRMK800]

 

[mtn_extreme]

Oh, and gas milage was 7.7 mph on the open road.

 

[pwdrhogRMK800]

 

[mtn_extreme]

Hey POST WHORE, here you go so you can bring it to the top again!!!!!!


Have another one on me

 

[pwdrhogRMK800]

Hey POST WHORE, here you go so you can bring it to the top again!!!!!!


Have another one on me

LOL, you got me here is a beer

 

[Nate]

Oh, and gas milage was 7.7 mph on the open road.

That aint good, but really, it aint bad