EPA gas mileage of Rancheros

Wow ! Thanks for that, beerbelly !
New Year's Gruntings from a wet miserable UK

 

5.0 does pretty good sipping gas,but the 2.89 gears suck.Never get it in overdrive unless Iam on freeway rollin 80 mph.Got new 3.50 gear set on bench to install
at some point..

 

Yeah, my 3.50 set is waiting for me to have the cheddar to install an AOD or 4R70W at my own 'some point.' But, I just remembered, there were Panther platform cars that had 2.73 gears in their 8.8" axles, and still had an AOD that engaged between 35 and 40 MPH. Perhaps yours is calibrated for a taller gear set. I intend on using a truck transmission, as the standard gear ratio on 1/2 and 3/4 ton Fords is 3.55 to 1, but perhaps your trans came from a vehicle that had 3.55 gears from the factory?

 

Fun read - great thread! Have no idea what my millage is... (~10'ish) Just know the Ranchero likes gas as much as I like driving it! (top loader, 3.50, 390...)

 

Gotta say I never built my Ranchero to be a fuel miser, it is all in the driving experience for me. With the 472 under the hood I can say I can go from F to E faster than most, what happens in between those two letters ALWAYS puts a smile on my face every time I fire it up and take it for a spin. Go out and make memories with your rides!

 

That is a drop dead GORGEOUS '69. LUV the color and the stripes and the GT wheels.
My '79 has a 351M which normally sucks gas like crazy. The secret is to retard
the cam timing. Since I just got this one and I am still solving electrical, I
don't have any mileage figures. I know they will be lousy as it has a great big cam, 2800 stall and 2:47's,
all of which is subject to change.
I haven't driven the '57 much (351W/5spd/3:70s) but I should do fairly good with it.

 

Ah, that 5-speed's OD gear will help immensely. That 3.70 ratio, it's an odd duck; I've seen ones with 3.50 and 3.89, but not a 3.70.