Corvette Daily Driver

[N/A]

Good Day,

Lately i have been thinking about having a 1969 Corvette small block 4 speed as a daily driver, but i am unsure of the running costs.

Driving conservatively, how much fuel would a stock 350 use?, driving 30km a day in traffic for work and maybe 200km on the freeway for weekends.

I have driven with 3.36 ratio and this was an all round good ratio for around town and freeway use. A lot of cars have the 3.08 ratio especially if the car has AC, what is it like driving a 3.08 in traffic?. Also a lot of cars can have the 3.70 ratio, this would be good for around town but maybe too much fuel on the freeway.

Thanks

[bfit]

With the stock 4speed you would have to go 3.08 gears  and  at least 27'' of tyres
A later model say a 79 with ls1 and 6 speed would work much better with 3.7 gears.
And make a  good vehicle a better option.
Bfit

[StephenSLR]

Driving conservatively, how much fuel would a stock 350 use?

How long is a piece of string?  There's too many variables.

I have two classic cars and wouldn't use either as a daily driver. I drive them weekly and swap between the two, it delays the costs of maintaining them if I were to have only one. One's more for practical use, the other more for shows and cruises. For getting from A to B I take public transport, it's pretty good where I am in Sydney and I wouldn't risk parking my cars in a car park.

Fuel price is the least of your worries, if you have money to burn on repairs and don't mind seeing your car deteriorate quicker than usual then good luck to you; it's great to see these old cars on the roads today.

 

s

[bfit]

I can tell you a BB c3 with 3.08 gears would do 2 tanks on a 300 k trip
If the fuel worries you that much you may have to look at a vehicle with a tier 4 engine
Bfit

[StephenSLR]

How bad could these cars be?. If its been restored well mechanically, shouldn't it be reliable to drive every day.

They definitely can be made reliable, the problem is when something goes bung ... and it happens with every car, you may not just be able to buy a part off the shelf. I had a clutch cable go on me and my car was out of action for months coming up with a solution that wouldn't see me left in the lurch again. It's now even more reliable that I've put in hydraulics but when something fails, as it will, I'll be paying more than an off the shelf item and may have to import it.

The way i am thinking is, if i have to drive a car everyday, i might as well drive something i want to drive and happy to learn about and fix.

 

I don't own anything post 1976

If the fuel worries you that much ..

.... don't buy a V8 or get a car with a smaller V8. They can be economical with conservative carbs and driven efficiently, I own 2 V8's and I don't know what it's like to own a 4 cyl. so paying more for fuel is normal to me. 

I rented a 4 cyl when I went on holidays and was surprised how little fuel costs were but now I'm back in the real world with my V8's paying what I usually pay. You just get used to it and paying more becomes normal. If fuel is a concern, a V8 simply may not be for you, it'll never get the same mileage as a Kia Rio.

s

[mjs]

Any rough ideas on fuel consumption?, 200km/300km out of a tank?.

How bad could these cars be?. If its been restored well mechanically, shouldn't it be reliable to drive every day.

The way i am thinking is, if i have to drive a car everyday, i might as well drive something i want to drive and happy to learn about and fix. New cars and modified cars don't interest me, i like stock and original style.

  Hey Popeye, glad to see your still lookin'

Ours has been partially restored up to point where we're happy with it.  Its really reliable now but then again as the other guys said they're 40+ yr old cars so unless you replace almost everything something is going to go bust eventually, and we only use ours on Sunny days most weekends.  Going a more modern motor is the best way to keep the fuel economy and increase power as Bfit said, but if you want original, ours if you can remember, is a 350 stock motor, pretty sure its been rebuilt at one stage so slightly more than 350, and after a few runs down to Ulladulla and back on a full tank with I'd say 10L remaining we managed 13.8L/100klm.  Not bad, but we hardly used the secondaries on the quadrajet, (just a few times we might have  )  I've noticed if you cruise without too much heavy foot you don't get too bad economy, no where near like a C6 engine though.  If your going to be heavy footed or go through a lot of stop start traffic that figure will decline.

Matt

[Scott]

I have a Zd fairlane as a daily (similar weight, less aerodynamic than a 69 vette).  302W engine and a 3 speed auto.  It uses 18L/100km pretty much all the time.  Little difference for highway.  It needs an overdrive. 

If you want to daily an old car, put in a decent electronic dizzy (HEI or something) and a 5 speed.  Also make sure you don't have a holley carb.  They are great for all out power, but use more fuel and play up much more than the equivalent edlebrock carb.  Also would probably be worthwhile getting an AFR meter to make sure you are running the right mixture at cruising speeds.

Traffic lights and stop start traffic is where you'll use your fuel.

[StephenSLR]

If you want to daily an old car, put in a decent electronic dizzy (HEI or something) and a 5 speed.  Also make sure you don't have a Holley carb.  They are great for all out power, but use more fuel and play up much more than the equivalent edlebrock carb.

.. a Rochester Quad will also be more economical than a Holley and put in a 5 speed if you're going to hit the highways

s

[bfit]

.. a Rochester Quad will also be more economical than a Holley and put in a 5 speed if you're going to hit the highways

s

I have to agree a  quadrajet in good condition and tunes correctly is a very good carbie for most preposes.
Before going the trany swap I would try a tall set of gears in the rear 2.75 I think is available.

low gear in the early c3 will cope with the high gearing
if you want good pick up say from the lights. Then you would go a 5 or 6 speed, and a lower gear.

 some might say that spending severely thousand on a trans swap is hard to justify for a fuel saving.
you will only see a benefit if you do a lot of highway miles. with a overdrive box.

I have tried most rear gear ratios for 3.08 to 4.11, all have a benefit in some way and all have a negative.
its a matter of prevenance.
bfit


 

[StephenSLR]

Maybe that's why i don't see 1969 Corvettes used as daily drivers, it mustn't be very feasible.

That's part of the reason but they weren't built here is the main reason, those that import are enthusiasts not people that want to get from A to B.  Classic cars also have their cons, they don't handle or brake as good as modern cars, less safety features, no airbags, A/C, power steering, no boot, etc. You really have to be dedicated to even own one.

some might say that spending several thousand on a trans swap is hard to justify for a fuel saving.

Yeah, I'd agree, one car I bought had the swap already done, the other car had issues with a noisy 4 speed and mechanical linkages; after swapping it was a world of difference, smooth gear changes, etc. Considering I mainly use it for highway driving, it was well worth the swap imo and probably best done when you have the box out to change the clutch, etc.

s

[Scott]

Quadrajets are good, but pretty long in the tooth these days and refurbishing costs a bit.  Plus you need to be able to tune it.

I threw an edelbrock onto the ZD and bought a metering rod and jet kit for it to tune it a little.  Runs great. Starts all the time, even without the choke hooked up. Can't fault it.

[StephenSLR]

Quadrajets are good, but pretty long in the tooth these days and refurbishing costs a bit.  Plus you need to be able to tune it.

I bought a reconditioned one from Burwood Carburettor Services back in 2000. I haven't touched it since and it hasn't missed a beat.

s

[bfit]

the quadrajet is a good old very old design way out of any patent considerations
and there are copies with some variations on the market by well know companies.
bfit

[Shane Finn]

I've often wondered if bolt on fuel injection systems might help to improve fuel economy in a case like this. I recall that Motor Trend/Road Kill have used them a few times and them seem pretty slick. As a bolt on they could always be reversed if the car is sold and the new owner wanted original.

http://www.enginelabs.com/news/entry-level-self-tuning-efi-showdown/
http://www.chevyhardcore.com/tech-stories/ignition-electronics-efi/video-installing-ecelbrocks-e-street-efi-on-a-classic-corvette/

http://www.jegs.com/p/Holley/Holley-Avenger-EFI-Throttle-Body-Fuel-Injection-Systems/1393117/10002/-1
http://horsepowersports.com/bolt-on-electronic-fuel-injection-from-retrotek-speed/
https://www.motorator.com/blog/hot-rods-customs/fuel-injection-conversion/#.WIk3ixv-thE
http://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-0811-electronic-fuel-injection-systems/

[StephenSLR]

I don't have any experience with these but it's an option.

s

[metalhead]

I've got the Fitech fitted on my car. Fuel consumption is still highish (~15l/100km), but better than I achieved with the quadrajet on the stock engine, and the new engine is pretty angry so I'm quite happy with the consumption really (should note that I also swapped to a Tremec TKO600 5 speed at the same time). Can probably improve it a bit more if i lean out the cruising afr targets a bit. Also really tames the engine, makes my 11.1:1, 242@.050 hydraulic roller stroker small block very tame and driveable around town at low throttle, and when cold. I'm also using it to control timing. About 2000 miles on it so far, and I'm very happy with it.

As for the daily driver - I've been driving mine mostly as my daily since I got it back on the road a couple of months ago. Too much fun not to!