Mpg - sources of data for prewar vehicle fuel consumption?

[Joao46]

I’ve just heard a Model T got 13 mpg when new.

 

Any other sources of data for prewar vehicle fuel consumption?

 

im guessing my 31 Chrysler with its straight 8 of 6.2 liters must be in the single digits!

[A Woolf]

A condenser Stanley get about 10 miles to the gallon on fuel and 2-5 miles to the gallon of water depending on the ambient temperature.

[CChinn]

My 1940 Chevy gets about 10-12 mpg

[dodge28]

I have not driven my 28 DB Senior on the street yet but I am using a lawnmower can hanging from the cross rod and it seems to be very  thirsty.

[hidden_hunter]

3 hours ago, Joao46 said:

I’ve just heard a Model T got 13 mpg when new.

 

I thought it was much much higher than that (something like 30mpg) 

[KLF]

I get 19-20 mpg in my 11 T touring. I've never heard of a T getting 13 mpg when new.

Ken

[EThomas]

My ‘31 CM6 is about 15 or so, depending on speed and traffic. 

[mrspeedyt]

pretty much all pre fuel injection cars... you are really lucky if you broke 20 mpg. My 59 El Camino with a six cylinder and 3 on the tree would average 11. of course I drove it really hard back then.

[Lee H]

In the book “Sea to Sea in a Model T” by Yvonne Ellingson, there are routine reports of 25 -30 MPG during a cross-country trip in 1921.

[TAKerry]

This thread makes me feel good about going to the gas pump😁 My Trans Am with a 400 4v gets about 12mpg on a good day.

[Bruce W]

My stock original 40 Plymouth gets right around 15mpg. Normal driving.

[ia-k]

How far back does the Mobilgas  economy run go back? Granted it may be scewed to the high end but give you something to go by.

Edited January 19 by ia-k (see edit history)

[kings32]

My 32 chevy gets about 19 MPG on tours ,my 66 ply 318 gets about the same touring  .  Howard

[Matt Harwood]

My Lincoln gets about 7 MPG no matter what I'm doing. The Buick limousine pulls down 12-13 on the open road, which isn't too shabby, but it drops into single digits around town.

 

Sorry about the terrible resolution on this, but here's a factory comparison of performance and fuel economy between the 1940 and 1941 Buicks:

[28 Chrysler]

My 1954 New Yorker got 22 MPG on the highway, 15 in town ( 331 with a 2 barrow carb).

The 1967 Morris Minor 39 to 42 MPG all the time.

Edited January 19 by 28 Chrysler (see edit history)

[edinmass]

A Model J Duesenberg will get 9mpg below 2100 rpm in & around town and open road driving below 70 mph. As soon as you hot dog it and rev over 2500 rpm its about 4-5 mpg. When driving them hard, you need to look at the gauge often!

 

Our early V-16 Caddy's seem to get about 8mpg regardless of driving conditions.

Edited January 19 by edinmass (see edit history)

[zepher]

In the '64 Malibu SS convertible I used to own, with the 327 / 4 speed combo, I could squeeze 19 mpg out of it on the highway.

The '78 Silver Anniversary Corvette with the L82 / 4 speed I owned got 12mpg no matter how you drove it.

Both my Pierce and Rickenbacker seem to get anywhere from 9 to 14 mpg depending on the driving conditions.

[Rusty_OToole]

When I was in high school I drove a 36HP 1962 VW beetle. It had a top speed of 72MPH and got 36 miles per gallon. In 1980 my father bought a new Pontiac Parisienne Brougham with red velvet upholstery, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, power windows and a 350 cu in Diesel V8. It got 36 miles per gallon, same as the VW. I always thought this was an interesting comparison, and an example of what can be accomplished if there is a demand for it. At the time there was a demand for better fuel economy and diesel engines looked like the answer.

[Pfeil]

On 1/19/2024 at 11:09 AM, Rusty_OToole said:

When I was in high school I drove a 36HP 1962 VW beetle. It had a top speed of 72MPH and got 36 miles per gallon. In 1980 my father bought a new Pontiac Parisienne Brougham with red velvet upholstery, air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, power windows and a 350 cu in Diesel V8. It got 36 miles per gallon, same as the VW. I always thought this was an interesting comparison, and an example of what can be accomplished if there is a demand for it. At the time there was a demand for better fuel economy and diesel engines looked like the answer.

Rusty, I used to get 42mpg out of my 1965 1200"A" 36hp (former standard model) before ethanol free was mandated. Top speed for the redesigned 40hp for 1961 was 72mpg. The 40hp engine was introduced for the 1961 model year in the deluxe. VW Germany only imported the deluxe models. Top speed for the 36hp beetle was 68mph, that also includes my 65 1200"A".

The 1938 Beetle mileage requirement by the German government was 32mpg which the VW passed with flying colors. 

FYI, the new 40hp 1200 for 1961 has larger valves and intake manifold, also the final drive in the transaxle has higher gearing for a top speed greater than 36hp cars. 40hp=4.375 to one rear axle final drive vs. 36hp at 4.43 to one.

To do 72mpg your car must have had a 40hp engine. 

Edited January 21 by Pfeil (see edit history)

[Terry Harper]

The museum’s 1934 Lombard Tractor-Truck comes in at approximately 0.63 miles per gallon. In other words, the fuel tank filled with 60 gallons of non-ethanol leaves the wallet very thin and the journey rather short.

[Larry Schramm]

In high school I drove a '63 Buick Skylark with the small aluminum V8 and it usually got about 15 +- MPG.  I then got a '68 Opel Kadet with the 1.9 4 cylinder and it usually got about 20MPG.  Our '76 Corvette which we have had for 46 years averages about 15+- MPG with the L48 engine.

On the old Buicks, '13 car and '15 truck about 11-15 MPG is the norm depending on flat land touring or in the mountains.

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

MPG has a lot to do with gearing, IMO. 

 

  Ben

[TTR]

While I’ve never been concerned about the fuel mileage in my vintage cars 40+ years I’ve owned and driven many, but due to driving/using mine more than majority of owners, I’ve always had a habit and made an effort to learn about each one’s mileage, so when planning for multi-thousand mile road trip vacations, we can estimate approximate fuel expenses to overall costs each trip.

 

And as I’ve said before, I always hope the fuel prices would be much higher than they are, since it would help reduce traffic congestion and also bring values of vintage cars down, hopefully enough that I could afford the few I’ve always lusted after, but cannot really afford.

 

P.S. Relying on factory claims of fuel mileage is as childish as believing their HP claims published decades ago for so-called high-performance production cars. Only way to know for sure is to do your own homework on both.

After achieving somewhat unexpected dyno results with a fully rebuilt, stock spec. 60+ year old Hi-Perf. engine, I just did a brief research and survey among owners of similar cars/engines and concluded that my results are actually quite accurate, even if 15% below factory claimed numbers, which at the time were commonly exaggerated (for marketing purposes) by all manufacturers of similar cars.

Edited January 21 by TTR (see edit history)

[dodge28]

My 1968 4 door Biscayne with a 327 a TH 400 with a Carter 4 barrel I got 20 miles per gallon. It used high octane gas only Every 2 years or so I had to replace muffler.