studebaker gas mileage.....

[loc8tor]

OK, we are all feeling the crunch at the pump. So what is a good choice for a daily driver Studebaker that gets good mileage...., is the "gas economizer" the 6cyl, stude/chebby lark, or maybe a 259 Hawk, or ?????
Let me know what you guys think.....

hmmm, my girlfriend has 2 GT Hawks....and I feel left out, wheres my "R" model Daytona????

[FlatheadGeo]

I prefer to use my flathead 6, 57 Champion.

1957 Studebaker Champion 2 door. Staten Island, New York.

[62champ]

My '62 Lark with 259 & 3 sp/OD I drove for 10 years made 19 in town and up to 26 on the highway...I think if a person played around with jets, tuning and rear/tranny ratios, you could get a V8 to make 30 mpg or so.

[railway]

62 Champ, what rear ratio in your lark?

Ebon...

[62champ]

quote:Originally posted by railway

62 Champ, what rear ratio in your lark?

Ebon...

It had ratio of 3.31.

[rockne10]

My '63 Cruiser 289 was built with a straight 3-speed. I don't remember what the rear ratio was but, after I installed the overdrive tranny it got 28mpg on the highway, and that was keeping up with traffic. If geared properly, there was very little difference between the sixes and the eights.

Thirty or so years ago there was an article in one of the car magazines about a fellow who went to extremes on his '53 Champion and managed to get 36mpg. It's a shame I didn't hang on to that article.
I suspect he had a 3-speed OD, 3.07 rear and did a lot of coasting.

[lstude]

Studebaker published some gas mileage charts in 59. Most of the time the V8s got better gas mileage than the sixes.





Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/

[Gary1953]

I can tell you one not to use for a daily driver for gas milage, a 1953 Commander with automatic.


Gary Sanders
Nixa, MO
President Toy Studebaker Collectors Club. Have an interest in Toy Studebakers? Contact me for details.

[rockne10]

Back when my '53 Commander 232 w/automatic was my daily driver I was getting 22-23 on the highway.

Upon its resurrection it will have the 289 from my Cruiser, with a FOM pushing a 3.07 TT rear. Hopefully I can report the mileage sometime this year.

[Lark289]

Leonard,

Thanks for posting the fuel mileage chart. You always post the best pictures. It is interesting that the mileage chart tops out at 60. Many highways now have 70 to 75 MPH speed limits.

Jeff




Ready for a trip to the beach!

[studeclunker]

I get around twenty MPG with my '56 (see my sig. line). It has an overdrive tranny, however I am unable to engage the OD right now (howls like a banshee when I try). I average around 45 to 50 miles per hour and rarely travel on the freeway. By the way, that's mountain driving too.


Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
Lotsa Larks!
K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
Ron Smith
Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?

[53k]

The '61 Cruiser I bought new, 259, automatic, a/c, averaged 18.65 miles per gallon for the entire 65,000 miles I had the car. Much of this was eastern suburban driving with some highway (23 mog on the hghway). Yes, I recorded every gasoline purchase in a log I kept (obsessive compulsive[:I]).


[img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/R-4.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64L.JPG[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/64P.jpg[/img=right][img=right]http://www.frontiernet.net/~thejohnsons/Forum%20signature%20pix/53K.jpg[/img=right]Paul Johnson, Wild and Wonderful West Virginia
'53 Commander Starliner (since 1966)
'64 Daytona Wagonaire (original owner)
'64 Daytona Convertible (2006)
Museum R-4 engine
1962 Gravely Model L (Studebaker-Packard serial plate)
1972 Gravely Model 430 (Studebaker name plate, Studebaker Onan engine)

[bams50]

I've heard the sixes weren't any better than the 259s. Anybody done any real-life comparisons?



Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- Studebakeracres- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
Parish, central NY 13131

"Some people live for the rules, I live for exceptions"- 311

"With your Lark you're on your own, free as a bird, alive as a Lark. You've suddenly discovered that happiness is a thing called Larking!"

[loc8tor]

Id like to know the diff between the 6, 259 and 289 in the same body also.....just so I have a better idea....

hmmm, my girlfriend has 2 GT Hawks....and I feel left out, wheres my "R" model Daytona????

[hank63]

If I bought a car for fuel consumption reasons, I'd have a little 4 cyl asian egg beater. People ask me how much fuel my car uses, I always answer "full tank"
/H