gas milage shock

[desi2960]

i have owned the 73 long enough to get into my 3rd tank of gas. if everything is working proper, the 351, bored .40 over, heads shaved .30, flat top pistons, mild cam, mallory ignition system, carter competition afb, headers, c5 auto trans is getting me between 9-10 miles a gallon. not really complaining because i love the drive and sound.
BUT, i am spoiled my 2000 mercedes e320 gets 32 mpg highway.

 

[73stallion]

that's why a lot of us don't use them as daily drivers. hell, they were only rated at 9.6 from the factory....

i sold my '70 F-100 4x4 thinking a bronco is smaller and gets better mileage, yeah right. my F-100 got 15 highway with 35's, 3.50's, NP435, and a built 390. i get about 12 highway with the bronco, only because i have a 5 speed.

 

[bmc69]

10 mpg..that has got to be the "fleet average" for EBs.

 

[Chief Master Sergeant]

We don't drive them because they're economical...we drive them because the chicks dig them. ;D

 

[half cab]

Women,children,young folks shoot they all dig'em as far as I know around here.

 

[daddycreswell]

10 mpg is not much worse than my 07 F-150 that gets 13mpg on a good day. Ford must have went back to the 70's when they built my F-150

 

[Heus33]

So you purchased that custom Bronco? I remember seeing on this site awhile back.

Got any other pics? Some interesting mods on that one for sure.

 

[stock1970]

funny.. I save by driving my broncos.. figure the guy that sits next to me at work, He has a new car that get 24mpg.. way better than my 10mpg.. then again He lives 23 miles from work.. i live 12 miles from work.. at this point we are almost equal in price of gas to drive to work.. .. but wait.. I have no car payment, his is 350 a month, o and my tags are 16 a year and his with taxes and all are 250+... then repairs.. my parts are cheap and i can do it myself. his are not, his car requires expensive gas, oil ect ect..

hmm.. my 10 mpg is looking better all the time.. plus it is cooler..

I am thinking i spend maybe 250 a month in gas.. less than a car payment .. with out any gas..

 

[desi2960]

more photos

complete carpet, sides,and headliner, new bucket seats, roll bar, frenched power antenna, 59 cad taillights. i bought it from the original owner, he owned a ford dealership in soda springs utah. it was black with a 302. between 1995 and 2005 it was restored-customized. i was told it has had appx 15000 miles since the work. i was also told never driven in snow or rain. when it arrived on the transport, we got a look underneath, was clean as a whistle.

thanks for the info on the mileage on most broncos, i thought it would be much better.

 

[73stallion]

are those side pipes????

 

[desi2960]

yes theu are

and i love the sound.

 

[Rustytruck]

Raise your timing to 12 degrees and run regular gas if you can it helps. The big issue I see is it looks like you only have 1 tank. I can live with the bad mileage but couldn't live with such small capacity. I have 3 tanks and carry over 30 gallons so when I pay it hurts but at least not very often.
Enjoy your new rig.

 

[half cab]

So you purchased that custom Bronco? I remember seeing on this site awhile back.

Got any other pics? Some interesting mods on that one for sure.

Yea I remember that too as there was alot of talk about the rear fenders looking like a Bronco ll fenders.Oh yea I get about 8 mpg,but every one of them are worth that gallon I burn for them.Ha ha yee haw!!

 

[armynavy17]

10 sounds about right. With my gas mileage I figure i make up for 3 or 4 prius's.

 

[JHolloway]

I am getting 14-15 mpg driving in the city and on the freeway at speeds up to 70-75. My bronco is a 1976 ranger all stock with pwr steering and pwr brakes, 3:50 gears and a 3 speed.

 

[Scoop]

After my efi swap I went from 9-10 mpg to 13 on the highway. 35's, 4.11's and C4.

 

[matts70]

I'm always leery when someone says they are averaging 15+ mpg in a Bronco with a V-8. I've gotten to 12.5 mpg cruising around and am trying to find a (mechanical) way to average 14 mpg (not interested in EFI). I haven't tested mine on highway miles.

 

[broncobilly72]

My 72 3 speed stick gets 15-16 miles per gallon on the road.....and with a pumped up 285hp 302!

 

[Old School]

What mileage did you expect?

And, unless they've done some GPS testing or had their speedometers calibrated, no one really knows how far they are going on a gallon of gas.

I just did some GPS runs with mine and even with 235-15 car tires, it was off more than by 5%.

 

[broncnaz]

You need to tune that engine. make sure your jetting is spot on. Timing will have to be played with to find your sweet spot and you should have the advance curved. Didnt say what tire size and gearing you have but that can factor in as well.

every old test report I've ever seen showed anywhere from 11.4 mpg -16 mpg and these were stock vehicles with everything stock.
Still all in all 12-15 is very attainable in just about any rig.
Highest my 73 every got with the 2V carb was 17 with 30 in tires. Now with a 2.5in lift 33in tires and a built engine and higher hiway speeds I can pull 16mpg as long as the winds blowing the way I'm going. And yes my mileage numbers have been checked and verified with 2 other stock vehicals.
The only time I'm leary of claimed MPG numbers is when they claim 20+ with big tires lifts and built engines. Might not be impossible but not very likely.