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Tech Question
kent goodall, paola, KS, 1986 dodge pickup 383
I have a 1986 dodge pickup with a 383 bored 0.030" over, and a 727 trans. The trans, driveshaft, and 8-3/4" rear are out of a 77 Cordoba. The rear diff has 3.23 gears. My question is what would be the better gears for fuel mileage. Not only has the engine been bored it has a RV cam and a Edelbrock carb. and 1.5" in. headers. Love the mag. my youngest is 13 and starting to ask questions about cars.
Kent, frankly, it is never gonna get great fuel mileage! The axle ratio you have now (3.23:1) is probably about perfect, esp. with the large tires that your pickup probably has. If you do lots of 80+ MPH driving, then a swap to 2.94 would be a bit better, but the payback period would be pn the order of 5-10 years!
Pay attention to details for better fuel economy. Light synthetic oil, tight torque converter, lots of spark advance under light throttle (50 degrees BTDC, minimum!), low-restriction air cleaner, leanest jets or metering rods in carb, yada, yada.
I'm curious about that 1977 Cordoba 8-3/4" rear axle assembly....seeing as how 1974 was the last year for 8-3/4s! Fine Corinthian leather...sure. 8-3/4" axle, no way, Jose!
Rick
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