A classic as a daily driver project?

[Jesse]

Has anyone ever tried this before? If so how did it work out?

I’m looking at a 1967 283 4 door impala as a daily driver. I checked out the car and it had minimal rust spots, just some rust behind the wheel well, and on one fender. The rest of the car was relatively rust free, including the floor pan. Interior was completely redone recently, and the car is running, though the transmission is not in good shape (I was going to ditch the transmission anyways).

My first concern here is improving gas mileage. My goal is 25 on the highway, if I can get that I will be a happy camper. What would you guys recommend for gas mileage? The first thing I was thinking of is trying to get a hold of a more modern transmission with better gear ratio’s and overdrive to mate to the 283. The two speed powerglide is a no go.

The second thing I was thinking of is ditching the Holley that the owner put on the Impala and going with a Q-Jet carburetor, and possibly switching the car over to electronic ignition. What kind of mpg would you guys expect from a 283 with a tuned Q-Jet carb, and a more modern tranny with overdrive?

Topic

[Andrew Button]

TBI is like a carb, with a brain running it. Its not so involved as switching to modern stuff, which also means cheaper. Small block gas consumption can very on many things. 283 had little valves and little power but displacement among motors could affect fuel mileage, but all the other crap attached is what makes the difference. The best small block of the bunch was the 327 with a larger bore but a shorter stroke. Always the favored motor, especially for 60s chevies. 283s with it’s 3 inch stroke makes for a pretty soggy car unless really light (like a 57 which all had 4.10s..hmmm) where as with the same bore at 4 inches, but 3.25 stroke, Chevy nailed it with that in 1962. Plus most had camel hump heads. Unfortunatly I am not exactly the only one that knows this needless to say, and so the prices for a 327 are crazy bad. I put an L79 350 hp 327 back together for a widow in a midyear Corvette with this motor, and it was life changing experience – most engines have no soul or spirit, that one was just the opposite.. Somebody asked me what I thought of that 65 model compared to a modern corvette which am all to familiar with, and I had to laugh. 350s unless they are modded to the moon don’t excite me in the least. Large journal over stroked motors will not do the same things a 327 will do, although very affordable and accessable are the fallback as they made a couple hundred million of them and they cost nothing to buy or build. I wouldn’t spend 2 cents on a 305 as they were just plain junk motors engineered for the sole purpose of pleasing tree huggers.

[Gary]

[quote=”andrewbutton442″ post=126701]TBI is like a carb, with a brain running it. Its not so involved as switching to modern stuff, which also means cheaper. Small block gas consumption can very on many things. 283 had little valves and little power but displacement among motors could affect fuel mileage, but all the other crap attached is what makes the difference. The best small block of the bunch was the 327 with a larger bore but a shorter stroke. Always the favored motor, especially for 60s chevies. 283s with it’s 3 inch stroke makes for a pretty soggy car unless really light (like a 57 which all had 4.10s..hmmm) where as with the same bore at 4 inches, but 3.25 stroke, Chevy nailed it with that in 1962. Plus most had camel hump heads. Unfortunatly I am not exactly the only one that knows this needless to say, and so the prices for a 327 are crazy bad. I put an L79 350 hp 327 back together for a widow in a midyear Corvette with this motor, and it was life changing experience – most engines have no soul or spirit, that one was just the opposite.. Somebody asked me what I thought of that 65 model compared to a modern corvette which am all to familiar with, and I had to laugh. 350s unless they are modded to the moon don’t excite me in the least. Large journal over stroked motors will not do the same things a 327 will do, although very affordable and accessable are the fallback as they made a couple hundred million of them and they cost nothing to buy or build. I wouldn’t spend 2 cents on a 305 as they were just plain junk motors engineered for the sole purpose of pleasing tree huggers.[/quote] Yes OP for the love of God don’t put in a 305…I agree, what a junk motor.

[Jesse]

[quote=”Chevyman21″ post=126702][quote=”andrewbutton442″ post=126701]TBI is like a carb, with a brain running it. Its not so involved as switching to modern stuff, which also means cheaper. Small block gas consumption can very on many things. 283 had little valves and little power but displacement among motors could affect fuel mileage, but all the other crap attached is what makes the difference. The best small block of the bunch was the 327 with a larger bore but a shorter stroke. Always the favored motor, especially for 60s chevies. 283s with it’s 3 inch stroke makes for a pretty soggy car unless really light (like a 57 which all had 4.10s..hmmm) where as with the same bore at 4 inches, but 3.25 stroke, Chevy nailed it with that in 1962. Plus most had camel hump heads. Unfortunatly I am not exactly the only one that knows this needless to say, and so the prices for a 327 are crazy bad. I put an L79 350 hp 327 back together for a widow in a midyear Corvette with this motor, and it was life changing experience – most engines have no soul or spirit, that one was just the opposite.. Somebody asked me what I thought of that 65 model compared to a modern corvette which am all to familiar with, and I had to laugh. 350s unless they are modded to the moon don’t excite me in the least. Large journal over stroked motors will not do the same things a 327 will do, although very affordable and accessable are the fallback as they made a couple hundred million of them and they cost nothing to buy or build. I wouldn’t spend 2 cents on a 305 as they were just plain junk motors engineered for the sole purpose of pleasing tree huggers.[/quote] Yes OP for the love of God don’t put in a 305…I agree, what a junk motor.[/quote]
I would never even entertain the idea of buying a 305, I know what pieces of junk they are.

[Gary]

Another consideration is an anti-theft system. You will want one in this day in age. You will need a hood latch that can only be opened from the inside to start which can be gotten and retrofitted from any junkyard. Then you will need to prevent hotwiring through means of a fuel shutoff valve, ignition killswitch or an immobilizer..or all of the above. Finally if you want you can install an alarm system. An antitheft system of some kind is a necessity on a classic daily driver since most if not all classics have no real security.

[Author]

Replies