<VV> Leaning Out the Midrange (Long and Boring)

[Brent Covey]

> poor fuel economy (I'm all the way up to
> 16mpg) cannot be explained...Car runs great...lots of zip, but guzzles
gas.

Mike, thats horrible economy, not 'poor'. 16 mpg is what a 500 cubic inch
Fleetwood Brougham gets in highway driving around 60 mph.

That car should be at least as easy to propel as the orginal badly aligned
bias ply tire new Corvair was and a regular 110/Powerglide/3.27 gets around
18-20 in town and 26-28 on the highway. You have a bigger problem somewhere,
like a dragging low band, a stuck stator clutch (sprag clutch installed
backwards?) a horrific wheel alignment, gas dripping out the carb needles or
an odometer thats wildly off. You are at minimum 10-15% off what a run of
the mill Corvair should be getting, I bet most Suburbans could best you at
the moment on an econo run- if you're only getting 16 mpg in highway
driving, you're using almost twice the fuel of a stock Corvair.

There doesnt seem to be anything notable in your specs that would account
for the remarkable inefficiency, I am starting to wonder if you might have
some error in your odometer or something- keep in mind running full power
enrichment all the time is more or less about 4 jet sizes richer for
consumption- its barely noticed.

Is there any possibility you have something going on in the carbs like a
plugged siphon breaker thats causing the dramatic overfuelling?

I am interested in seeing what this turns out to be, but I think carb
calibration will be a red herring.

Brent Covey
Vancouver BC