Look at the gas mileage posted in this old Ford ad!

billiebob

Well-known member
Yeah, I had a 1977 F250 with a straight six gas and a clutch, 25mpg was easy on the highway.
My buddy still has his diesel Ranger, not running anymore but 10 years ago over 30mpg was easy too.

The gas crisis from the 1970s drove a lot of great developments thru the 1980s.

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Not to mention the double nickel.
 
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billiebob

Well-known member
Growing up in OilBerta the Ford 2WD Twin I Beam outlasted GMs 2WD independent suspension. You'd rebuild a Chevy 3 times before spending a penny on Fords 2WD Twin I Beam.

My 1977 F250 had over 300K oilfield miles on it with no maintenance beyond shocks and brakes. A guy I grew up with ran an oilfield business, a die hard GM guy one year he bought 5 Fords and never went back. That was where I got the 3 times more durable number above.

In the 1980s "Built Ford Tough" was an accurate description.
 
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Marine

Adventurer
Oil field miles are hard miles. I worked in the bakken all we had were f250’s. Oilberta. Lol I have family in barhead.
 

billiebob

Well-known member
Oil field miles are hard miles. I worked in the bakken all we had were f250’s. Oilberta. Lol I have family in barhead.
Hell we lived in Barrhead from 1987 thru 2000.... I bet my wife taught someone you knew. Oilberta first business as you enter town.
 

toddz69

Explorer
The gas mileage estimates for all cars and trucks in the very late 70s/early 80s were always extremely optimistic/unrealistic. I remember seeing the ads as a kid (I was about 10 years old when the second gas crunch hit in '79) and was smart enough to know that most cars didn't get the mileage they advertised. At some point in the '80s (don't remember the year, maybe '85-'86?), the EPA was forced to revise how those numbers were calculated and the numbers came down to a more realistic level. The numbers listed in that ad could've maybe been achieved going downhill with a tailwind with a soft-footed driver driving a 300 six pickup for short distances but it would still be optimistic.

Todd Z.
 

Grasslakeron

Explorer
I always get better then posted. I currently have 21' f350 SCLB 4x4 7.3L with 4.30's on 33's. I got 17.3 mpg from Des Moines to Omaha. Hand calculated. 8300 lbs of truck. 5400 miles of an out west trip and averaged over 16.4 mpg.

I owned a 2006 Chevy Aveo. My 100,000 mile average was 39.94 mpg. Advertised at 34 mpg highway.

I owned a 1994 Ford festiva. My 100,000 mile average was 48 mpg. Advertised at 35.

I drive 55 mph and keep my shift points below 2000 rpms.

My wife's 2018 Subaru Forester XT advertised at 30 mpg I get 34.5 mpg.
 
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Regcabguy

Oil eater.
The 300cu six and the high
They continued to be good trucks! And arguably better than many of the trucks in the '80s because they all had EFI, etc.

Todd Z.
The 302 got efi in '87,the 300cu in 1988 and the 460 in '89 as I remember. It revolutionized the efficiency,drive ability and reliability. My friend had an '84 F-150 six and manual trans and it got 18-20 as I recall. They were gutless,but did have a lot of long end torque with the carb. If you bought an F-100 in California it looked like snakes had inhabited the engine along with an air pump with the carbs. The F-150 was barren under there. Super easy to work on. I bought a pos oil eating '85 Toyota Hilux along with two other friends. They ate 1qt of oil/1000 miles after breaking in. Toyota wouldn't even do a oil consumption test after i contacted headquarters. Those Ford's lasted forever.
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
I always get better then posted. I currently have 21' f350 SCLB 4x4 7.3L with 4.30's on 33's. I got 17.3 mpg from Des Moines to Omaha. Hand calculated. 8300 lbs of truck. 5400 miles of an out west trip and averaged over 16.4 mpg.

I owned a 2006 Chevy Aveo. My 100,000 mile average was 39.94 mpg. Advertised at 34 mpg highway.

I owned a 1994 Ford festival. My 100,000 mile average was 48 mpg. Advertised at 35.

I drive 55 mph and keep my shift points below 2000 rpms.

My wife's 2018 Subaru Forester XT advertised at 30 mpg I get 34.5 mpg.
My friend has a 2018 Forester base model and averages 26 mpg. 90% city.
 

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