Highest MPG V8?

[Jay2TheRescue]

At the time I owned it E10 was not mandated here, but "oxygenated" fuel was required in the winter. The mileage didn't drop as much with E10 because it was a carb with no o2 sensor.- The truck didn't know it was burning leaner. It was even designed to run on leaded fuel. I usually ran midgrade with lead additive added to each tank. I never really drove it hard because then it got under 10 MPG. (Then again I was only paying $1.079 for midgrade - those were the good old days... ) I realize that not all 74 Chevys got that mileage, I made small mods that helped like the electronic ignition, widened the plug gap, and switched to platinum plugs. I also drove it respectably, I think I could do even better if I still had that truck.

I initially bought it as a toy. A beater to drive once in a while and have fun. Back then the BWH was a beautiful car and was waxed weekly. The truck ran so well that it quickly became my daily driver, and the Buick became the toy. The truck got better mileage, and I had better visibility in the truck so I ended up driving it a lot. After driving it for a few years I started thinking that I loved the truck so much that I looked into getting the rust taken care of. It had the typical early 70's Chevy Cancer - rust holes in the fenders so large I could stick my arm through them, and it had rust holes in the floor of the bed. I remember when I bought it the guy jokingly said "Don't haul any sand in it" I figured that by the time I replaced the bed, doors, fenders, and put a quality paint job on it that I'd be spending at least $5,000 and I'd still be driving a 20+ y/o truck with over 300,000 miles. I was afraid that it would be just my luck to spend that kind of money on the truck, and have something serious happen with the engine not long afterwards. I figured I'd look at newer trucks.

When I bought Rusty he had 95,000 miles and was 10 years old, garage kept, and looked fantastic. The truck was even optioned just as I would have ordered it from the factory, right down to the paint colors. $5,000 and it was mine. I sold the 74 to my sister who had it as her DD for about 2 years, and her beater for another 3 or 4 years.