I have a 1983 Hurst Olds with a new bored out Oldsmobile 409. My daily driver however is a mint 60k 1984 Delta 88 Royale Brougham LS. The car is completely mint with basically no parts replaced except for my new tires. The fuel economy for the 307 is 5mpg currently. I put in a K&N filter and fixed a vacuum leak and am now up to 6.5mpg. Is there anything I should Check? And also how can I increase my power? Thank you.

 

Jesus can''''''''t help you with this car. Catylitic converter could be starting to clog. Take out the seats and dash and door panels. Take out the jack and spare tire.that will lighten the load. Man tha''''''''s a heavy car. You can''''''''t increase power without sacrificing fuel economy. This car was made in the days. You''''''''ve done the best you can.I''''m assuming you''''ve cleaned everything and the plug wires are good and plugs are good and gapped righ? Converter good?Carb is clean and good? I don''''t think you can adjust the carb on this car. Choke isn''''t sticking? I''''m not sure if it can stick. Valve adjust? Maybe you can adjust valves on this model. Check the book onthat.Cap and rotor good?Engine runs good?Tires flat? [img]smileys/smiley14.gif[/img]these cars just suck gas. I had a Buick of this year and you could literally just watch the gas gauge move. Getback to me. Edited by: cierra

 

25 gallon tank and I can actually see the effect of my gas usage. I''m throwing some E3 plugs and Accel caps and wires in it in bout a week, we''ll see where that takes us.. Carb spacer soon after.. Everything is clean as can be, this thing is COMPLETELY mint down to rubber hoses... Car runs without even an occasional hiccup.. It''s not just the car because this thing should actually get around 17 easily.. I''ve seen people consider 12mpgs to be HORRIBLE, I just increased this from 5 to 9mpgs and not a single complaint, despite this forum..

 

Hello,


My name is Mike and I''m a 25+ year veteran in the auto parts industry.I see this kind of complaint almost every day. There is not one culprit toblame for this kind of problem. The most common mistake people make is to throw money at the problem. Please take my advice and do not buy expensive plugs, wires, cap, rotor etc. This will do nothing except drain your wallet. The performance gain ,if any, will not be poutweighed buy the cost of the parts. Plus, if you install high end plugs like platinum or iridium they will most certainly put a strain on your already aged ignition system. Stick with the factory AC delco plugs and you will be fine. Don''t use platinum, it''s not worth it.


The number one culprit is most likely the carburetor. If this were my ride I would start by removing the carb and taking it to a reputable shop that can accurately and properly rebuild it. Start by taking a good detailed look at this thing. If memory serves, this was about the time GM started using an electronic feedback loop to control fuel level and mixture in the carb. Is there an electrical plug on the front of it? If so, then your carb is one of those. If this is the case you do not want to buy a rebuilt one from a parts house. They can cost upwards of 450 bucks. Instead, get all the numbers off of it or simply take it to the parts house and let them pull the WALKER catalog down off the shelfand find the correct rebuild kit and float for it. If you have an O''Reilly Auto Parts near you, I STRONGLY suggest you take it there. I worked at several parts chains in the past and am currently employed by O''Reilly in upper management. Their attitudes are much better than the competitors.


If having the carb rebuilt is out of the question then it is time to start looking fora replacement. I''ve always been a Holley man in the past but I took some of my customers'' advice recently and installed an Edelbrock in my ''83 chevy fullsize truck. The only thing I had to adjust on it was the fast idle. I did not turn the first screw on the mixture settings! I am extremely happy with this carb! They are bench flow caloibrated at the factory and Edelbrock has an excellent reputation for quality. The cost was around 350 bucks.


Either way you go, you are going to have to spend some money to fix your ride. I know you probably want to keep her stock but if rebuilding that old E4ME carb is an expensive prospect then the Edelbrock alternative will be well worth it.


Other than the carb it is simply a matter of making sure all the emission controls are working as they should. check for rotted or soft vacuum lines that will collapse under vacuum and replace them as needed. If your catalytic converter were stopped up you would know it. It would have almost no power at all and would be hard to start. Also, if you have a check engine light on then pull that code and go from there. Don''t take the codes literally as this is a common mistake. Instead consult someone like me or any other senior tech with experience. Hope this helps.

 

That''s a big help, thanks. I installed a 800cfm edelbrock carb on my 83
Olds and am severly happy about it. I guess I may want to look at that. I
have no problem with originality as long as what I do is reversible to
retain worth. I also have a carb spacer on the way. How would E3 plugs
not help? There is no extra strain, in fact, less power usage. Personally
from my experience I have never been disappointed by new plugs. I like
O''Reily, mainly because the bought murrays and I have no choice. For
the record though, sorry, but that is the worst and most horribly unhelpful
web site I have ever seen in my life. Finding ordinary oil became and
unattainable goal. Please let them know, and thanks for the input, it is
much appreciated.