Vortec 2200 swap?

[Reluctanse]

No one has mentioned the (much beloved) 6.5, or even maybe a 6.2 TD..... but a well tuned diesel might be the best option for MPG in one of these rigs.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

but it gets about 14 MPG and makes less torque than an L05 305.

Ummm an L05 is a 350 (5.7L), the L03 is a 305 (5.0L).

 

[someotherguy]

No one has mentioned the (much beloved) 6.5, or even maybe a 6.2 TD..... but a well tuned diesel might be the best option for MPG in one of these rigs.

It costs a lot to go to that party, and the music and food suck.

Fuel, maintenance, and repair cost is pretty high when you go diesel, IMO.

Richard

 

[User_name]

For the record. I just purchased a brand new subaru crosstrek manual transmission to drive the almost 170 miles per day for school and work. The gas I save every month makes the car payment. The insurance is ridiculous but I'm only 22....with a 95 in a 55 on my record..so yeah, I guess I cam understand the insurance portion.

 

[454cid]

Don't buy a Subaru unless you get one still under full warranty, then sell it before the warranty expires. To someone you don't like.

Richard

Are you referring to the headgasket issue with the NA 2.5L engines?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

It costs a lot to go to that party, and the music and food suck.

Ha Ha, that reminds me of sometime ~1980, when my Father-in-Law bought a Volkswagen Diesel Pickup (solid body). It got ~50+ MPG, when going down the highway at 65 MPH and the A/C compressor kicks in, all of a sudden he's doing 55. One time he brought 6 boxes of baling wire to us out in the field, every time he hit a bump, the truck bottomed out. About a year later he sold it - I wonder why...

Careful what you wish for

 

[Onizukachan]

I miss my 328d. Never ever broke down, dead nuts reliable, got 45-50 at 80mph, 33-35 city driving, but I had to sell it to be able buy CrewCad so I could get 4 mpg.

I’d buy it back in a heartbeat.

 

[Intragration]

Ummm an L05 is a 350 (5.7L), the L03 is a 305 (5.0L).

You are correct, I meant L03 305, thank you.

 

[Hipster]

it's a pretty easy math story problem, really, and 100% depends on how many miles a day you drive. but you can always make a spreadsheet to figure out if it makes sense. here's my example.

Commute: 60 miles/day, mixed hwy/stop and go

Option A) Commute in truck
300 miles/week @ 10.5mpg = 28.6 gal
Gas price ~ $3.79
$108/week FUEL
x4 weeks/mo = $432/month for fuel
Insurance $40/mo
Total not counting R&M, tires, etc: $472/mo

Option B) Commute cheap sh!tbox
300 miles/week @30.5mpg = 9.8 gal
Gas price ~ $3.79
$37.27-week FUEL
x4 weeks/mo = $149/month for fuel
Insurance $40/mo
Total not counting R&M, tires, etc: $189/mo

It's a $3400/year savings buying a cheap car. If your commuter cost you $5k (mine was $4200 but I put another $1k into it when I bought it), it would take you about 18 months to pay for the car. Plus tires are half the price, which I didn't calculate in any of the above, but you could add that in if you wanted.

Obviously everyone's situation is different but it's not that hard to figure out your own situation and do the math.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

My commute is less than 1 mile each direction. I go to the house for lunch everyday, sit in my recliner and watch a 30 minute TV show on my break. What I save not eating fast food more than pays for my gas. I make a little less now, but I do not spend 3 hours everyday of my life commuting, put 30+K miles on a vehicle every year or pay for all that gas now. Less stress too not having to drive with a bunch of maroons on the roads. My last tank got 9 mpg all city, but when I only drive 4 miles a day for work and ~10 miles round trip to the shop 3-4 times a week or if I want to cruise somewhere it is not the end of the world. My dad had it right, for 30 years he never worked farther than 2.5 miles from home.