Are fuel costs limiting your travel schedules? 10 gallons of Sunoco 94 gold cost $60 today and it's going up! I'm glad I built a pump fuel engine! Richard
Yes for me. I would have loved to do more travelling this year. Earlier in the year we picked up a '95 Ford F250 PSD. Pulls great. 16 mpg fully loaded (about 12,000 lb GVW)--which is decent for an automatic trans truck BUT, with diesel approaching $4.25/gallon here, it doesn't get used much. I saw this coming a while back and ran across a steal of a deal on a cheap 4 cylinder car (it's even a FORD!) so I picked it up. Now I get to laugh at my coworkers who are spending $60-$80 a week on fuel while I spend $30 every 2 weeks. That is, as long as I don't drive the Lightning. It helps to have a cheap car like that and I drive it as much as possible but yes, the cost hits us pretty hard.
I've got 1 or 2 trips left to drive up to the mountains to bring stuff up. I'm having a trailer hitch put on my Montana to move my fishing boat around, then I'll star driving it up here. it gets the same mileage as the PSD truck (22 mpg), but the fuel is cheaper. Also I'm gonna bring the motorcycle up next time I come up. Been in the 60's- low 70's here. I'm going back down tomorrow. Been in the 90's down there.
I'm fortunate that the race car will run on Sunoco 94. The IHRA events require that I use one of the authorized fuels and they ain't cheap no matter what brand. The price of fuel won't prevent me from running the full schedule.
The CanAm Stock/Super Stock series is run at Grand Bend, Cayuga and Lancaster, NY. We will also compete at the IHRA national events in Milan and Martin, Michigan, Grand Bend and Cayuga. Grand Bend is hosting a divisional meet this year as well.
Cool... I like Euro Fords. In high school, I wrote an essay on an underground civilization called XR4TIs.....
A guy in the next town had it for sale for a LONG time. I was wanting something cheap, 4 cylinder for decent mileage but couldn't find a Mustang for nothing! They're non-existent around here and when you do find one, they're $2000 for a pile of scrap iron. When I saw the ad, I figured it was a piece of junk. I called the owner, who bought it brand new in 1987, he said it has been sitting for at least 9 years. It did not run--fuel pump was gummed up with rust and goo. We winched it on the trailer and I started to get out some money and the guy said "give me $100 for it and I'll sign the title". I couldn't get the money out fast enough. I had to treat the tank, replace the pump (these cars are like the early EFI Mustangs, they had two fuel pumps, one low pressure in-tank pump and one high pressure pump on the frame). I did away with the OEM "rail" pump and the low pressure pump in the tank and replaced it with a Walbro 255 L/HR pump. The tanks for the Merkurs are discontinued and noone has a replacement tank for them, so I had to be REALLY careful with the tank. But all is well. The engine is the same as used in the Thunderbird turbocoupe, non-intercooled 2.3. A couple weeks ago I picked up an intercooler at the scrap metal yard, don't know what it fits but with a couple brackets and some tubing, it fits the Merk very good...and makes a HUUUUGE difference in power and driveability, even with the automatic ECM. I'd guess that it makes a good 30-50 HP more now than it did without it. The body is "ok", it shines but there are a few dings here & there. Interior is SHOT. BAck seat is perfect (it was folded up while it sat all that time). The IRS works great. Front end is OK, it shimmys a little but I know why--and I have parts on the way to fix it. I also swapped in a T5 transmission from a '89 Mustang 2.3, in place of the slipping C3 automatic. Easy swap, but the 3rd synchro is gone so it needs a rebuild. Another project for another day. Also, the 2.3 stock clutch slips with anything more than 1/2 throttle. Keep my foot out of it and it won't slip. So far with a leaky fuel filler neck seal, I've managed 37 mpg, sometimes a little more sometimes a little less depending on how it's driven. It's serving its purpose. Fun to drive, fairly powerful (for a 4 cylinder), and it's cheap. Insurance costs less for a full year's coverage on it than my truck does for 3 months of coverage. I think I can get 50 mpg out of it if I work on it a little more. Heck I managed nearly 40 out of my old '84 GT with a mildly built 5.0/T5/3.73.
You know, its just bad when you have to spend money to REALLY save money. Here is another mode of transport now at my house. Haven't riden in 30 years, but getting back and forth is fun. 1974 Ford Maverick 1/2 gallon per 1/4 mile (but very fun) 1976 Ford ranchero 460 cid 1994 Linclon Mark VIII 4.6 cobra motor 2003 Sport Trax 2004 Freestar (wife's) 2003 Honda VT600 VLX Deluxe (Yes I said Honda)
yeah, I need to ride the bike (85 Honda Magna) a little more. Actually a lot more. Too hot here in the summer. That's why it's going up to the other house in the high country.
Thanks Valleyracer. Hey Don, you got more then one house? Want some Kids to go with it? I'll send them to you at no charge and they are already trained, all you would have to do is feed them. LOL Blessings.
