Re: IML: Imperial gasoline usage

[chrycordoba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

I, too, will be undertaking a long road trip in Miss Dorothy, my '66 Crown.  I leave DC for Atlanta on Wednesday, in anticipation of the Anniston show about a week later.  I am a little anxious that her mpg will be significantly less than what I got on last year's DC-Dallas-Atlanta-DC trip in my '65 Bonnville, or in my 2002 trip from DC-Chicago-DC in my '72 Riviera.  Both of those cars got about 15 mpg on the highway.  I know she won't even come close to the 22 mpg I got in my '83 Cordoba in last fall's trip to Atlanta, or the 30 mpg I got in my daily driver '97 Riviera on a trip to Virginia Beach several weeks ago.

Here's hoping that she can hold her own with the nut-case drivers on I-95 south of DC and on I-85 northeast of Atlanta.

Neal Herman
1959 Imperial
1966 Imperial
et al.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pittinaro <mechimike@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Mar 28, 2005 10:11 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Imperial gasoline usage

> figures" -it seems like Imperial ownership becomes
> increasingly
> challenging as fuel prices skyrocket-pretty soon we
> will be at $5.00 a
> gallon. At that point my cars will probably become
> lawn ornaments, but
> at least they will be amusing to look at.

Very sad to contemplate.  Even though gas prices have
been steadily creeping up here, I decided to take YE
on a long trip for Easter to visit my family in
western NY.  Dimitrios Dardalis, of 1968 ownership x2,
rode along with me to Philidelphia, where he had to
catch a flight back to his home in Austin, TX (we had
fun terrorizing SUV's and Hyundai's alike with the
Yellow Eagle!)  

For the trip, I averaged just a hair over 13 mpg,
which involved some pretty hilly driving through PA
and none of it done at what I would consider "normal"
speeds.  There's just something about punching the gas
and passing a doodling lexus in the left lane, uphill,
and watching the speedo climb like a mountain goat on
crack.

Still, those gallons weren't cheap, averaging $2.30
each for the 93 octane that the "Eagle" demands and
deserves.  I rationalize by realizing I have only
driven her around 4000 miles since I have owned her,
and 1606 of those were the trip back to Baltimore from
Austin.  But if gas gets much more pricey, those 600
mile trips will be a memory.  

So what can we do?  Could alternative fuels somehow
power an Imperial?  Or could modifications provide the
Imperial with better gas mileage?  I have long been
toying with the idea of adding a gear vendors OD unit,
and a lock up torque converter.  Coupled with a
slightly lower rear gearing, these would provide both
better acceleration and improved milage- I would not
be surprised if I could achieve close to 20 mpg on the
highway with these modifications.  Of course, the cost
of these mods would be steep- about $3000+ according
to the quotes I have seen.  You would need to drive
over 48,000 miles to recover the cost.  If gas hits $5
per gallon, though, the savings would come much more quickly.

--Mike Pittinaro

Beautiful Boxcar
American Grandeur and
Danish modern Style


		
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