what gears should i switch to?

[k10king]

first off the truck I'm getting is 1 '85 k10 long bed. it has the 305 v8 4WD. and I'm not terribly concerned about gas mileage but obviously the more the merrier. if i wanted to go to 33's what gears should i run? it is stock gears from my understanding.

I will be using this truck as a work truck and driving a decent bit. so like i said the more gas mileage the better.


and also is there anything that i could do to increase gas mileage?



please no rude comments.

 

[MadOgre]

first off the truck I'm getting is 1 '85 k10 long bed. it has the 305 v8 4WD. and I'm not terribly concerned about gas mileage but obviously the more the merrier. if i wanted to go to 33's what gears should i run? it is stock gears from my understanding.

and also is there anything that i could do to increase gas mileage?



please no rude comments.

Depends what transmission you have and what gear ratio it currently is set up with ?

 

[k10king]

3:08 or 3:73 i believe. doing some quick research it seems to be what came in stock. with a 700R transmission. what gears would be recommended? i don't know to much about this truck. I'm getting it from a dads buddy for cheap

 

[MadOgre]

I would do 3:73 or higher. preferably 4;10s with the 700r4

 

[k10king]

ok any idea of highway gas mileage if i baby it? slowish to gain speed and under 65mph on highway...

any ideas of how i could gain more mpg? this is my first truck so sorry for all the questions.. haha

 

[MadOgre]

overdrive is where you will get fuel economy. But if your lugging in overdrive then you are wasting fuel.

These trucks are not the greatest for fuel economy to start with. But my Edelbrock 1806 tuned properly for my elevation and the OD of my 4L60(700r4) it does alright actually when compared to newer trucks with LS motors. Its still not great though but its alright.

Probably 15-20 mpg is amazing. most get 10-15 mpg

4:10s with 33s and taking it easy with your 700r4 should get you 15 mpg maybe a bit better depending on how heavy your throttle foot is.

 

[MadOgre]

with the 4:10s you don't need much power to get going and if you acquired a good running Quadjet you could do pretty good fuel wise

 

[MadOgre]

Heck with 4;10s and a 4spd automatic all you need is a 283/305 and you would think it was a 350 just because of the gearing. With the OD then it makes the steeper gears feasible at higher speeds.

So with a 350 you wont have to step on it much to get it going.

 

[k10king]

yeah it has an edelbrock carb already i do know that. so 4:10 gears, the carb and a tune should do the trick?

where would i go to get a tune? like what kind of shop would do this?

I was also thinking about a tonneau cover, bigger air filter and cowl induction hood... any ideas?

 

[MadOgre]

Tonneau covers are nice!

 

[MadOgre]

Are you mechanically inclined? You should be or at least wanting to become if you bought an old truck lol

 

[MadOgre]

What is the Elevation from sea level where you live?

 

[k10king]

yeah i do want to learn a good bit from this truck. i want to try and do as much as i can by myself.

my current truck has a topper on it, which i don't really like but its really convenient. so I'm going to go with the less ugly but still convenient tonneau cover. a roll up cover since i have a toolbox on that truck

 

[bucket]

I agree with 4.10's. I ran the 700r4/3.73/33's combo for several years and hated it. Overdrive just lugged it, only useful on flat interstate with a tailwind. It was a heaver Burb, but with the balls of a 350, not a 305.

 

[MadOgre]

I agree with 4.10's. I ran the 700r4/3.73/33's combo for several years and hated it. Overdrive just lugged it, only useful on flat interstate with a tailwind. It was a heaver Burb, but with the balls of a 350, not a 305.

I have a stock 350/700r4/3:42s/33s and a stock 350/th400/4:10s/33s and the 4:10s make it feel like I have another 150hp over the 3:42s lol

I never even use OD on the 700r4 for the same reason its basically just used as a 3spd 700r4 lol

The 700r4 is going behind the 4:10s, well actually I am going to be making one really good truck out of the two on top of my 87 3/4 ton HD frame. Taking all the good stuff from the 84 and putting it into the 83 body and then putting it all onto my 87 frame. My neighbors think Im nuts lol but the 83 is in good shape body wise and between the two I will have one pretty nice truck. Gonna strip it all down to bare bones and fresh paint and everything!