Classic Car MPG And The Forgotten Tool
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ธ.ค. 2024
- When it comes to getting maximum power and economy from an old school carbureted engine, a vacuum gauge is an important diagnostic tool.
Here's the how and why of using one to milk maximum gas mileage from your vintage ride.
As a classic mopar driver whos still a teen its great to have you old guys who have forgotten more than i know as learning material.
I love this series, this is exactly the fundamental stuff the other car channels never talk about.
Thunderhead289 is pretty detailed on vacuum gauge and AFR meter tuning for cruise and power too.
@Rob. Nick and his family are very wealthy and his rich buddies also, its also expensive Canadian gas,,5$ a Gallon is normal,,that gas comes from Saudi arabia by boat its expensive and dumb as Canada has massive reserves in oil.
I took a five year break from hobby drag racing, and at the same time moved further from my employer, then commuting 140 mi/day round trip. As a gear-head and tinkerer, I naturally bought a 3 cylinder Geo Metro and played with mpg tuning and driving for maximum mpg. one of the first mods was to add a mechanical vacuum gauge on the dash, which turned out to be a fantastic diagnostic / feedback tool to educate the 'loose nut behind the wheel' to drive for fuel economy.
Still have my Sun branded vacuum gauge. I used to use it setting air/fuel mixture screws on the carb ... "maximum vac." was the goal for those adjustments. And then there is my dwell angle meter -- but that's another story!
I don't know if that's the most efficient way, haha. That just means you need the least air to get the most RPM, and that usually ends up being richer than being most efficient.
I remember as a kid my dad knew an old mechanic that had a sun brand “engine analyzer” that had vacuum gauges, dwell meter, an oscilloscope and a few other things. Of course at the time I didn’t know what any of that was for and remember thinking with all those wires and tubes you’d think you’d see it in a hospital ICU, not a garage 😂
@Konstantinos Palaiologos True, but dwell and timing affects all this also.
In order, if you have points, get the dwell set correctly, then get the timing close .
Once those are done, then you can adjust the carb mixture screw(s) for best vacuum, then typically give 'em a half turn or so back towards "rich" just to help with drivability.
Lastly, after all that other stuff is set and done, adjust your idle speed and you're done.
(PS - I also use the vacuum gauge to help determine best timing on non-stock engines, but that's an "advanced" course in Shadetree 101 :-) ).
-Ed on the Ridge
@Konstantinos Palaiologos he told you the problem, you are drawing air into the engine that's not going through the carb.
You can ditch the pcv, and have it run right.
Replace the breather with a plug, or plumb it's port into the manifold, and have it run right.
Or, continue letting it pull atmosphere into the engine via the crankcase vents and not run right.
Idle mixture can be set using vacuum or RPM both work equally well. What's VERY important that most people miss however is that for a vehicle with an automatic transmission those adjustments need to be made in gear. Where idle tuning and a vacuum gauge really come into their own is tuning timing. We should be adjusting idle timing for peak vacuum, however that really only works in the long run with the distributor vacuum connected to manifold vacuum which few know how to tune anymore.
I was really waiting for Uncle Tony to stomp on the pedal and watch the gauge go down to 0!
If it doesn't make it to near zero, the carb is too small.
I just thought he would run out of gas.
@Dakota Bethune If I recall, if more than 3" vacuum, larger carb can help. Of couse it hurts nothing except power to run small carb, mileage might be better with smaller bores (my reason to prefer spread bore 4bbl design, better low speed vaporization).
@@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259 Love the spread bores with vacuum secondary!
@@thisisyourcaptainspeaking2259 Ahh man, and I just hours ago removed the double pumper from my engine for a much smaller carb. Wish I tried this for a look see before hand. Ahh well.
Nice to see such a high vacuum and zero flutter. I learned to drive in a truck with a sun vacuum gauge. It gave me an ear and a feel for driving smart in all vehicles.
Technically 70-72 Chevelle's equipped with the cowl induction vacuum-actuated flapper hood have an economy gauge built into the sheet metal lol
If it opens, you're out of the "economy" range lol
Or the cam was so big, it couldn't open!
SmiteTeamSix so true. I was fortunate to have grown up with a bunch of friends and we were all muscle car gearheads with cars of various brands, values etc. One of the guys had one of those Chevelle’s and it was a very cool car. Camero had a short run of that cowl system as well in the ealy 80’s.
71-73 Mustangs had them on the hood, but facing the opposite direction. You'd need granny riding on the hood looking in the scoops and giving you a thumbs up or down to know if you were in economy mode.
JC Whitney's Used to Sell Interior Mount one With A Special Settable MPG Dial using Micro Screwdriver. I loved Mine Installed on Brothers,73 Satellite Sebring Plus with Hopped Small Block
Totally explains "feather the pedal" power
@Motersickle Bum you make a good point, I hardly see bumper stickers at all
My wife was a "fluctuator". It used to drive me crazy riding around while she drove
Jimmy Joedailey vvvvrrrrrrroooooommmmmmmmvvvvrrrrrroooooommmmmmm. And the pedal went down with every point she was trying to make, and coasted in between thoughts. Yea, drives me crazy too.
@Mike B easy does it is alcoholics anonymouses slogan
@@hex374 Yep, Live and let Live. KiSS. Many good ones to live by.
Got a vacuum gauge in my truck. Love it. Was going up a steep pass one day and about half way up the pass I noticed my foot going down more n more on the gas.. looked down to see zero on vacuum gauge, that's a problem. Had a flat tire going 75 fully loaded. Didn't notice lol
Used to have the same Lisle gauge. Gave it to a younger guy along with the instructions. Told him if he learned how to use it, it could be one of the most important tools he'd ever own. These days I personally just use the gauge on my Mity Vac. Number one diagnostic tool. Rivaled only by looking at the spark plugs. Vacuum tells more about the health of the engine and if you want to estimate the condition of an unknown engine its simple to connect and you don't have to take anything apart. A big plus when considering buying a car. UTG is for sure the best there is. Understanding how things work!
I'm a young dude thats used to more modern fuel injected stuff, but I got my first classic now. Super interesting stuff. It's the exact opposite to fuel injected cars where you want to keep the throttle open to avoid pumping losses, but at low rpm. High mean cylinder pressure is the name of the game. Makes total sense though, carbs don't cut the fuel off throttle and enrichen the mixture at higher throttle as you explained.
Thanks!
These are my favourite types of videos on UTG. Old school "doing stuff" type of videos. The lost art and kind of shit you did back in the day. Just reminds me of my dad. Love it.
Was sent to your channel by scotty. Saw a few of your videos on the hemi. Your knowledge has made me subscribe. Good work.
I've never been shown how a vacuum gauge actually works. When there were enough old school mechanics around, I wasn't old enough, or interested enough to learn. Now that I really want to learn this stuff, I can't find anybody around to learn from. I wish I lived closer to you so I could get some hands on learning. But this is better than nothing. Thanks again for the info Tony.
Tony, I had a 2 guage set in my '70 Duster 225. Oil pressure and vacuum. I used it to tune the carb and check against timing and idle. It would pull great vacuum at idle. I wish I still had that car! All manual. no a/c. 3 speed on the floor from the factory! I loved that car!
More people need to know this!! Thank you so much for making this video, Tony. Hopefully it helps younger folks starting out with classic cars. Excellent demonstration!
My uncle had a ‘65 SS Impala with a huge vacuum gauge on the dash by the passenger’s side. Very Cool!
Great video uncle Tony! I had one of those old school shop teachers back 20 years ago in high school that taught all about the many uses of a vacuum gauge from setting idle mixture to diagnosing internal engine problems. I would love to see you post a video on the many types of issues you can address with one of these. I think a lot of the younger trouble code chasing viewers could learn a thing or 2 from this.
I have had a vacuum gauge for many, many years. My grandfather told me when I was like 7 or 8 how important they were & how to use them. I just love the way Uncle Tony explains thing so simple that almost anybody should be able to understand it. Great video, excellent information, thanks for sharing!
Hey Tony, A big thanks for teaching the importance of a vacuum gauge for diagnosing older pre-ECM cars. I bought one to try on my Chevy resurrection project, and one of the first things I checked was the vacuum signal to the distributor. Zero. Nothing. Vacuum to the distributor was being obstructed by one of the emissions control gadgets. It paid for itself on the first use. I'll continue to learn all the ways to use it. I had tested the vacuum advance mechanism with a hand vacuum pump and had assumed it was working. The mechanism was, but it wasn't getting any vacuum signal.
I wish I could be in Tennessee working for you guys living the lifestyle of when I was a youngster working and driving on the older cars! It's what got me in the automotive repair business to begin with! When I was a kid helping my grandfather working on his late 60'- early 70' Oldsmobile fleet, I was enjoying it and having a blast. As I got to 13 he had passed away and the cars were disappearing from the Western Pa. rust belt and I got lucky to have owned a 59, 72, 76, 79 and a couple of others before the government smashed them all. I miss it so bad, I would get one in a heartbeat if I could find one like Tony's fleet and work on it and drive it. God bless you and enjoy your day today.
Its interesting to see a TH-cam car go down the road. Many become vermin hotels in some poor bastards backyard. Knowledge experience and follow through. Tony's one of the very few who have all three. No hot tank though
there is a video of a person rebuilding a engine with out hot tanking the engine the engine lasted 15 min. the video is of nick dyno tuning someone's engine for them
@@jeffrey4547 I've put stuff together without tanking. But did spend a lot on brake clean. A lot depends on how long the things been sitting with shit in it.
@@needmetal3221 use a steam cleaner i even steam clean it after hot tank u would be surprise on how much stuff come out of a engine but i have over hauled engines too as long as it has not set for long
Hot tank does not clean oil-galleys. There is a whole lot more to that story. Tony definitely got a bad rap on that. I'm not in any way placing blame. Not at all. If any blame belongs on Tony's shoulders? It was the basic idea in the first place! That job was doomed from go simply because of the time-line. The scope of work needed more than one day. Bad idea. That part might be Tony's fault. But, Lunar absolutely did not follow through with his end of the bargain. That block/crank was supposed to show up assembly clean. It was nowhere near assembly clean. So, the chowder in the brew Nick discovered belongs on Lunar's shoulders if anybody. Just a bad deal all around. You absolutely do not need a hot tank. I have built countless (well, probably 30~40) engines that never saw a hot tank, and provided many tens of thousands of miles of service after completion. With the time-line they had, they didn't even have enough time for cleaning, let alone the whole build! Hell, I built a 318 in a 1981 Ramcharger plow-truck that broke a crank in half in 1994. I took that engine and 3 other cores. Mixed and matched the best parts from all 4 engines. New rings/bearings/gaskets was the extent of the new parts. That engine, in that same truck, still plows my Dad's neighborhood to this day. Hot tank is NOT necessary. Cleanliness certainly is though!
Nice car Tony, that's great vacuum.
Our '65 Impala SS had a factory "Economy" or "Power" vacuum gauge in the shifter console.
I drove a 68 Charger R/T to High School and used to tune it with a vacuum gauge. For me that “sweet spot” was flooring that big block, topped with a Thermoquad, and hearing those massive vacuum secondaries kicking in. Listening to how those sounded through the torque curve really was a great teaching tool and validates your explanation here. Great Job.
Thank You Uncle Tony. I started driving stuff in a 70 VW. When you mentioned the AC, I was reminded of my second car - a 73 Rideau 500 - 351C with an MX trans. It had a compressor the size of a toaster oven. It got 13 mpg, 11.5 with the AC and it would almost snow inside. I started playing with the Vac gauge. I came across the fueling and running alcohol during the war. And water injection - to cool the air-fuel charge. I added methanol to the water injection, and then used a window wiper pump to feed the mixture to the space under the carb. I pulled the fan off the engine and put a thermostat on the rad lines to run the Electric fan as needed. In town - 30 mph - I had a bypass switch to run it all the time. Next - I ran tag wire down the main jets - to moderate it a little. The final touch was running a vac - on the air-space above the float of the carb. No one - would believe what I got for mpg.
BTW - back in the 70's there was a tool for replacing the sparkplug - and watching the color of the flame in the cylinder. That was one way to ensure that I did not burn a valve. Cheers!
I'm 16 bout to turn 17 in a few days I'm a GM guy but I enjoy these mopar videos and appreciate the knowledge you share most of it can be translated to all vehicles and its pretty cool
I turned 50 the other day and if you can take a little advice ,if you intend to make a career out of cars dont be "a GM guy" , be a mechanic, look at all cars,bikes,trucks ,all machinery as just nuts and bolts to not limit your choices for jobs. I started as a motorcycle mechanic but as time went on i found out the pay sucked compared to what my heavy industry mates were on so did another apprenticeship and now fix fighter jets on much better pay and fiddle with japanese ,british, italian bikes and australian and american cars on weekends. Its all nuts and bolts.
@@watsisbuttndo829 I do like to tinker with other vehicles too I like all sorts of cars i just really like gm but I do understand where you are coming from and on the account that you have years of experience I'll happily take your advice thanks
@@ExpWars i was "a ford guy" at your age and living in Australia a xb falcon coupe (think mad max interceptor) was always the goal. But in my shed at the moment is a 65 pontiac gto. Its natural to have a favorite but get into everything and make sure you research pay rates and job opportunities if this is your thing, good luck young fellow!.
@@watsisbuttndo829 of course I also like hondas believe it or not, and Subarus
How do you know you are a GM guy if you haven't experienced the other cars?
Uncle Tony I had a 1200 cc Torana (Auzzie) with a Stromberg CV carby and you could always tell when the diaphragm had a hole in it. If you floored it and it bogged down or died it was an indication that the diaphragm was holed. You no longer had vacuum isolated from the top of the carby vacuum chamber and the jets were open wide. Open the throttle slowly and it was still drive-able.
My '65 Tubo Corsa had the boost /vacuum gauge. It really shaped my driving style. Today people don't know this stuff. Great vid.
back in the 70's I had mounted a vacuum gauge in the dash in place of a tach and it helps a lot to tell you what the engine is doing. like if your valves are getting bad the vacuum gauge will show it . I was 18 and just getting started with cars and every time a old timer saw the vacuum gauge they would give me a lesson on how to use it that gave me the urge to learn about and become a mechanic and I did now all these years later I'm 59 and disabled but I still love the old cars
I think my cheap scan tool has live diagnostic data related to fuel and air mixture trims. Cool video Tony ,you are teaching the younger generation important knowledge.
First tool I bought for my 5th ave daily driver, really appreciate the knowledge base Uncle tony, best Chanel on TH-cam.
Thanks for sharing a daily driver project with us, lots of us just have stock engines and like knowing what you have to say about the tuning, we appreciate it 👍
Wow back in the 60 n 70 my dad worked for Chrysler and I learned that from him. But you just gave me a touch up because it's been a while but nice to know. I'll watch you channel more often. Very good . Peace
Think this is a concept most people knew about but not really understand. I really appreciate the why of things and really liked the vid.
I remember when we soldered the diameter of the metering rods bigger on my brothers 72 Nova to make it run leaner at part vacuum.
Thank's for the video. I have come across a few know nothing know it all's who say to junk the SP2P. Daily driving and pulling trailers across the desert leaves them clueless. Great intake. It delivers as it was intended to.
I used a vacuum gauge back in the 1980's for fuel economy.
My mom's 78 Coup DeVille had a series of lights at the top of the dash bezel that indicated vacuum, it made a real difference in MPG keeping more lights lit up.
Yep. A great tool! I've got 2 laying in my box! A lot of guys will appreciate this vid. Keep it up Tony!
Good video Tony. Not many people have believed me over the years when I said that if there was a bigger engine in a particular vehicle, tit would get better fuel mileage. Finally, someone who gets it. Its amazing what a relief it is to bump into someone that you dont have too slow down and teach them everything you just told them. I dont mind teaching, helping and, showing people things but, after so many years it wears on a guy.
Thanks again for the vid Tony. Looking forward to an update too this vid.
This is so cool. Remembering as a kid reading my uncle's car magazines and the Mobil fuel economy runs.
Thanks Tony, great stuff.
That’s so cool , I hope the younger generation can appreciate this . Another great how to from Uncle . Cheers
Reminds me of my Auto Technician class, 1994, had to learn all Carb stuff and then EFI fun. Drove a $400 79 Fox Mustang fastback, 302 auto. It was rough. Emission delete, calibrated the distributor, tuned with Vacuum and rpm, set up manual choke(a hood release cable, wound up the choke spring to hold open). Ended up with home made dual exhaust flowmasters, rebuilt front end, struts/shocks, 89 GT swaybars and 3:27 8.8 posi rear. Ugly grey, but it beat a 76 corvette(it wasn't tuned good-smoked) at 180kph. The Stang also had a newer instrument cluster that went to 200kph.
UT, like you I grew up with these. The Pontiac's often had the vacuum gauge, Mercedes too. If you could get hold of one of those it's easier to understand than the mechanic's tool. Good video.
I don't know what it is about this car, but I love it, even though it's not a speed demon, it just speaks to me, I would love to own this car, and I love how you are showing the audience that even a good old Carb V8 ain't that bad on gas if you tune and build it right.
My Dad had a 64 Pontiac Grand Prix , 389 Tri power it had a vac gage on the center console .Beautiful car triple black, full power and 8 lug wheels .
Thanks Tony. Love to learn your ways,Brother. Old School is so cool
Finally after 6 months of prodding you. The vacuum has came out of your tool box. I was on the edge of mailing you one.
I really wish I knew stuff like this when I was 30, instead of 50...lol
What, like if you push the gas less, less gas goes into your engine????
Nathan Brame how to use the vacuum gauge for tuning....nice try
@@fastinradfordable perfect rendition of a millenial thinking out loud
In the mid 70s the Dodge Dart Light had a switch that lit up the turn indicator on the left front fender when you were in the throttle too far. The standing joke in the dealership was the only way to properly drive those cars was with the light on all the time!
that was a great video Tony, demo-ing the concept of peak vacuum and economy. Hopefully many of the younger generation found this useful and interesting.
Good stuff! I guess the same principle applies on computerised cars, where you can monitor the vacuum via OBD parameters. Hitting that hill also reminded me that you can improve fuel economy by speeding up a little before hitting the hill, and easing off the throttle before you crest the hill. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
I don't think so. I think this is done to avoid triggering the enrichment circuit in the carburetor. In a modern car you want to accelerate quickly up to speed and then cruise in a high gear.
@@SinsBird carb & efi both have enrichment circuits. One is mechanical and the other done with the ECM. On speed density setups it monitors engine vacuum via the MAP sensor (a vacuum guage), and adjusts enrichment based on vacuum level. Cars with a MAF sensor measure air flow to approximate engine load & vacuum. Using this data to adjust enrichment. So yes, it's the same concept with modern engines. Drive in a manner that maintains the highest vacuum, and the engine management system will have an easier time maintaining max MPG. Of course, sometimes there's more to life then good MPG. Lol
The 57 Plymouth wagon my mom drove when we were small supposedly used to be a drag car, but whatever the one thing it had was a column mounted vacuum gauge calibrated for economy and power, and deceleration. I don't remember her ever paying attention to it but I do remember when loafing along it was 20 to 21and then into the red when she jumped on it.
My Dart used to get 12.7 in town with all the stock 318 stuff, carter bbd, 904, 7 1/4 with 2.76 gears in town but I drove it and had fun with it. I think I could get around 21 on the highway and I kept track by the odometer and miles between fill ups.
Once I started changing things I was lucky to get 12 very occasionally in town but I usually drove it like I stole it. The way you drive and keep everything in shape has a huge bearing on what your going to get.
you and my ex-gf have very different ideas of what a forgotten tool is 😁
Great Job Explaining Vacuum ,Back in the 70’s , I had a 455 Pontiac T/A that would get 19 mpg ,Driving it like you said ,Egg under gas pedal , P.S. Sometimes I Removed The Egg !!!
I put a vacuum gauge in everything I build, makes it so much easier to monitor what's going on with the engine. Having to get into the tool box and rig one up is one of those things you don't usually do until some aspect of engine performance has been bothering you for too long of a time. (Hey my life is hectic enough without having to find time to play The Performance Detective). Tony used to do the same...it just looks way nicer when it is a quality gauge, with a nice looking mount, not to mention the "Cool" factor. Plus the fact that the instant something acts up the gauge is right there. I raise my glass to the simple life.
Thats a great video. Who remembers the fuel economy dash lights on the 70s caddy, the arrow that went up, down and the green light that meant you got it just right.
This video applies to me so much. I daily drive a 1982 f250 with a 302, c6, and 3.33 gears weighing in at 5400 lbs. I'm always in the throttle around town and getting 8 miles to the gallon. However on the highway going to work at 75 and just easing on the throttle I get 15 nearly double. I hope to soon do a Ford version of what Uncle Tony has done with his awsome Mopar! Also I will picking up a vacuum guage later today. Thanks for the video!
This is the simplist way to explain “fuel economy” about the carbureted engines... in older vehicles. It’s funny Tony mentions “the power gauge”- the vacuum gauge that mounts in the dashboards of the 50s-70s car’s.... my 1966 Plymouth Barracuda came with a power gauge a.k.a- “a performance indicator” from the factory. To my knowledge it’s the only year that Plymouth made it standard to the car... it’s as big as the Speedometer gauge. Oh btw- on a side note related to fuel economy & mpg’s- when my dad owned this car between 1992-2003 when he still had it on the road- this lil Barracuda was getting up to 34 miles per gallon on highway driving.... at the time it had a 170c.i Slant 6, & it’s stock Automatic trans (floor shift- console car) , & 323:1 rear 7-1/4” open differential, signal 1 barrel holly 1912 model carb, a/c compressor was taken off the car’s engine, but still had power steering pump that worked, manual drum brakes, & two electric fans (no pulley driven fan unit)... by eliminating the front engine attachments/ accessories helps to free up power... & with a tiny slant 6, it was a noticeable difference.
Many things play an important roll in the name of fuel economy...many of which people completely overlook.
*An awesome vehicle alignment is crucial: the Toe-in & toe-out, along with its camber angles,
*Disc brakes: will work/ out perform drum brakes- HOWEVER: a vehicle with All four corners having a drum brake setup (if dialed in correctly) WILL have less rolling resistance than any vehicle equipped with Disc (disc front/drum rear, &/or if the vehicle has disc on all four corners)- the All four corner drum brakes will have less roll resistance & aids in better fuel mpg’s,
*air pressure & tire size(s) play a bigger roll than people think.
*the aerodynamics/ the shape of the cars (plus the aid of wing windows: when opened to help guide air around the side door glass windows that might be open too- helps air to flow quicker past the vehicle,
*of course the engine, carb, & it’s “performance parts play a huge roll in fuel economy...
& the driver itself.... obviously a lead footer will get next to no fuel mpg’s when compared to somebody who’s driving like they got a head full of common sense & simple logic.... dont go trouncing on it from stoplights to stoplights.... a lil common sense goes a long way. I’m sure Tony could spend months on describing & making countless videos of each one of these topics explaining the importance of each of these categories.
2:44 the 3.1 in my 99 buick century is like that..... (they made the intake system ports bigger in 2000 to get an extra 15hp)
its got A LOT of grunt at ~1800...... and then at 4200, its like a light switch..... like a 2 stroke dirt bike
.
ya give it about 3/4 throttle.... not enough to kick it from 3rd to 2nd.... and about 45 mph it just comes alive.
and then in 3rd....it lights off at about 65 mph... perfect for passing.
.
a lot of people hate the GM 60 degree v6..... but i LOVE mine.....290,000 miles
3 sensors and a water pump...... thats it
.
if the aftermarket supported them..... they could make some serious power
they LOVE to rev (factory forged crank, rods, and pistons..... with the crank good to 7000rpm, rated by GM....so it might hit 7500 and live)
Great content thx Uncle Tony and Uncle Kathy👍
Remember back in the late 70s - early 80s when they put "economy" gauges in some cars? They were basically just vacuum gauges but instead of showing inches of mercury they were usually just green to red and labeled "economy". Yeah, the key to good mileage is to accelerate slowly, then hold steady at the lightest throttle possible to maintain speed. Any fluctuation of the pedal makes the accelerator pump work, so HOLD IT STEADY.
funny you mention it, not only do i remember those gauges in Pontiacs (used to own a Goat), but recently had to rent a Uhaul...GMC, Ls engine, and right on the dash was, you guessed it...a mileage gauge added by Uhaul. And it was about as useful as you remember :) every hill i just ignored it--like a box is going to do well in wind.
@@albertgaspar627 LOL Yeah, the first one I ever saw was on a 1985 Chevy Caprice. It was a big ol' 4 door yacht with a little 305. The gauge stayed on the green side when idling but as soon as you even touched the throttle it would peg out to the red!
@Motersickle Bum Yeah, people who were savvy had been driving economically for decades before that, but with the "gas crisis" of the late 70s more people became aware of it, so they started putting the gauges in for the dummies who didn't already know how to drive.
Motersickle Bum
That shit drives me crazy.
My old lady has a cvt I keep telling her she will kill it.
The transmission costs $7000....
Economy gauges and "upshift" idiot lights on stick shift cars. For those who don't understand how a car operates. And I never understood racing to a stoplight or sign. Then again, I find that people drive the way they live their lives.
Either they are looking "down the road" and into the future, planning now for what's up ahead....or they're racing from problem to problem.
I ran a GM mid 90's minivan. While putting 100k miles on the clock I was aware of the converter clutch disengaging when I lifted my foot summiting hills. I sold it on when that clutch wore out and began to slip. I drive with an egg on the throttle. That was the last automatic for me!
The garage I used to turn wrenches at had a 76 Ford wrecker with an economy gauge in it. Just like Tony said, it was just a vacuum gauge and was cool to watch it respond to the movements of the gas pedal.
Just another great explanation of how things work. I consider myself an ‘ok’ mechanic but I always learn something new every time I watch your videos.
Thanx Tony. I learn Everytime I watch your vids.
Like a lot of other things, using a vacuum gauge is a dying art. I've had them installed on two of my vehicles, back in another century. 😆 They can catch an engine problem in the early stages, IF you know what to look for. It can also quickly show if a modification would have much effect; did this on a manifold swap.
I had one temporarily hooked up to my 21st century F-150, and got an interesting result. With the speed control set on an Interstate drive, you could clearly see the needle swing around five inches anytime a car passed on the inside lane.
I learned how to use that back when I was 16 on my 88 Cutlass. Still miss tuning carbs and working on those old beasts. I've even met a few "mechanics" that've never seen one and have no idea how to use it. They set timing and basic tune the carb then crow about having a "hotrod".
Bodywork is looking great tony!
Advanced timing makes more MPG. Blocked heat risers, cold thermostat, advance cam to the highest compression on a guage,. smaller ports, smaller valves, smaller exhaust pipes, two into one exhaust pipes helps low end torque. Two barrel intakes and carbs makes low end torque but not quarter mile machine but will give surprises stoplight to stoplight.
Great video Tony! I have an old Sun vacuum gauge and Tuneup box which will be fum to play with
Back in the late 80s, my dad had a 42 Chevy pickup. He could not find a mechanic that could set the timing using a timing light. I looked at some old Chevy service manuals that his father used and learned to set the timing with a vacuum gage. I was around 16 at that time.
I love this so much, I drive like there is an egg between my foot by default because I drive in snow every time there is snow, and that helped me learn how to drive more efficiently. I went from getting 18-20 MPG in town with my Grand Prix to about 23-25 MPG in town (I got 35 MPG highway driving at 80 ish MPH) and with my 1992 Civic and the transmission in it right now I get 30 MPG in town and about 47 MPG highway. It would be better if the engine was not worn out, but that is ok, I have an upgraded engine and while I will drop in MPG, the fun factor will go up and I won't have to sacrifice a whole lot of mileage for that extra fun :)
I remember when "economy" gauges were in the clusters of cars. The first car my wife ever had in high school, a 1978 Chevy Caprice handed down from her mom in 1985, had one right underneath the gas gauge-actually a good place for it lol! I still prefer to own and drive older vehicles...some even still have breaker point distributors. For most of my personal vehicles, there are 4 tools that many newbies might never have heard of, let alone know how to use. 1) Vacuum gauge. 2) Compression tester. 3) Tach/dwell meter. 4) Timing light. I have a lot of younger people that like to hang out at my shop and I like having them there. We learn from each other. Sometimes "the kids" will bring a new person by and ask me to show them how to use my "old school" stuff. They REALLY find the tach/dwell meter and timing light interesting because their vehicles can show the same info on a laptop. It's really fun for me having "the kids" around though, we need all the young people that we can get to keep the hobby alive, even if it lives on with laptops and electronics!
Thanks for bringing daily driver back.
Great video Tony. You probably thought of it by now but it would be great to see a video of adjustable vacuum advance through ported vacuum as well too. How many degrees of timing can you run at part throttle for Max mileage.
I wouldn’t say great video yet…Tony forgot to show us how to hook up the vacuum gauge can u tell tell us where and how it hooks up ?
@@abeneufeld9690 you can put a Tee to splice into an existing vacuum line, but normally there may be ports to basically plug into on the intake manifold
I run a vacuum gauge in my daily driver. I find that a more moderate throttle from stops, as opposed to a very light one, is most effective. Your best mileage comes from your highest gear and if you take too long getting there, it drags MPG down.
Hi uncle tony you had talked about the vacuum gauge before at that time checked it out bought one to use on my 72montecarlo when I start it up thank you for a great video I’am learning a lot from what you know.👍🔧🚘
The egg under your foot analogy is hypermiling 101. It Works! Also coasting is huge..."braking is the conversion of momentum into friction heat...expensive heat."
My '65 Impala SS had one on the console, but I never used it for mileage purposes. Good tip T.
I really dig this clip. I have a gauge in all my righs (or planned)... been doing it since my 1968 Landrover in the mid 70's I have a high mileage mpg car that has a 1.9L and put a gauge on earlier toady ... and is it touchy. I actually put on the tool box test gauge and will put on another. I've had as high at 48 mpg and normally 35-38 ... I wish my 350 G20 motor home would get better than ... I am embarrassed to say.
My 05 Saturn Ion Redline (factory supercharged) has the vac/boost gauge. I keep it around the 20-15 hg for the mpg's also. This helps with driving 90 miles a day to work and having to use 93 octane.
Thank you Tony for explaining the basics. Seems we can learn a lot from the basics and not just what the scan tool says. I especially liked the videos on ignition timing advance and why you run an engine at 2500rpm to break in the cam. Never known the exact purpose of breaking in a cam. Great job on the videos!
Thats for sharing some old school knowledge. Keeping hot rodden wisdom alive. 📼📹
I remember a car years ago that had a factory vacuum gauge on the console. I think it was a Bonneville but not sure. It did increase my mileage but it was hard to drive in econ-o-mode...
I still have, and use the vacuum/fuel pressure gauge that I bought twenty years or so ago. I keep it in the case with the timing light and a yellow wax crayon type marker. They're very handy tools!
I try to drive like there's an egg between my foot and the gas pedal, but driving a small truck around here is like being a target for the big trucks. Fortunately my small truck has an LS so I can get out of the way. I may just rig the gauge up like you did for fun, but those motors have that fancy ass map sensor that contribute to fuel enrichment. That's where the damn laptop comes in handy for once.
I had a 68 with 383 2 barrel stock set timing at 0 TDC 15 inch tires instead of the 14 and vacuum Gage always connected routinely got 18 miles to driving the speed limit. One night I filled up to the gas cap went known 50 miles could only put in one gal maybe I didn't subtract right. Put my foot in it 10 miles a gallon. My favorite is when I'm doing 60 and floor it the hole car lifts up and it's doing 90 in couple of seconds.
Uncle Tony is the undisputed TH-cam car channel champ.
I wanna hear about putting 90 psi in the rear tires of a 1987 Olds 442 "lighting rod " 307 Cutlass on a bet, knowing the 87 Regal T-Type, and no nonsense LX 5.0 Mustang was the the better deal. 33 years later, I still dig yor content. Thanks, UTG.
Ah yes, the vacuum gauge. A tool so handy and passed on to me early on as a kid, that I had a friend of mine install a boost gauge in his car so we could have on the fly vacuum readings while I tune. It is a massive help, even now when we can data log I still like to have a physical gauge to look at. That and the wide band O2 senor help a lot too.
j.c.whitney sold them as milagemeters. i suspect that double torque curve is a result of the carburetor size and configuration. the air flow through the carb varies the main jet circuit. most people cant get a handle on how a carb works. the idle circuit is always there. the air flow through the venturi establishes the suction on the enrichment or high speed circuit. the jets regulate the fuel flow. not only throttle plate size but venturi size shape and placement although seldom changeable makes large differences in performance. engineers used to calculate all this to mind numbing conclusion. people like uncle tony have experience that is irreplaceble. thank you tony for passing on the wisdom.
I have a Vacuum gauge in my 72 gmc with a 455 Buick. It’s a great way to see how it responds to driving style, wind, hills, towing, cruising speed, and so on.
Its funny how many muscle cars in the day were actually built for torque instead of high RPM hp. We think of big ports and multiple carbs, but the solid lifter Mustang 289 had a tiny carb and small port heads (the only diff from the 2bbl heads was screw in rocker studs instead of press in). Shelby was the one who gave it a big Holley. And the 440 Magnum with, what a 625 cfm Carter? I think the SS396 Rat ran a soda straw for a carb in some of its forms, too.
But we think back to the high end muscle, the Hemi, the L88, the Ram Air 4, all needing steep rear gears and having the single digit gas mileage.
I agree at cruise. What about pulling away? The old Chevrolet advice was to try to depress the accelerator for 8 inches and then release the throttle to maximize vacuum as you approached cruise.That way you do not spend all your time idling at slow speed which actually waste fuel because you are traveling very slow but the engine is still burning gas. BMW found that Americans often babied the throttle so much they would actually get better MPG flat footing the gas until they reached cruise speed (especially with a manual transmission). You can look up articles when the 325 E was new, say 1982 or so. That is why they invented the 'shift light' to get you to shift up and put the engine under load at lower rpm. In an automatic you really do not want to spend all you time slipping to torque converter just to get up to speed as they are least efficient at high stall ratio.
Just a thought.
I think your driving is technique actually is closer to what I am saying until cruise than the old "egg on the throttle" .
Love the videos Uncle Tony
I had a 67 Formula S Barracuda that had a factory vacuum gauge in it. Thanks Tony.
I carry a vacuum gauge in all my rides i dd carburator cars too efi is the devil
I remember a couple mid eighty's GM wagons with the"economy"gauge. Same thing. Never thought about it till now.
That makes a great diagnostic tool. I still use one to this day on modern cars. I run into collapsed valve seats, flat cams, broken valve springs, crusty valves, defective cylinder deactivation, ect... with this new shit they build. No specific codes, random misfires. Watching that vac gauge dance tells a story the scanner won't. Once upon a time all we had were Simpson volt/ohm meters, timing lights, dwell meters, and vac gauges. Take me back to the five and dime, Jimmy Dean lol
I have a vacuum gauge on my 2013 Subaru Impreza. It's simulated analog by a bunch of LCD bars, but it works exactly the same. The extra thing on my Impreza is that it has a CVT. Thus I can tell fuel consumption by the vacuum gauge and the tachometer. I don't have to shift to lower my RPMs.
You can use a vacuum gauge to adjust timing also