More Gas-Saver Collectors

Last month, John Gunnell wrote about 10 collector cars to collect during a gas crisis. And we received response from hobbyists who have a few more collector gas savers to list. Truly, there are many ways to stick with the car you have — even if it’s a gas guzzler. Jump over to the article “Increasing Your MCP (Miles Per Collector)” to see how a little extra maintenance and good driving habits can help.

I have a beautiful 1968 Plymouth Barracuda Formula ‘S’ 383 4-speed with 71,000 original miles on her. I love driving her, but the AVS carb was only getting 10-12 mpg on the best days. With hi-test gas at over $3 a gallon, my solution was to install a new OEM 1969 440 6-pack set up. Since it runs the majority of the time on the center 2-bbl, I’m now getting 15–18 mpg and have all the get up and go when I need it. It wasn’t cheap ($1200 – alum. manifold, carbs, fuel lines, linkage and OEM air cleaner w/ filter on eBay) but it’s a viable option for those who love to drive ’em.
– Keith Powley Oakland, CA

I thought the article was good about smaller collector cars, but I was surprised there was no mention of VW’s.  My ‘72 VW Super Bug averages 28 mpg driving to shows 3–4 times a year.
– Thomas Hankamp Pleasant Valley, NY

Regarding your article about classic cars and the gas crisis, what about the Mini?

I have a ‘74 Mini which gets about 50 miles to the gallon. There are a lot of them around.
– Bruce Deisinger Pitman, NJ

How about the Chevrolet Corvair? It’s an excellent driver that can easily maintain today’s highway speeds and deliver 27 mpg for the automatic transmission cars and 30 mpg for the 4-speed transmission. Parts are very easy to obtain and they’re easy to work on! Just my 2 cents!
– Chuck Gibson Monroeville, NJ