i recently inherited a very nice 1973 riviera my uncle had. its a beautiful car. it has a 455 engine. it runs ok but gets horrible gas mileage. about 9 miles to a gallon of gas. is there any way to put something like a typical 350 chevy engine in it and get better mileage. i love to drive it but i just cant afford to cruise around that much with the way it sucks gas and i have to buy lead additives. im not expecting much because it is a big heavy car. but i would be happy if i could get 15 miles to a gallon on unleaded gas.
2007-12-15 01:15:15 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
You may be able to get significantly better mileage with a tuneup, bearing in mind that tuneups back then covered a lot more than they do today. You still have a real distributor with 'points' that need replacing. If you can get them.
Back then I bought and installed an aftermarket electronic ignition that significantly improved mileage.
Carburetor instead of injection. That's a story in itself....
There are a lot of simple and inexpensive things that you can do that may help.
Its really a unique and impressive ride if you can keep it rolling.
Try to find a repair manual and go through all the tuneup stuff before you go to the effort and expense of an engine swap.
2007-12-15 01:30:31 · answer #1 · answered by silverbullet 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Get that 1 checked out as the 1 I had back them was much better on gas mileage>There are quite a few upgrades to those engines>Putting a 350 in would be worse as that was a heavy car>
2007-12-15 09:21:03 · answer #2 · answered by 45 auto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One of the reasons your '73 Riv is valuable as a collector car is because of the big engine. You would seriously hurt that value if you were to swap for a smaller engine, and you may not see that much of an improvement in fuel mileage anyway. Just keep it tuned up, and try to tread gently on the gas pedal, and enjoy driving one of the true classics of the 1970's automotive industry.
2007-12-15 09:52:25 · answer #3 · answered by JetDoc 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Find a Buick 350 it will drop right with out cutting or welding. It is a direct bolt in. You can still use the transmission that is in car now. All you will need is motor and exhaust manifolds. If you go with a Chevy, you will need: motor , trans, exhaust, motor mount kit, drive shaft,possibly a radiator..... too much of a headache. just get the Buick motor
2007-12-15 09:26:22 · answer #4 · answered by jumbobret 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You can put a 350, but I wouldn't expect that you would see much better than 12 mpg in that old land yacht. Any way, it's worth more with the 455.
2007-12-15 09:21:21 · answer #5 · answered by mad_mav70 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋