My bad fuel mileage was due to a lot of causes:
1. Carbs needed rebuild
2. Head needed rebuild (plugs were fouling)
3. Mixture needed adjustment
4. Timing needed adjustment
5. Lots of stationary test time
6. Lots of cold weather warm up time
7. Leaky fuel level sender gasket
Good luck
John Cowan
At 08:34 AM 12/21/1999 -0500, you wrote:
>
>David Lee wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone
>> I was wondering what everyones experience is on gas mileage on a tr4.
>> Everything on my engine is stock. I have a feeling somethings not tuned
>> correctly since I only get about 10 miles to the gallon at the most. I
dont
>> see any fuel coming out the mouth of the carbs but when driving there is
>> always a real strong gas smell. Im pretty sure there isnt a leak in the
gas
>> line anywhere.
>>
>> Is this normal?
>> should I try retuning the carbs? the car seems to run okay a little hot
but
>> that may be the buildup in the radiator. I cant be running so rich that I
>> get that low mileage can I?
>>
>> Thanks in advance for your input!
>> David Lee
>>
>> 64 TR4
>>
>> http://members.home.net/davelee1/postriumph.html
>
>
>David,
>
>I lived with a broken gas gauge for two years after completing my '64
until I found an
>NOS gauge still in a Smiths box at a swap meet - guy thought it was for an
MG - when
>he said $10, it was with lightening speed that I reached for my wallet...
Anyway, the
>point being that I used to pay real close attention to my gas consumption
by watching
>my odometer so I'm real good at tracking my mileage ;-) Around town, my
TR-4 will
>average between 22 to 26 and on long highway trips can see 32 to 38 mpg.
Granted this
>is probably somewhat higher than the average stock TR-4, the car has an OD
trans with
>a 3.7 rear along with a fresh motor with a lot of modifications to intake,
exhaust,
>and cylinder head to improve breathing. That better breathing helps make
more power,
>but the side benefit is that the efficiency and economy go up to boot.
>
>It is possible to be running so rich that you're only getting 10 mpg
around town, but
>I think you'd really notice the engine 'chugging', and not running
smoothly at all.
>Check the mixture first - if the engine seems somewhat rough, I bet you're
probably
>off there a little. If that doesn't show any problems, then go looking
for fuel
>leaks, although it would take a pretty steady drip to loose that much
fuel. If there
>aren't any puddles under the car in the garage overnight, then concentrate
on the
>pressure side of the system, from the pump up to the carbs. You might
only have a
>drip when the engine is running and the fuel pump is building pressure in
the line.
>Look carefully at the fuel pump itself. I find a lot of the '3/'4 pumps
that have a
>tendency to drip. Then check the bottoms of the carbs and all the rubber
hose
>connections.
>
>Good luck!
>
>
>Regards,
>
>Brian Schlorff '61 TR-4 '64 TR-4 '72 TR-6 '79 Spit
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
> Power British Check out Power British
> 1242 E. Ridge Pike on the 'net!
>Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462
> (610) 270-0505 http://www.powerbritish.com/~britcars
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
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