Mileage?

[Logan]

I drive my '53 Dragon almost daily, and I don't hold back--I'll give it gas if it needs it, etc.  I have done all of the factory tune-ups, and it is running very well and very smooth.  I am only getting about 12-13 mpg city and 17-18 mpg highway @ 65-70 mph.  Is this normal with the hydramatic?  It seems I see some members talking about 23 mpg and above, but I've never seen that kind of mileage.

[dpledger]

My '53 Manhattan with hydro always got in the low 20's-on a few occasions I would hit 25 on a highway trip. Haven't got it back on the road yet-next summer is the plan, so not sure what modern gas will do. The only times I remember the mileage sliding was when something was obviously not right. Once the problem was fixed it came back again. The only thing I can think of that would decrease mileage without appearing to negatively affect performance would be excessively rich fuel mix. I always made sure it was set as lean as possible without dropping rpm's.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Here are some ideas from the K-F service manual

1.  Improper climate control adjustment
2.  Engine off time
3.  Carb needs adjustment
4.  tire pressure too low
5.  valves need adjustment - piston rings worn causing loss of compression (power)
6.  restriction in air filter (clean element)

[Jim B PEI]

All of the above. Go for the easy low hanging fruit first, and also make sure that you are getting a good hot spark inside the engine. Some marginal plugs will show adequate spark when tested outside the engine, but are weak inside under pressure. Overly rich mixture after warmup is a common culprit too

[ben-tex]

If you are getting 17-18 mpg at the speeds listed you should be happy. I have seen these claims of 25+ mpg but I am a skeptic.

[joefrazer]

My 50K Traveler w/OD consistently delivers 23-25 mpg on the highway but my 53 is lucky to hit 17 mpg. And so it goes...

[HJ-ETEX]

Logan - Do you read plugs? If you you think you have a mileage problem, pull every plug and examine the tip(Electrode). Ideally they should all be a light tan. If this is true, disregard the following.
Kaisers use Carter carburetors which use a jet and a needle that moves up and down in the jet. The needle is multi-tapered, meaning the angle of the taper changes more than once. This needle can wear and the result is like you drilled the jet larger - that is, a richer mixture. Lynn Zettlemoyer wrote in a mid 60's Quarterly about the poor mpg on his KF product and when the carb was torn down, the needle was almost completely worn away.
I don't believe there are any service specs on the dimensions of the needles. You made be unable to discern moderate wear. I suspect that if there were doubt, you were supposed to replace the needle.   

[Logan]

Sounds like I'm not too far off normal, but that needle idea is interesting, and may be decreasing my mileage slightly.  Thanks for the responses.

[Kaiser Ranchero]

Are you sure the speed and odometer are accurate? Two of my cars read slow. The cable or speedo head are probably gumed up in mine as the have set for long periods of time. My next step is to lube them with penetreting oil.

[Logan]

If anything mine seem to read a little fast, which would mean even worse mileage than I am reporting.

[pnw_oldmags]

Lynn Zettlemoyer wrote in a mid 60's Quarterly about the poor mpg on his KF product and when the carb was torn down, the needle was almost completely worn away.

I looked through 20 years of Quarterlies last night looking for this MPG article and must have missed it.  Thought I would post it if I could find it.  Could you give me the Year of the Qtrly.  I think Lynn Zettlemoyer was the Editor of the Buffalo Briefs for several years.  Any chance you read it in that publication??

My time reviewing Quarterlies was not wasted anyway ... Found an article about replacing a Padded Dash and another article on replacing the window channels - need both of those for my current restoration.  The Qtrlys are a wealth of information.

[joefrazer]

An old timer once told me how to check Carter needles for wear. Remove them from the carb and with your thumbnail against the needle, run it down the shaft. It does taper but shouldn't have a ridge anywhere. If so, they have worn due to bottoming and need replaced. I did replace them in my 53 but now I need to reset things like the float level, idle mixture and choke pulloff. There is something to be said for todays fuel injection...

[Barnum]

Here is an interesting read that includes a 1954 Motor Trend road test stating that the Supercharged Manhattan got 2.2-6.7 mpg less than a 53 Model...getting 16.9   http://vs57.y-block.info/kaiser.htm

[Barnum]

meaning the 54 got 16.9....so add the difference and the older models were in the 23mpg range

[Jim B PEI]

I think the figures were supposed to be in the 19-25 range. I know that my 49 Special, with a weaker less efficient engine and a heavier body, regularly gets 17-23 miles per US gallon in reasonable fettle, so a 53 or 54 Special with more efficent engine, more areodynamic and lighter body should do better