20mpg doesn’t really sound that far fetched for a 305 if you’re mostly doing highway. Mine was a '78 and got around 14 in the city when just commuting. That thing could drink a lot more with a heavier foot though, lol
A V8 has a lot of low RPM torque so if you drive with a light foot it can do very well. Most of the energy from an engine is used moving the car, not engine losses. A smaller engine is always going to do better at the same load, but the difference isn’t going to be large if everything else is equal (which it often isn’t)
For a 350 to get 7mpg it would have to be a race built engine or simply run like garbage. I don’t even know how you could get a 305 to get that poor mileage but 🤷♂️
20mpg doesn’t really sound that far fetched for a 305 if you’re mostly doing highway. Mine was a '78 and got around 14 in the city when just commuting. That thing could drink a lot more with a heavier foot though, lol
Maybe yours was a 350?
A V8 has a lot of low RPM torque so if you drive with a light foot it can do very well. Most of the energy from an engine is used moving the car, not engine losses. A smaller engine is always going to do better at the same load, but the difference isn’t going to be large if everything else is equal (which it often isn’t)
For a 350 to get 7mpg it would have to be a race built engine or simply run like garbage. I don’t even know how you could get a 305 to get that poor mileage but 🤷♂️
I think you probably could get a 350 down to 7mpg but you’d be driving like an absolute maniac to get it there. I dunno, 7 seems pretty bad