All I can comment on is how my straight six (235) performs. I got around 16
mpg on my latest cross country trip (but this was with a Ford 9" rearend
sporting 3.25 gears). To offset this, I was hauling close to the 1/2 ton
rated load.
As to whether or not the six or V8 is more expensive (I assume you are
talking rebuild costs?), I don't think you can beat a Chevy 350 on price for
rebuild. Ford's 302 might come close, but still second. Reason is
supply/demand. There are just so many more of them out there, that it is
cheaper to produce rebuild parts. Chevy (truck-wise) changed to 12V in
1954, so the '56 is already 12 volt system.
Rob
----- Original Message -----
From: Sam H Harry <samharry45@juno.com>
To: <oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 1999 1:22 PM
Subject: [oletrucks] Purchasing Classic Chevys
> I'm looking to buy a '56 1/2 ton small window. To be honest, I don't
> have the slightest clue where to start. I'm looking for one that runs
> (I'll use it as a daily driver), but I want to do a lot of restoration on
> it. When I say runs, I mean it doesn't have to run well. It's just
> gotta make forward progress. Where would I find such a truck, and how
> much should I be looking to spend? This may be a dumb question, but is a
> Thriftmaster 6 going to cost more or less than the V8? Another dumb
> question: I'm in college, and I want something that gets better mileage
> than my '84 K2500 Suburban's 14mpg. Would the straight 6 beat this
> mileage, and if not, is there anything I could do to make it? When did
> Chevy change over to the 12v system? I am going to want to have a 12v
> truck, so if the '56 is still 6v, what all is involved in the conversion?
>
> Sorry about all of the questions. I'm still green with this stuff, but I
> love it, and want to learn all I can. I'd appreciate any help I can get.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> "I have opinions of my own - strong opinions -
> but I don't always agree with them."
>
> oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
>
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