B-motor conversion fuel economy

[tulsacarman]

I've said many times that I don't care to convert a Festiva to a "B" car because my whole purpose for driving the car is to send as little of my money to the Middle East as possible.

I currently have 7 Mercury Capris and have been a Capri owner since 1997. I love the little cars and they're fairly economical. I started wondering..... how does the Festiva do with the B6 in it MPG wise? I would think that the Festiva is lighter so that you should get better than the 30+/- that you get when it's in the Capri. I get in the low 40s with my fully stock Festy which is about a 45% increase over what I can get with my Capri but My Capri is soooo much more fun to drive.

I'd like to hear from you guys that have beefed your cars.... what kind of MPG are you seeing after the conversion? On one hand I'm thinking that I hope it's in the low 30s so I won't be tempted to do a conversion myself and on the other I'm thinking if it's high 30s that I might just do it (I've certainly got the motors on hand).

[25Horseplay]

The cars that I know of get mid 30's or better.

[fastivaca]

I'm getting about 40-45mpg (imperial) which works out to about 33-38mpg US with, shall we say, spirited driving around town; add about another 5-8 mpg on the highway. Thats with a 1988 normally aspirated SOHC B6.

[gorgonheimer]

i get 35 or so around town in my bp car, and 40+ babying it on the freeway

[anomoly40]

I'm not sure you'll see that much of a differerence if you keep the stock transmission in the festiva. Maybe a few mpgs less because of a larger engine and driving techniques.