I noticed this for a while now and im going to be taking the caprice into the shop to have it checked out, its really been eating up gas too much, i used to have an 88 caprice with the same engine and stock setup (even had emmisions removed), and it never sucked down gas as much as my 83 does right now. im thinking it could be A: a choke or carb adjustment B: smallest leak in a fuel line (although i never see any drips though) or C: but most likely not, an inacurate fuel guage reading, which i doubt though because the guage seems to be operating normal. any thoughts would be great, i hope this is'nt anything major. i also notice a slight lag when i step on the gas too... :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

check the timing.
if it is retarted too much the fuel economy and performance will suffer.

it might truly be the guage though.
mine (an 84) stays on "F" until i am at about 1/2 tank, then it goes down.
when it finally does get to "E", i can still drive about 75 miles before it runs out of gas.

btw, nice wheels. you need bigger tires tho

yeah i was thinking the guage could be a possibility too, i think i did have the timing adjusted about 2 months ago after the tune up. its at the shop now though so they will be getting back to me shortly on whats goin on before they fix stuff. what would cause the guage to start reading inaccurately and whats involved in repair or replacing? sounds like a big task. anywho thanks about the rims too, i think i may go slightly bigger once these tires are done, i've got around 50% tread left on them.

Well i got the car back, turns out there WAS leaks, one by the gas tank and two under the hood, one of which was at the fuel pump line that goes to the carb. hopefully that will solve it though. $100 later

Lol, and weren't you complaining about smelling fuel vapors before?

yeah, hopefully these repairs will fix that issue too, aside the canister still not being connected to the carb, which i plan on having put back on eventualy.

well its been a few days now and i still dont seem to notice a better gas mileage after they claimed all the leaks were sealed, i dont really smell gas anymore, but im starting to think maybe the guage is just innacurate now. what would be a symptom that the guage is inaccurate? is the guage supposed to move around when you make turns and whatnot? i know that could be from the gas shifting around in the tank, but my pontiac never does that, probably because its a newer car though. any info would help. ps the guage seems to function correctly, it DOES move after a fill up as it should, i dont know gas guages and sending units very well though.

Not sure if this may have anything to do with your situation, but I recently read an article that said a vehicle's gas mileage may drop up to 3% because of the discontinuation of the use of MBTE in gasoline. MBTE was used as an oxygenator in fuels until recently when it was found to be a major contaminant of groundwater. As a result of it's banning, it was noticed that many people experienced a drop in fuel economy and studies linked it to the removal of the MBTE in the fuel. Even if this doesn't apply to you, it is helpful information to those trying to diagnose reasons for poorer fuel economy in their cars or trucks.

yeah that is good to know, thanks for that tip

that and the fact that summer gas has ethanol in it.
ethanol has a much lower energy content than gasoline, so with gas being made up of 15 percent ethanol, you should expect lower gas mileage to follow.
i suggest filling up until the pump clicks off and wont put anymore in
occasionally, when i fill up, the pump clicks off about 2.5 gallons short of full.
once you are sure you are full, find an excuse to drive about 300 miles on the highway then fill up again all the way.

that is the best way you can get your gas mileage.

yeah i could do that, could i just reset the trip odometer and wait til it hits 300 as well?

I suppose the government loves ethanol. For with ethanol you get less gas mileage therefore you buy more gallons of gas to go the same distance, thus the government gets more tax money from you because your buying more gallons of gas.

Just recently for the 1st time ever we have gas that has 10% ethanol.

The only one who loses is us consumers.

i actually diddnt know all that until today. also i diddnt want to start a whole new thread just for this question, but what does the "CL" stand for on my 83 between the doors????

CL is a trim option level.

Back then I heard the term "Custom Luxury" being used, but I'm not sure if that's an "official" term.

that and the "body by fischer" seals...

that and the "body by fischer" seals...
Ok, now you're bringing back memories for me. Where I live in Syracuse, NY we had a huge GM plant that was known as Fisher Guide. They made many interior plastic parts for GM vehicles. GM ended up closing that plant back in 1991, a major blow to our economy. There was a website dedicated to the Syracuse Plant but I looked and could not find it anymore. I remember many of my GM cars had that logo, "Body By Fisher" on the sill plates.

All of my vehicles, including the other 2 Caprices I had, have that on the sill plates with an image of a Model-T looking thing. Might I note that the newest vehicle I own is my '89 GMC, so I guess that explains why they all have the Fisher logo lol.

thought so, i have the luxury interior

All of my vehicles, including the other 2 Caprices I had, have that on the sill plates with an image of a Model-T looking thing. Might I note that the newest vehicle I own is my '89 GMC, so I guess that explains why they all have the Fisher logo lol.

Every GM car, at least up to the mid-late 90s, has a "Body by Fisher" logo.

i like that body by fisher logo in the door jamb. any way, one last question, is it normal to see the needle move around while driving? its from the gas moving around in the tank right? my pontiac doesnt do that, probably because its newer tho.

i like that body by fisher logo in the door jamb. any way, one last question, is it normal to see the needle move around while driving? its from the gas moving around in the tank right? my pontiac doesnt do that, probably because its newer tho.

The newer cars have baffled fuel tanks, the older cars do not. The fuel sloshing from side to side will cause the needle to move when you brake, accelerate or turn once the fuel gets to a certain level. It's a normal thing. With baffles in the tank, the fuel doesn't slosh so much and you get a better reading.

is it normal to see the needle move around while driving? its from the gas moving around in the tank right? my pontiac doesnt do that, probably because its newer tho.
GM vehicles were notorious for that in the past.I remember some of the early to mid '70s vehicles I had did that all the time, it was funny to watch the needle go all the way to "E" then slowly rise up and go the other way.
Many of the Caprices in the '80s had some real nice interiors. I remember looking through some of the dealer sales brochures and seeing the fabrics and color schemes that were very appealing. My '75 Caprice had a real nice red "crushed velvet-like" interior that was mint. Too bad the outside looked like something from "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome".

Many of the Caprices in the '80s had some real nice interiors
Even the base models had a very nice interior and very comfortable seats. You'll never find seats like that in any new car. I'm particularly fond of the Brougham's pillow looking seats, but I have yet to find a set of them in dark brown and in good shape.

Even the base models had a very nice interior and very comfortable seats. You'll never find seats like that in any new car. I'm particularly fond of the Brougham's pillow looking seats, but I have yet to find a set of them in dark brown and in good shape.

I had a chance, about 3 years ago, to pick up an '86 Brougham with a nearly perfect interior. This had the dark brown pillowed seats in it, and since it was a little old lady's car, they were in exceptional condition. She sold it before I had the chance to go pick it up though - she sold it for $250.

What a deal!!! I paid $250 for an '85 Caprice Estate. The thing had 268k on it, no floor pans left, and most of the body was rotted beyond belief. I wanted it for parts... what sold me was the new tires, freshly rebuilt 700-R4, power windows and locks (that was a HUGE project to take all the wiring and units from the wagon and put into my car), working A/C Compressor, and a new radiator. I also scrapped it for anything and everything I saw to be useful like trim pieces, push bars, lights... even all the windows. The only thing I left on the car before going to be crushed that I wish I took was the lights on the front lower fenders that lit up when you put on your signal.

But anyway, I got side tracked... of anyone knows of a set of dark brown Brougam seats in good shape, let me know.

yeah i saw at the salvag yard seats from an 87 brougham, they were blue though, ive always liked the pillow top seats as well. even the non pillows are quite comfortable though

i came across an 89 with light grey pillowtop seats a while ago
i was going to use it for a parts car, but i fell short of money

it would have worked great too, because i have a
light grey interior.

i really liked those power seats too.

i think it was a 9c1 because it had green silicone hoses.
i'm pretty sure it was an undercover car though, because it had no markings or anything on the outside.
i think it had a 305 engine too

i didnt really get too much into it.
i was young at the time.
what can i say...