Oh, you'll love this; My first van was a '76 P20 Step Van (see below) with a 350 V8. The muffler soon needed to be replaced, so I got under it, (easy because of the huge ground clearance), cut the Y pipe, put on the hedder ends and Cherry Bomb glass packs. It sounded wicked. And that big box of a van did the ton. I passed a cop, standing on the medium of 95 with a radar gun at around 95MPH. I looked in the side view mirror, he was smacking the radar gun with his hand, apparently in disbelief of the speed I was going.

 

I LOVE IT! I would love to own something like that or an old rv someday.

 

It was cool, but it wasn't as nice as the one pictured. That was an '84, mine was a '74, a former Tasty Cake delivery truck. It was a great camper. Da Wife and I honeymooned in it.

 

When I first purchased this van the MPG was a lot better then it is now Loaded I see 12.5 MPG highway and now unloaded I see 14.5 to 15 highway Is this normal ???? I have 70,000 on it now. I had the trans fluid changed at 50,000 I am running,, Mobil 1 5 w30 change every 7000 miles , I also cleaned the MAF , Air filter clean I am running Toyo Open Country AT 6 ply tires at 45 psi , Since its a v6 I don't drive it with my foot to the floor all the time Any tips that can help me Thanks Flash

 

When I first purchased this van the MPG was a lot better then it is now Loaded I see 12.5 MPG highway and now unloaded I see 14.5 to 15 highway Is this normal ???? I have 70,000 on it now. I had the trans fluid changed at 50,000 I am running,, Mobil 1 5 w30 change every 7000 miles , I also cleaned the MAF , Air filter clean I am running Toyo Open Country AT 6 ply tires at 45 psi , Since its a v6 I don't drive it with my foot to the floor all the time Any tips that can help me Thanks Flash

 

I have no idea. When I bought my first brand new truck, I was green in the face at the cost of fuel in a V8. I figured the mileage would get better as it the motor and everything broke in, but my boss at the time said it was the reverse now adays. As it wears in it gets worse. Manufacturing tolerances being of such quality now, but I really do not know. I could only hope this 6.0L would get better and better mileage.

PS. I love the Panel Van. I kind of wish I bought one. I could have had several for real cheap. The doors never appear very accessible though and I have no idea how poorly they drive, but what a great platform for customization!

 

Hi, a few years ago driving my empty van (2008 Chevy Express 1500 Cargo 4.3l, 205K at the time) from Ft. Lauderdale to Cleveland Ohio, I was getting 21/22, 70-80 mph, but it was all super slab. Now I get 14.5-15 around town, but here (OH) in the winter they change the blend in the gas resulting in less mpg. I use Pennzoil 5W-30 high mileage oil at 3000 miles, and regular maintenance, 226K now. Your plugs are getting old, the normal replacement is 100K, but probably aren't working optimally after 50K.