That would be one for the record books. What on earth - was done to it? All the 350 (5.7) and 379 (6.2) diesels use the same basic Ricardo Swirl chambers, Stanadyne D-series pumps, etc. Over the years, many changes were made to make the engines more rugged - but nothing was done that improved overall efficiency - regardless if a D, DX, N, etc. The V5, V6, and V8 Olds diesels used the same Comet swirl-chamber technology as the later 6.2s-6.5s, the Ford-IH 6.9s-7.3 IDIs, etc. The best fuel mileage I ever witnessed a 350 diesel powered truck was 23 MPG with 2WD, overdrive and 3.08 axle ratio. We had a virtual fleet of them were I worked years back, an most averaged around 19 MPG on highway trips. My boss bought three new diesel trucks in a row - and he kept hoping to get a good one (never happened).
My best 6.2 - in an 82 K10 4WD truck with 3.08 axles, and a four-speed manual trans with overdrive has gotten 24 MPG on a few rare long trips - and it barely has enough power to propel itself in OD. I suspect if it was a 350 instead - it would get worse mileage since it would be lugging even more.
You mention a full-size 4WD truck with a 5.7 liter Olds diesel getting 38 MPG. Funny - my little Isuzu mini-truck - 1985 PUP 4WD with a 2.2 liter diesel can barely get 32 MPG with a wind behind it. My neighbor has a Chevy S10 2WD with a brand new, turbo 3.3 liter DI Cummins and he has gotten 36 MPG on a few trips.
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Today's Featured Article - An Old-Time Tractor Demonstration - by Kim Pratt. Sam was born in rural Kansas in 1926. His dad was a hard-working farmer and the children worked hard everyday to help ends meet. In the rural area he grew up in, the highlight of the week was Saturday when many people took a break from their work to go to town. It was on one such Saturday in the early 1940's when Sam was 16 years old that he ended up in Dennison, Kansas to watch a demonstration of a new tractor being put on by a local dealer. It was an Allis-Chalmers tractor dealership,
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