Back when we were racing in Ohio at National Trail, and gas was around $4.00 a gallon, I filled up to come home. The pump shut off at $75.00. I put the card in for another $75.00. It was almost full so I didn’t try again. Gotta love those old suburbans with the 42 gallon tank.

  Dennis in Lititz PA

Yes, rather galling when filling the tank of my ‘grocery-getter’ SUV costs more than I paid for my first car (‘53 Merc HT)!

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Our 56 gets 11 with all in town stop to stop driving, basic 292 with 2.74 rear gear and a cruise-o. This last tank was 75% freeway and it definitely made a difference getting 14.7. I’m sure if I hit the road 15+ is doable. I’ll always feel the earlier automatics are mileage killers. Even without an AOD the torque converter in a C4 is more efficient than the early transmissions. 

56 Vic, B'Ville 200 MPH Club Member, So Cal.

I had to laugh at the people on the east coast that were crying about gas reaching $3 a gallon when the pipe line shut down. Come to California and we will give you something to really cry about. Filled the Ranchero the other day and it wasn't completely empty and still cost $65.

I'm 74.  The cheapest gas I can remember was 18 cents a gallon during a gas war. When we were in high school, regular gas averaged about a quarter a gallon.  I have no idea what my TBird's gas mileage is.  When I need gas, I always put the same $20 worth in the tank.  When someone asks me the price of gas?  I tell them it's $20. 

1954 Ranchwagon, 292 600cfm 4 barrel, don't know about cam oversize etc, 4 speed, don't know diff ratio, 15" tires doing around 2800rpm at 65-70 miles per smile. Wouldn't know and don't care what mpg I'm getting. It's the smiles per mile that matter. I run 95 octane which is around $2.36ltr or $8.50 US gallon here in New Zealand. That's why I run smiles per mile.
Brian

I will no longer set the pump handle or leave any vehicle unattended while pumping gas. I made the mistake of setting the pump handle a few years ago, while gassing up my motorcycle in Bishop, CA. The pump failed to click off, spewing gas all over my motorcycle and onto the ground. Upon stopping the pump, I immediately went into the station and told the attendant about the spill. The attendant wasn't concerned. Although my motorcycle had fuel injection, it wouldn't start. After letting it sit for a while, it still wouldn't start. There was a garage nearby that provided a length of hose with which I siphoned some gas from the over-filled tank. I didn't enjoy the taste of 10% ethanol which, by the way, is kind of sweet, but I don't recommend it. I was then able to start the bike. I can only conclude that over-filling the tank must have caused vapor lock. 

I used to watch and listen (instead of trusting the pump auto-shutoff), and fill until I could see gas in the filler-neck.  Bad idea, since my tank’s neck must leak now at the attachment point.  If I do that and drive straight home from the gas station, the garage will stink of gas next day.
Since the pump usually shuts off before the level gets high enough to splash, I trust it now, but do watch in case I have to wipe-up any spill.

6 VOLTS/POS. GRD. NW INDIANA

Isn't that cam too big for 2.73 gears? What is its RPM range? I chose a cam/w 214 duration @ .050 because I have 2.72 gears behind a C4. The RPM range is 1800-5000, 2200 @ 65 mph. The wide-ratio Dynamic Racing Transmissions gear set has a 2.90 1st and 1.60 2nd. 3rd still 1:1.

I've found that most of the time if I stick the nozzle in the filler neck as far as it will go the nozzle will click off before any gas spits back. This does however depend on how sensitive the nozzle's back pressure sensor is. If you want to get the tank completely full you'll need to squat down and watch. When you can see gas starting to come back up into the filler neck stop pumping.