is a "GREEN" (environmentally speaking)hot rod possible??

Generated by wind power so don't start. Cool project.

 

Count me in on this train of thought. I recycle tin cans & junk like all of my neigbours. I also restore cars. I can save more in one car than I can save in 30 years of recycling tin cans.

Most of the pollution & use of raw materials comes from production of new stuff. If the do-gooders ever get their heads out of their asses & realize they are being fucked over every time they upgrade to the most efficient technology the world would be a much better place to live.

People spend bags of money to buy new cars every few years. Every time they do so they throw a pile of energy into the system. If they were to put one quarter of that money into maintenance so their car lasts two or three times as long, they would significantly reduce their carbon footprint.

I have very little patience for those who think my old stuff is environmentally unsound. Everything I restore or rebuild means less junk in a landfill. Every plastic car that is built is more fossil fuel used. Pollution created by the manufacturing process goes largely unchecked.

Do not get on me for using less resources than the guy who trades up to the newest car with the latest technology and gadgets. The gadgets are the reason they want the new car. Big business justifies it with safety better fuel economy & reduced emissions. They really just want you to buy their product. It is all part of the retail game and people are sucked in constantly.

 

Some of y'all have been talking about the Toy Prius. How "green and enviromentally friendly" is it when it gets busted wide open in a collision?
I'd rather deal with a nest of pissed off red wasps coming out of a car to be recycled, than the chemicals in those batteries.

 

There are devices,produced in the U.S.,which makes hydrogen-gas out of water. Both my brother and me have tried it on our daily drivers,and it works. More power,cleaner exhaust and saves gasoline.
I'm going to install a unit on my -31 coupe project. (350 Chevy eng).
Most people will laugh when this is mentioned,and tell you that this is not possible.-Don't waste time on them. Look for youself on :www.savefuels.com

 

Here's a tech post I wrote on the basics of propane conversion.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

This is a FANTASTIC direction for a true hot rodder to go. If you want to be an Ed Winfield or Vic Edelbrock, here's where to do it.

 

Great tech article. It's a very common conversion in offroad circles, with one big reason being that it will run regardless the angle of the vehicle (or carb). A few guys I know run AMC 360s with it.

 

You really ask a valuable question NVRRDUNN. I've meddled in rodding and alternative (Solar/Electric) vehicle builds, nothing remains more meaningful than the years spent rodding. The skills lurking in the HAMB are beyond any measure we might have. The lighter and the more efficient the conversion (Yes! we can consider IC's in this arena) the more fun it ends up being, to drive. These same skills can bring about 1. a serious Bonneville entrant or 2. a clean everyday driver type of rod. Politics serve only to muddy, or perhaps discourage an otherwise grand inquiry. Why not try it? A little physics, and a bit of the Academy of Squirrel, Sgtlethargic, B.Angus & Pitman...(I simply try to keep the Makita switched in the right direction) and the rest of the inventive types, we can come up with some cool solutions. There are adventures, just waiting to be tried...the times are begging for our best work.

 

how do you use browns gas in a non computer controlled venicle and not upset the air to fuel ratio?

 

You are absolutely right, if i was to run gasoline in a diesel engine it would have a very low cetane rating, and thats why injectors weld to heads.
cetane is a rating of diesel fuel based on the time from injection into the combustion chamber to when the fuel combust's.
My whole point here is that you cant add cetane to bio diesel to make it perfom any better, rigs i have worked on that run it have had there injection timing advanced.

 

What would it take to convert a V8-60 to bio-diesel? How much power could this set-up actually make?

I've been told the little flatheads can only make about 120 h.p. reliably on gas...

 

Conder, the Flatties were poorly supported crankshafts....diesel?
there were a few sites that came back on this search at least. http://www.google.com/search?q="for...-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

 

Consider that the compression ratio needs to be 18:1 to 22:1 to make it work as a diesel.. is the flathead crank and block going to live very long doing that?

 

That's the info I need to get started guys, THANKS! I know NOTHING about these little flatheads or diesel engines. What about the bigger flathead, maybe a french block with a billet crank?

 

was there ever a flathead diesel engine ever made?

 

My home city (Rochester NY) is supposed to be building a Hydrogen production plant using the waterfalls in the middle of downtown onthe Genesee river. Currently we have hydrogen powered city busses either running or about to start running (I haven't checked the status of the project in a while).

 

Converting a gas engine to diesel is not practical. I'd suggest selectign wither gas or diesel and moving forward from that point. If you want a flathead, you'll use gas. If you want to use diesel, you will need to select a different engine.

 

i dont really see a point to combust hydrogen when you can combine it with oxygen and produce electricity, ok maybe if your dead set on using it in an old engine then yes you could burn it, it is not polution free.

 

Is there a strong running, small american diesel V8? I'd consider using an inline 4 as well. What would you all recommend?

 

Early Rangers had little 4-banger diesels in them, but thye're hard to find and would definitely need a turbocharging to be hot rod worthy. Most diesels do though.

 

Only because each of these runs quite well...the VW 1.8 Turbo is a fine gas motor. The TDI diesel is best when pre '04, as they boosted the heck out of it and the mileage dropped in '04 or '05. Went from 52mpg down to 40mpg but ran faster, like the 1.8 Turbo. I'd be tempted to try and build a non-sensor based mechanical injection TDI. 1.9 liter and just enough torque to push a 32 or earlier car w/ease.

 

WELL SAID!!

I have considered making a sign stating something similar, and hang it off the back of my T with bailing wire (not zip ties).



(more on the T)

 

these are great little diesels and there's a TON of hotrodding/aftermarket parts for upgrading them.

I think the next size up diesel for a car size would be the MBZ E-Class turbo-diesel and the 2.5L I-5 used in the dodge/mercedes sprinter delivery/utility vans.

next size bigger is the Cummins B seiries 4 and 6 cylinder turbo diesels (4BT and 6BT), 6 being the ones used in the dodge rams and optional in the F650 medium duty trucks.

 

looking for more mileage? use a mild turbo setup, port the head/heads, upgrade the valvetrain. nice thing about E85 is it's a higher octane, so in order to run E85 efficiently, you've got to add some cylinder pressure...bump compression or use a turbo!

want to go completely green? swap to a turbo-diesel and use 100% veggie-oil or other form of bio-fuel.

as already mentioned, we're already more green than the 'eco-friendly' hippy cars by re-using something already produced. environmental impact of production of all these new hybrid technologies is atrocious, let alone the tale end when they're 'recycled' (crushed and buried in the dirt)! those of us gearhead do-it-yourselfers are the ones striving to squeeze the most use/productivity out of anything we have.

 

Is it realistic to get around 200 h.p. out of one of these TDIs without a turbo? Also, I'd be trying to strip the drive train down and hide most of the wiring and plumbing in the hopes of making the engine look as "old" and simple as possible...any pictures of this engine out of a car?

 

simple "green" recipe?

take your choice of engine, that can reliably handle ~10:1 compression...
start with ~ 30% larger jets...
advance the ignition a bit...
fill tank with E85...

well, it's a start. plus it's 107 octane fun.

since the E85 available here is all locally sourced, from a local company that has no ties with any of the oil companies... the money STAYS here, and doesn't go to pad some way-too-rich oil co. exec's wallet, AND doesn't go over seas.
the money is supporting a somewhat profitable company (Sequentia Biofuels), and keeping some local Oregon and Washington farmers in business...

the Lincoln Y-block i've got sitting here will be running E85 bioethanol... reusing an old motor that would cost more in energy to recycle. well, that is if i can get the compression ratio to 10.5:1 easily

 

no, N/A diesels do not work very well, being a pressure-ignition. in order to get an N/A diesel to run well you've got to bump the compression WAY higher...and when they're already at 15-22:1 compression, reliability suffers when you try to increase the compression above that.

the most efficient fuel engine is a turbine but due to their narrow powerband(only efficient at 100% throttle) and high cost, they're not currently feasible for use in autos.

 

I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, and hell, maybe I'm being a complete idiot here, but doesn't alcohol burn with little to no emissions?

And with the hybriding of corn to the point of potentially harvesting a few hundred bushells of corn per acre, and the energy potential of sugar beets, coupled with the fact that we're actually subsidizing farmers NOT to grow mass quanities of the stuff, ...couldn't the answer be alcohol????

I personally love the idea of ending these unnecessary subsidies and letting the farmers produce to their potential and telling OPEC to SUCK IT, while simultaneously being able to bump up my compression and make more horsepower. That sounds like a Christmas miracle!

 

besides, if you're going for appearance over function, isn't that getting away from what hot rodding is about? I don't know of very many people that would complain about seeing a turbo hung on an engine!

 

There is an Isuzu 1.8 and 2.2 4-cyl diesel, Chevrolet used in the LUV and also in Chevettes for a few years. I've no idea how they are power wise but they also are capable of that 50 MPG figure, I mentioned them once before in another thread here - 50 MPG would almost make it worth driving a Chevette.

I just read a story where a guy bought one of those LUVs and got to hate it because so much of it was a cheap japanese POS. So he never changed the oil, just kept it topped off - with used oil at that. It ran 100,000 miles until the body rusted away to nothing and still ran great, according to the story. I suppose if the body had been made of virgin American steel instead of recycled '53 Kaisers, '54 Plymouths, and Coke cans, it might have lasted longer.