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

Isn't the Nobel Prizes in Science and Medicine given by the Swiss but the Peace prize given by Norwegian's by a bunch of politicians? It's a political prize and NOT a prize for science. They also gave it to Yasir Arafat!

 

now THATS the idea....somebody who thinks its possible...not IMPOSSIBLE....thanks Jesse!

 

Not just possible, but FUN! Fear no green!

 

same thing here... 70mph in my daily driver (turbo volvo)... get lapped by prius's doing 90.

i'm actually against catalytic converters in many cases... in any but the "perfect" situation they are a poor compromise.... they reduce one particular type of emission, while converting others to water-soluble sulphur based emissions. so great, you get rid of a great deal of one thing, and end up with some other shit that is at least as bad for the atmosphere. wonder what politician's pocket got padded for passing that law???

the air pump sure worked well in it's day. if the car is in proper tune, while running a bit lean during cruise, the air would aid in catalyzing very well.
a former parts chaser of mine, a '78 dodge 1/2 ton that came from the factory with no cat, only a smog pump, with just shy of 330k miles and never a rebuild (try that, prius!) on it... but in excellent tune,,, passed the CA rolling road smog test with flying colors. enough so that i was required to have the truck re-tested at another facility because of possible cheating. it was cleaner than many new trucks. pulled 28mpg at ~70mph on flat ground, with the 318/727, too.

the '55 plymouth with a 383 that i had as a daily driver for a while, we tested at a friend's shop... rolling road again. no smog equipment, just tuned reasonably well. just off idle there was a not-so-sweet spot, but anything above or under that ~300rpm bad window was very clean. plus the car was nearly 50 years old at the time... still on the road and doing well. again... try that, prius!

 

Is this thread still going? I'm pretty sure I can hear the keys jangling....

 

I like the air pump idea, seems to work well...especially when it's an exhaust driven, centrifugal air pump!!

 

yeah they have to do something with the smart car motor after they swap it out for a 'busa motor. 12's in the 1/4, daily driver reliable, and 40mpg.

 

Well here's some ideas we throw out there just to get people to think...

 

yeah, it gets people to thinking ALL of us hot rodders are a selfish bunch of jackasses who don't give a fuck about the rest of the world, which when it comes to the "trad" hot rod community, they are largely right. one of my other automotive passions is 4x4s, rock crawling, trail runs, etc. while there are still plenty of idiots there, the offroad people realize that the tree huggers are not the enemy per se. they may be a bit extreme and misguided but their effort is much more noble than being a proud gross polluter. the 4x4 guys see the damage done by people that don't give a fuck. they learned to self police people that go off trail, litter, etc. the people here that scoff at efforts to reduce pollution are NO different than the guy who throws his mcdonalds bag out the window of his truck. we should all be making at least a token effort to make sure our cars are clean burning instead of demonizing those who who care to preserve this planet for future generations.

 

one day, in our perfect utopia, science will prove religion(one way or the other!) and we will have sustainable, badass transportation! I think we can have it all.

 

I have never own a Hot rod, I have seen only a few in France this year. Now, I'm getting ready to buy my first one... a chap ass crap probably with my pay, and transport & taxes to europe.
Environment? F* IT! I want my rod, I want a HEMI V8, true american rod.

But then again..... I look at the destruction derby pics on this site, how they destroyed old fords back then, that would today be $$$$. They put them in river banks for f* sake, sold to scrap for cents! Don't you wish they saved them? For us? For me or you, to have a 32 ford for a 100$, like your dads used to buy in '52. But back then, it was junk, it was plentiful and anyone, that would stash away old cars in a barn would be a lunatic.... a fordhugger.

So today, we fight among ourselves for the last "all steel", a survivor! Read that word again. Survivor. And so guys like me, young & broke ,we are f* up. The nice cars go to the older guys with more $, or to the Americans from my perspective.
My options are to get a huge loan, rob a bank or save money for 15years. (I will menage )

Now change the words "ford" and "hot rod" with "food & water" and go 50 years from now, to your grandchildren perspective. Oh and, not all NEED to drive a hot rod, but we all eat and drink.

I suppose you all seen a beautiful see aquarium. With corals and reef fishes, yellow and purple all the beauty in the world was in that small box. I studied them for a year, never got one. The see is a very large, very very stable body of water, aquarium is very small.
This is not a political Al gore bullshit, just plain facts.
Do you know that a change of temperature of 1 grade celsius can eventually wipe out that aquarium. First weaker corals would slowly die off, contaminate the water, then the less resilient spicies, then the alge would out burst or some microbes, eventually the aquarium would look like a piece of sewage water.
It wouldn't be dead though! Oh no, plenty of life would be in there in the mucky waters, but it would be an ugly sight.

If you ever own an aquarium you would know how fragile the balance is to keep things at status quo.

How many grains of sand does it take to destroy an engine? I belive that hot rod people, being gearheads and practical, would see this more clear.

So I welcome any attempt at the green hot rod and hope that the rest of the community will encurage it also. Its not traditional, but then again this hobi always was at the core of "making things better". I don't see many wooden wheels these days....

 

Well said! This is the new frontier Pilgrims, let's just make sure our version of "green" rattles rib cages and scares the s*** out of everybody! YYYEEEEEEHHHAAAAAWWWWW!!!!

 

If you ask many scientists who are specialists, they are not all agreeing w/ Gore. In fact there are many factors contributing to changes in our environment that we cannot control. Want some real facts, read the link by actual studies and you will be surprized by some of the causes. These don't make it in the media because they are not dooms day oriented. Joe
http://www.marshall.org/subcategory.php?id=9

 

Do you think if we run our cars on fuel made from beans

The exhaust will smell like farts.

I ate half a jar of vasoline and I am on my 3rd shot of diesel.

because of my steady diet of petrolium based products

I will survive the clone wars and the food shortage of 2020.

only to emerge more resiliant

I will be king one day and you all will be corspes.

 

Rebellion, outsmarting the smart guy, performing black arts like welding, hammering, cutting, and getting greasey & physical (....you know, LOOKING like you actually DID something...that sense of accomplishment and "I did it" pride), the ol' "get outa my way, I'm coming through come hell or high water"....isnt that ATTITUDE....which is now reflected in your black art done to your car..and maybe the chick beside you on the seat as you drive...headers cackling, tires screaching, RPM's up... then down noticably as you shift gears....cocking your head sideways to see if ya got a green light or not...getting the nods of approval from other like-minded guys and gals, and getting the sideways head shakes by the automotive purists as you pass by and rap your pipes at them....

Its hard to imagine stuff like that still going on in the future if we got no cars to do it with except the throw-away cars we are driving now......what fun is that???? Maybe we as the artists just need to change the canvas and the medium to fit the times....eh?

 

Y'know, NITROMETHANE is an ORGANIC compound...

 

Here is my answer to the greenies

 

It seems odd that some would actually encourage air pollution, poor drinking water, cutting down forests and refusing to recycle....all in the name of being "independant" and a "rebel"..."I play by my own rules mentality" sort of thing.
I don't know why or if the climate is changing. All I know is that we all contribute to tons of trash, sewage and air pollution. There no getting around the fact that we all do.
I do what I can. I do use the recycling bins, don't waste water, and generally live a pretty conservative lifestyle. Bottom line is this:
I don't trash stuff, throw litter all over and I don't like having to clean up after others. I just try to be decent.
Its childish to think that being reckless slobs is cool.
I rather doubt that folks like Mickey Thompson or Ak Miller would brag about being lazy and careless if they were alive today.
Going fast and making cool machines is great. Anyone can be a slob.

 

I'd agree with that; I also think quite a majority of the hardcore environmentalists are just as far off and harmful as the lazy, trashing slobs, to that point I agree with the Hotrodders Against The Environmentalists, I've seen that a few other places and thought it was pretty damn funny! Seriously, a lot of those nut-jobs value a tree over a human life; they'd rather see a person starve to death than hunt an animal for food...that's pretty messed up! those are the people I think of when I see the H.A.T.E. decals.

btw, I'm pretty sure most of the tree huggers live in houses supported by wood and use electricity in their house powered by coal mines and nuke plants! HAHAHAHA!!

 

I gotta agree with Greasel for the most part.
Theres just got to be a happy medium between being a planet-littering-self-centered-bonehead and a typical Hollywood celebrity telling the rest of the world how to live while they suck up all resources for their personal pleasure.

As far as building a "green" hot rod goes, well, for me that isn't going to happen. The perameters for building are style and performance.
Nothing should else should come into play or the "hot rod" vision is compromised. At that point I would have wasted my time.
My vision for my last rod in my life would be big cubic inches, loud, high octane, and all the stuff that would make it what I had imagined on paper.
If I can't do just that, then I'd just might as well buy a rocking chair, strap on my Depends and play Bingo with the other old farts...

 

Just has to be said...farmers were being subsidized for growing corn, not growing corn, milking cows, not milking cows, raising wheat, not raising wheat, and so on looong before GWB, so let's be honest.

Secondly, umm, I don't know of too many rainforests here in the good ol' USA plains regions that are being destroyed to raise soybeans. Did I mention that soybeans can be and are grown in this country??

I remember my vice principal coming into our staff room a few years ago ranting and raving, after listening to a teacher demagoguing to her class about the evils of beef, that he is not eating another hamburger. I asked why. His answer, and remember this is an "educated man", was that cattle ranchers were destroying South American rainforests with their cattle raising. I told him to eat US beef=no guilt as the rainforests were destroyed in North Dakota long before cattle ranchers came along! It's funny how ag rumors get spread even by "smart" people.

 

I think your perception of "environmentalists" is skewed.

Thanks,
Kurt

 

being stupid is not cool, we should try to not fuck up the planet as much as possible... but remember it isn't just cars, jet exhaust and factory smoke are just as much to blame as SUVs

 

thought it was pretty clear that I was commenting on the two extremes, implying there's a common sense, happy medium between the two in which there are people who have reasonable goals and take a legitimately constructive course of action to be good stewards of the resources we've been given. see mazooma1's response, he skewered the point made, you did not.

 

In your post I quoted, I don't see how you're implying this. Although that post was a bit contradictory. Most of that post is implying "they" are completely unrealistic. I'm mostly commenting on this part:

Where are you getting this from?

Thanks,
Kurt

 

sad thing is, substantially from people that I've met in person. in my short life I've done quite a bit of traveling around our country. ever spent much time in oregon or washington? in general, they worship the earth there and a few treat life as if every human that doesn't share their perspective is evil and deserves to die...those type of people view most of us as evil as someone that has committed rape and murder...for driving a diesel truck(which at 20mpg/7,500lbs is astronomically efficient for the amount of work it can do) or being legitimate recyclers with the classics. in Oregon I've actually had people in town throw things at my truck, swearing and screaming threats...just because I was in a 4x4 diesel!!!!

a friend of mine runs a business in oregon installing environmentally green, fireproof housing insulation far superior to fiberglass all around...all the equipment necessary requires a diesel truck and big trailer; he constantly gets threats for it, gets things thrown at him, people riding bicycles will stop in front of his truck and not let him drive, it's absurd. if he divided that equipment up into hybrid vehicles, the environmental impact would make me squirm and I'm part redneck.

if you're taking legitimate steps in your own lifestyle to conserve or tread lightly, I commend you. but just because you or I do things correctly does not negate the fact that there are crazy bastards with extreme views and no respect for human life.

all that said, I still support making an engine as fast and efficient as possible, I fix my stuff when it leaks oil or doesn't fire on all cylinders and I'm not that guy that goes plowing through the forest in my truck just for kicks.

 

you must of been to a different Oregon then i has visted, i have been there 3 times now, theres diesel farm trucks everywhere you go, i hope to be heading back very soon, nice good down home folks i'd say, how does any of this relate to creating an enviro friendly hotrod?

 

This thread makes my head hurt.

Even if you don't care or believe in global warming, why on earth would you want to keep sending American money to the middle east? Seriously, think about it. All that gas and oil has to come from someplace.

All I do all day is (basically) recycle hazardous materials and perform environmental clean ups. It's my job. When you see a work crew cleaning up a tanker roll-over, that's us. Meth lab on TV? That's us in the white suits. Oil spills, mercury spills, chemicals... And the biggest part of my job is managing recycling for bulk chemicals.

I love gas burning hot rods, but there are other things that I do to try to make up for it.

Replace all of light bulbs in your shop with fluorescent bulbs. Every bulb that I can change in my house is a compact fluorescent bulb. I have the older ones that have a weird color, but the newer ones even look "right". You'll save money over the long run too. And, it's less hassle. I haven't had to change a bulb in my house in over a year.

Recycle your car batteries. Car batteries are completely recycleable. They re-use the lead in new batteries. The acid gets reclaimed and re-used. The plastic is re-used too.

Would I put an electric motor in a gasser? F$%K no. But, I think a lowered hybrid Merc gliding through the parking lot silently on batteries would be very cool.

If you want, use less chrome on your hot rod. The waste from chrome plating is ... ugh, it's just plain scary. Paint waste isn't great either, but it's better than metal plating.

Going that little extra step makes a difference.

 

met plenty of good people there, too; lots of friends and family in those two states, doesn't take very many idiots to have a bad experience, though. has little to do with a green rod, sorry I got off on a tangent and should've left sgtlethargic's comments alone...I'll take some ownership in derailing the thread, my bad.

 

I hope to live long enough to see the USA quit importing ANY oil. We can produce enough ourselves for the remaining gasoline burning vehicles, collector cars hot rods/customs, etc.
Wouldn't it be great to still have our hobby, yet have all the "daily drivers" and non-hot rodder's vehicles run on another source of energy.

The dirtbags in the Middle East are living a lifestyle beyond belief thanks to them gouging the world through the manipulations of oil prices at OPEC.
Without the world begging for their oil, they'll all be living in cardboard boxes where they all belong.
They have no other natural resouces to sell other than oil. There's no big market for sand and they have no talent at much of anything else that the world needs. As the comedian "Gallagher" in the 80's used to say. "Shit, its not their oil, their just closer to it, thats all!"

The people of the USA should be demanding that we cut our need for foreign oil ASAP.

Its been almost 40 years since the USA put a man on the moon. We did that because we challenged ourselves to achieve what others could not do.
With that same committment, we could become energy independant.

My worry is that many Americans are so busy consuming Chinese made crap, burning foreign oil, and living a life of being unaware of whats happening before our very eyes, that we have lost our true strength....that strenghth of being THE world leader in new technology...

Sorry, folks...I went kind of nuts here, but damn, this makes me mad!