Here is a short video (we did NOT make it NOR chose the music) of my wife's Galaxie. May or may not be an XL. Her goal is to make it as "eco-friendly" as possible, yet have it be as "cool" as possible. Been working on gearing, motor / trans combos, etc....a lot of brainstorming in the hot rod community around here trying to figure out what we are going to do next. A lot of older guys giving good input on some things we hadn't even considered. I thought for sure they'd all shun the idea, but they haven't (probably because she's a woman ). Trying to figure out what to do about the exhaust has been the most difficult so far. But we'll get it done. My wife is a task-master, and is one of those people who doesn't have the word "Can't" in her vocabulary. Hot Rodders - The ORIGINAL Recyclers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTQ8I0Cokkg&list=PLA2B0DD826E0CDD71&index=149
Beautiful car. I like the color, the interior and the mods done to it. You do realize that it isn't really an XL though? Unless you changed it, the XL had different steering column, pedals .
If you want eco-friendly then you can install a set of high-flow catalytic converters in the exhaust. Or you could convert it to run on LP Gas. BTW, your video was the first time I muted the sound on a car video. That soundtrack is painful to listen to, and I have a wide range of taste in music.
Sorry, I didn't do the video OR the music. A guy who is a videographer came up to us at a cruise in and asked to film it and put it on his website. If it was me, I would have used The Brian Setzer Orchestra and the live version of Jump, Jive, an' Wail....but that's just me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwvNrLaOmTI
House of Kolor Lime Time Green. It totally just jumps out and grabs ya. The roof is a blend of pearl white and flake, and you can't see it in pictures, but in person it is absolutely stunning, day or night. Again, the roof just jumps out and grabs you. Beautiful colors. Beautiful paintwork. Some people HATE it, but the people that LOVE, really LOVE IT. Regardless, she commands you to look at her. ***ier than socks on a rooster.
+1 on cats and propane or run a DPF burner like the diesels do to burn off particulates. Add an EGR system, A.I.R pump and avoid the dragstrip.
Really appreciate the input, everyone. With that kind of help, we'll figure it out. I'm sure of it. The more ideas, the better.
And propane is incredibly cheap. I thought you could do a propane conversion on a diesel motor like Waste Management is doing with their fleet, but I didn't know it could be done on a gas motor. Interesting...
How available is natural gas where you live? It burns clean, makes mostly just water vapor at the exhaust, keeps your engine and oil much cleaner much longer, and is often cheaper than gasoline.
I think it is. There are sooo many RV's down here all winter, I'm sure there are plenty of places to fill up. Most gas stations on the freeway around here have it just for that reason. I'm going to research the feasibility of that. Sounds like a good option on the surface.
It is an apples to oranges comparison. You have to compress natural gas to 2400 psi to get the same energy out of a gallon of it as gasoline. Oxygen tanks are usually compressed to 2200 psi and it takes quite a while to fill one. It generates a lot of heat and some places put the tanks in water while filling to cool them and also to contain any shrapnel if the tank would fail. I don't know how comfortable I would be with a high pressure fuel tank in a vehicle. The local power company, which also is the natural gas supplier for the area, converted several vehicles years ago and were trying to convince others to do it too. They can buy natural gas cheaper than anyone but they don't have any vehicles running on it now. I don't know how various States handle the road tax on propane or cng. If you can get by without paying road tax it might be economical. Put in a pump at your house and fill it there where you can let the pump run for several hours. If you get caught not paying road tax it might get very expensive. Check everything out before you do it.