History Ssssssnake Oil Anyone?

Along the same lines. Ampco top end oiler

 

There are several subjects that support “conspiracy theories”, but probably none any more enduring than the idea that “Big Oil” squelched numerous gas mileage enhancing devices.

Does anyone really believe that such devices existed, much less could have been kept off the market for decades? The competitive advantage that any auto maker would have had with such equipment on their vehicles far exceeds any influence “Big Oil” could have exerted to prevent them from reaching the market.

In addition, Countries other than the USA have competent physicists and engineers who would have discovered these principles, if they existed, and whose shortages of petroleum would have guaranteed their introduction.

Nonetheless, I too enjoy reading the urban legends about this stuff.....keep ‘em coming!

 

Hell, I always wanted a mini-supercharger when I'd see the ads in the back of the car mags.
Thought they were the coolest.
Biggest problem was I was about 10 years old, and didn't have a car.
Never did figure out how to use it on my Western Flyer.

 

Why yes there is!

 

The electric supercharger

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/vintage-electric-superchargers.1055709/

These not necessarily auto ads always caught my attention as a youngster

 

I had that drive line thing done to me once. Just out of high school I got a job at a construction company that my uncle worked for also, one day my boss calls every one in for a safety meeting, except my uncle didn't show, boss said don't worry about it...whole thing seemed strange, my uncle went home at the end of his shift but I was on swing shift till 10pm, before the shift ended I went to move my car, a kind of a beater 55 Chev 4dr, to the shop to air up a tire and one of the other Mechanics give me the get on it signal so I revved the old 235 and dumped the clutch and off I go across the lot ....and crap that thing sounded like everything that could come off that car just did all at once ....I hit the brake and clutch pedals and shut it off all at the same time jump out of the car running from it ,I look back and there's this big cloud of dust and rust around it and coming out of it ...I thought what the f::": happened ,the other guy comes running up asked what did you do ..I didn't know....upon investigation I found that apparently during that fake safety meeting my uncle was out tie wrappings a chunk of 3/8 logger chain on to my drive line...not only did it scare the crap out of me ,thinking I just had blown my car up ,the thing had quite a bit of rust in the floors, alot more than I thought there was , and now most of what was my floor was now all over the parking lot....to this day ,38 years later, the subject is not brought up between us, we are close he is my hot rod uncle but still that day don't come up by either one of us....

Sent from my SM-T387V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

carbking, l've often wondered if a magnet in one of the glass bowl fuel pump would catch anything from the tank. My 56 Ford Y has a stock fuel pump with a glass filter on the bottom I can't get a filter for. I have a old style AC glass bowl after the pump before the carbs with a filter. What do you think?

 

Try it - if the gray magnet turns reddish-brown, your tank may need attention. Did you follow the link to the picture of the Carter Magnatrap in the post about the cow magnets?

Jon.

 

I was just there for Billet Proof and it's sitting right there in the showcase when you walk in the last building. Don is kinda into these things. He has his ways...

 

There was a guy who showed up to our racers lunch and was looking for investors for his "head gaskets" that had little tiny electrodes at the edge of the bores that you would hook up to the spark leads to intensify combustion. Even had testamonials from famous racers claiming that it really worked-- We ran him off and ate his lunch

 

Fiat currency propoed up by the petrodollar.

 

A little newer but still snake oil(literally):

Years ago I changed the oil in a girl's car that had used that and I swear it was thicker than pudding.
Had a big name sponsor too:

 

Good stuff. Keep em coming. Snowman

 

Iirc, that Arco graphite oil drained out black as diesel oil. Think it probably had just enough graphite in it to turn it black....

 

Crosley cars that came with the optional 10:1 compression engine had a unit called "Vita meter" which injected probably a water alcohol mix to stop detonation..Fact..

 

In the late 50's, I remember a box that could be bolted to the trunk floor to keep your car from rolling over.

 

I used to see a item, probably the Spark King demonstrated at the country fairs..Early 50's olds v8 with all the spark plug wires connected on a terminal board on top of the engine set up so each wire would spark across terminals...With the engine running the guy would put news paper in the arcs and nothing happened but when he started the engine back up with the spark king installed the arcs would light the news paper on fire; the spark was that "hot"....Seen through the eyes of a ten year old..If it wasn't priced beyond my income I would have bought one and ran home and put it on Dad's Farmall A Tractor..

 

It was known to coagulate to a point that if you left it in long enough you ain't getting it back out. At least through the drain hole any way.