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Monday, 25 June 2007 |
Just thought I would post a picture of my Rambler 196 Straight Six, pre-painting. This is an in progress shot of the engine as I am stripping rust and old paint off. Notice how well it is coming along? Will post a pic of the car before and after later on. The engine is what is important right now.
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Sunday, 24 June 2007 |
Its too bad that I don't feel like doing anything today...Besides going to church and singing in the Praise Team, I haven't felt much like doing anything but sit and think. Perhaps God has created a switch in us that makes us rest on the end of the week; whatever the Sabbath Day may be to us...
So, I am just throwing around ideas as to what I am going to do with my project car (1963 AMC Rambler Classic, Motortrend Car of the Year), and I think I have already mentioned that I want to make it a gas-efficient car. The 195.5 (196) AMC Straight Six is pretty efficient in its own wright, getting around 25-30 miles per gallon of gas. I plan on doing a few modifications to make that even better, with my seemingly unachievable goal of 40-50+ miles per gallon.
I am going to acquire a rare Fish Carburetor, which supposedly adds 20% more miles per gallon, and gives 30% more horsepower, by vaporizing gas more effectively...Besides that, I am going to add a mini GEET fuel heater, which should help the liquid gas vaporize. This way, more of the fuel actually gets burned. Additives like a catalyst, as well as acetone and boric acid may be attempted, and I may even try a PCV jar. I know I have already mentioned some or all of this, but its what's on my mind...that and trying to get a girlfriend, anyway.
I also am thinking about other things, but I can't slow my thoughts down enough to get them put down. Until I write something else (hopefully with more substance), I hope to see you back here! Check out some of my other articles, as they should be more enthralling than this one.
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Tuesday, 19 June 2007 |
As we all know, the majority of gas saving devices that we can find end up being scams. This is a bad thing, but it shouldn't get you discouraged. There are some things that will save you gas, and I have decided to explain and list some of them here, and will perhaps explain more in-depth with pictures as I actually perform some of the modifications myself. I hate going on and on, so let's get to the fun part:
First and foremost, stop stomping the accelerator! Get your foot out of the floor! More conservative driving practices will save gas, an are the easiest method to get higher milage. But you probably knew that...Did you know about the device pictured below?
The cheapest and easiest solution is to build (or buy...I will put a tutorial up eventually) a PCV jar. You need to make sure your engine has an external PCV system. If it does (as most modern vehicles do) you can increase MPG anywhere from 5-10%. Some people have gotten a 5 mpg gain, which may not sound like a lot, but it is well worth it. These jars work by pulling oils and burnable fuel from the engine, which are usually wasted. Using a catalyst, it recirculates the burnable fuel vapors back into the engine's combustion chamber. One (expensive) PCV jar for sale is called the Condensator...I plan on building and installing my own, and posting the progress and results here. Be looking out for that!
Boric acid + Acetone added every time you fill up. BE CAREFUL you can actually decrease the gas milage if you aren't careful. Start out with 1-2 oz of acetone per 10gal of gas, not exceeding 3oz which appears to be optimum for many vehicles. To mix, you should take 5gal of hopefully warm gas (let it sit in the sun a few minutes) and first add the acetone (do not forget that this is only half of 10, so if you put the other 5 gal into your vehicle, and do this for every 10gal). Then, take your boric acid and add it to the gas/acetone mix. This creates a suspension, where the boric acid particles are floating around in the gas. Keep adding until the gas won't suspend anymore acid, or just put in an amount that doesn't make you nervous (and just work your way up). The reasoning behind these substances is that the acetone makes gas burn hotter, and more efficient, and the boric acid lubricates things in the engine very well, adding efficiency. Some people even add boric acid to their oil, transmission, ball joints, power steering, and more! Best of all, both substances are realtively cheap.
Supercarburetors (not for fuel injected engines, older vehicles only) refer to carburetors that vaporize the fuel molecules, increasing the amount of liquid fuel that actually burns. The classic example of one such carburetor is the Pouge, which supposedly got 200 mpg. Readers should note it was 200 mpg with the car running badly at no more than 30 miles per hour. When properly tuned, milage and performance should have both been increased.
A more modern example would be the Fish Carburetor. It was used in both consumer and racing applications, and was mass produced, and eventually suppressed by the US Government (returned orders with "FRAUDULENT" stamped on them, claiming no carbs were made), who was at the time in the pockets of big oil. Originally, it was produced in the 1950's, and the company changed hands many times. The company started up back in the 80's, and died again in 1994. The rights to the company and molds are now owned by an individual who still makes these on occasion. These carburetors claimed a 20% increase in economy, and a 30% increase in horsepower. The best place to find these is eBay, as well as the MPG Research Forums, and a junkyard near you. These carbs are universal, and may require an adapter plate.
The other type of Supercarb is one that "cracks" or breaks gas molecules into smaller molecules. This essentially doubles the amount of gasoline you get from 1 gallon at the pump. The problem with today's gas is that it has additives that have been inserted for the sole purpose of clogging these supercarburetors, which use catalysts to do the cracking.
Finally, there are other methods that are a little bit "out there." You could try putting hard drive magnets on the fuel line (rubber lines only, south poles facing line only), or buy a special additive. If you have the money, get your engine ported, and get PowreLinez and PowreGrooves, each of which supposedly increase fuel economy. I don't suggest it, but you could try water injection, provided you know what you are doing, which would work, but may rust your engine internally. Finally, there is the ozone generator, which is also supposed to increase economy by adding chemically unstable O3 to the combustion. Whatever you try, be careful, because I gurantee nothing, and am not responsible if you blow yourself or your engine into oblivion.
Resources:
Fuel Economy Tips
MPG Research Forums
Acetone as A Fuel Additive
Himac Research and Information on Suppressed Tech
DIY Magnet Use
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Monday, 18 June 2007 |
A special thanks to CodedChaos, who I didn't realize had posted a link to the iTunes on Linux petition on the heavily viewed I-Hacked Edge blog. Check it out!
Also, whatever happens, I know I will be good - if iTunes ever comes to Linux, great! Otherwise, I am happy using Songbird. Whatever happens, I am happy now!
That said, be expecting some sort of fuel economy related articles, as well as some car restoration articles soon! My father and I have an 1961 Rambler American and a 1963 Rambler classic, by AMC, each of which we are restoring. The 1961 was my dad's first car, and the 1963 was intended to be used as a parts car for the engine, but we decided it was too cool to destroy. I plan on painting it two-tone, white and bright green. They aren't fast, but they are efficient and pretty with their 196 Cubic Inch engines, and a two barrel on one and a one barrel carb on the other, they get around 25-30 mpg. I plan on increasing economy on the 1963 as much as I possibly can, with a goal being 50+mpg. I will post pics, plans, and progress as we go forward, and I will try to get some pics up soon!
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Monday, 18 June 2007 |
I have been searching for an alternative to iTunes for some time now. I wanted to get away from the DRM, as well as the "evil corporation" type vibe that comes from anything made by Apple or Microsoft. The main reason, though, is that I wanted an all in one solution to iTunes that would run in Linux. Amarok is ok, but I don't like the interface. Needless to say, after some searching, I found exactly what I needed: Songbird.
(click to enlarge)
Songbird is a music management system that has a similar interface to iTunes users (except the default is a sexy black/grey scheme), and it is under development. It has not yet reached version 1.0, the current stable version being 0.2.5, with version 0.3 expected very soon (lots of fixes!). The best part is the iPod integration! It works perfectly when syncing music, but it does have a problem syncing podcasts at the moment, as it synced only the first 1min25 sec of a 1hr25min podcast...That said, let's discuss some cool features:
- Songbird is built upon the Mozilla engine, thus is cross-platform compatible
- "Feathers" (plugins) are available, and thanks to Mozilla, this Player supports streaming music and streaming radio, as well as the ability to add podcast subscriptions simply by browsing to their feed
- iPod Compatible
- Other players will be/are being added to the list of compatible devices
- Skinable
- Sees network devices and network services
- Incorporates the eMusic, CD Baby, Birdman Records, Beggars Group, and Amazon music stores, and more can be added through "feathers"
- Can subscribe to MP3 Blogs
- Play music from Yahoo! Unlimited
- Tons more extensions/plugins available on Dev site
- Is faster than iTunes, although a bit buggy in its early version
- It is pretty!
Needless to say, you should try this player no matter what platform you run! Windows, Linux, Mac - it runs on everything! Please, take a look, and make sure to report any bugs you run into!
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