[dan-o]

Not sure how much I have talked about it here, but my next project is a '66 C10 long bed converted to diesel. I can't afford a Duramax, so mine will be an 88-93 6.2 with Banks turbo upgrade.

I went to look at the truck tonight and I will likely buy it this weekend. I just need to find a donor motor and figure out if I am keeping the 3 speed manual or going TH400 automatic. 280hp and 450ft-lb of biodiesel turbo goodness.

<edit> Mine will be a bagged 2wd.

that sounds awesome. I'd want more than 3 gears and I think a TH400 would be more reliable/stout. If it mates up easily you may as well try the 3spd though.

I saw a low-mile duramax/6spd allison salvage combo on ebay for $6k. Wiring, ecm/tcm etc. Try dieselplace.com, they have a 6.2/6.5 section.

 

[jimmydean]

that sounds awesome. I'd want more than 3 gears and I think a TH400 would be more reliable/stout. If it mates up easily you may as well try the 3spd though.

I saw a low-mile duramax/6spd allison salvage combo on ebay for $6k. Wiring, ecm/tcm etc. Try dieselplace.com, they have a 6.2/6.5 section.

I registered at dieselplace a few weeks ago when a guy at 67-72chevytrucks.com recommended that site. An Alison would be sick, that's what they used in that Impala. Any Chevy bellhousing will mount up to the 6.2/6.5 and they use the small block motor mounts, so the swap is straight forward. I will see what I find as a donor and go from there as far as a trans.

The '66 has a 350 from a '74 Burb, but it's the original trans. The key is the 88-93 year range on the motor. 88 is the first year of the serpentine belt setup and better heads, while the 93 is the last year of the mechanical fuel pump that is more stout than the electric use on the 6.5.

 

[chicodude]

Hahaha I like how the discussion in here went from the most efficent way to get to work to huge turbo diesels

 

[jimmydean]

Hahaha I like how the discussion in here went from the most efficent way to get to work to huge turbo diesels

I ride the bus to work, so my commute is taken care of. But getting to the mountain quickly and cheaply will be an issue until they add a bus route.

If I could take the MAX (light rail) to races, that would be awesome.

 

[Toshi]

Hahaha I like how the discussion in here went from the most efficent way to get to work to huge turbo diesels

well, he could run it on waste vegetable oil, in theory...

 

[jimmydean]

well, he could run it on waste vegetable oil, in theory...

That was the point of the Impala, B100 (as will be my truck). The interior was redone using a combo of hemp and recycled fabric. It was a "Pimp my ride" earth day project last year.

VAN NUYS, CA (April 9, 2007) – In celebration of Earth Day, the Galpin Auto Sports (G.A.S.) crew returns in the fifth season of MTV’s “Pimp My Ride” and shows that alternative fuel vehicles can be fast and fun by transforming a 1965 Chevy Impala into a biodiesel vehicle nicknamed the “Bio Rocket.” As if the event needed any more muscle, the Bio Rocket will be unveiled by special guest Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger during a ground-breaking Earth Day episode of “Pimp My Ride” scheduled to air on Sunday, April 22, 2007 2007

 

[Toshi]

SOLD!

That looks perfect.

I test rode it today, a new REI/Novara Transfer.

Thoughts:

- the 15" floor model was too small for me (duh)
- gear range on the 7-speed Nexus hub was acceptable
- overall gearing was great for pedaling. May be too short with assist.
- solid construction. Nice eyelets for the rack, etc.
- the geared hub feels different from derailleurs (again, duh). In particular there's more slack when engaging the freewheel after coasting. Also, if you shift under too much load the hub won't skip or complain, but also won't engage the new gear until you ease
- the stock stem and handlebars are weird and gross
- the front wheel, hub generator, and light setup should be worth $150 at least at msrp, if such interested buyers exist

Overall I like it. I think it'll work: I'd swap the bars for the Protapers in my garage, eBay the front wheel and light, move the one shifter to the left to allow for the right twist throttle, and put the electric gear on.

The best news: REI's annual sale starts May 2 according to the shop guy. Bikes will be 15% off...

 

[Toshi]

two alternative ways to get around:

the Uno. http://gizmodo.com/384074/uno-a-unicycle+motorbike+segway-hybrid

Sometimes a bike is just a bike... there's no photoshopping going on here, guys. This is Uno, of course, a segway/motorcycle mashup shown publicly for the first time at the recent Toronto National Motorbike show. Technically it has two wheels, but they're right next to each other and it does balance on them under its own power.

Built by Ben J. Poss Gulak, it's an electric vehicle that uses a similar sort of microgyro-motor system as the Segway, but with two gyros: one for forward and back, and one for turning. Its got just one control &#8212;a power switch&#8212; and everything else is done by leaning, which must make for one hell of an adrenaline-packed ride. It's the culmination of a number of vehicle projects by Ben, and uses electric propulsion for eco-friendliness, since Ben visited China where he found that "the smog was so thick, we never saw the sun."

Ben designed the 120-lb vehicle himself, using Google sketchup to help with the plans as he couldn't afford professional software. How does it perform? We don't know, but we suspect it's a lot of fun. And though Ben got some advice from expert motorbike modders, and a robotics expert for the gyro programming, he deserves a round of applause&#8212; he's only 18 years old. And that's just amazing. [Motorcycle Mojo via Make &#8212;Thanks Daniel]

i think it's pretty awesome that he used Google Sketchup.

Flying dinghy. http://gizmodo.com/383996/dinghy-&#37;252B-hang-glider-%2B-giant-engine--hilarious-obituary

$32k+. good way to die.

 

[Red Rabbit]

This thread is so great I think it needs a breakdown

Have a forum called "Alternative Personal Transportation" as apposed to "Lounge"

Then break down each thread by the vehicle or type of vehicle.

It would make for easy searching, and possible more people using this site as a resource.

Great job, Toshi.

 

[Toshi]

thanks, RR.


an apropos article in the SF Chronicle from 2005:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/19/MNG3NFAOF11.DTL] Drive 55, save gas -- get flipped off

Drive 55, save gas -- get flipped off
Trip shows slowing down boosts mileage but can make you unpopular on the road

Michael Cabanatuan, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 19, 2005


With gas prices hovering around $3 a gallon, a lot of people say they're making big sacrifices so they can afford to fill their gas tanks. They're cutting back on travel, curtailing shopping expeditions, going out less often.

But hardly anyone is talking about -- or practicing -- a surefire way to save on gas: Slow down. Drive 55.

"It's amazing, isn't it?'' said Tim Castleman, a Sacramento Web site developer who runs the Drive 55 Conservation Project. "People just don't want to do it. It's hard.''

How hard? The drawbacks aren't measured just in terms of minutes lost. There's the feeling of inadequacy that comes from being flipped off by a 12-year-old boy in another car. From being tailgated by little old ladies and pickup trucks piled high with furniture. From being passed by 830 vehicles, including an AC Transit bus, on a drive from the Bay Area to deep into the San Joaquin Valley. "Is that all?'' said Officer Mike Panelli of the California Highway Patrol. "It must have been a slow-traffic day.''

Traffic was a bit light when The Chronicle decided to take a 2001 Chevrolet Malibu for a 200-mile spin from Emeryville to the dusty Interstate 5 stopover of Kettleman City -- sticking to 55 mph on the way down and going with the flow of traffic on the way back.

The idea was to test just how much better the six-cylinder Malibu (EPA-estimated highway mileage: 29 miles per gallon) could do at a speed imposed on the nation's freeway drivers as a fuel-saving measure during the Arab oil embargo of the mid-1970s.

The limit became increasingly unpopular and was repealed in 1995. Now you can do 65 mph on most of Interstate 580 in the East Bay all the way down to I-5, where 70 mph is the rule and 80 mph a common practice.

But as a gas-saving device, 55 mph still works. The Malibu got 35 mpg on the way down to Kettleman City; coming back from the Kings County settlement of fast-food restaurants and gas stations at the flow of traffic, a bit over 70 mph, the mileage dropped sharply -- to 25 mpg.

"That's pretty significant,'' said Sean Comey, spokesman for AAA of Northern California. "More than I would have expected.''

For every mile per hour faster than 55 mph, fuel economy drops by about 1 percent, said Jason Mark, clean vehicles program director for the Union of Concerned Scientists. The drop-off increases at a greater rate after 65 mph. The faster you go, the faster the fuel goes.

There are costs the slower you go, however. It took 49 minutes longer to make the trip at 55 mph -- three hours and 36 minutes total -- but it seemed like forever. Sitting in the slow lane, tapping the gas pedal to maintain a steady speed, the car felt like it was traveling at 25. Everything from Porsches and BMWs to big-rigs, the AC Transit bus and pickups towing boats -- and they're supposed to keep their speeds under 55 -- cruised past in the left lane.

A lot of drivers cast curious glances at The Chronicle's Malibu, and a woman in a black Volvo station wagon with three kids in the back seat glared. One person -- a preteen boy in the passenger seat of a Dodge Stratus -- made an obscene gesture, raising both middle fingers somewhere in Merced County.

A handful of drivers came within a few inches of the rear bumper before jerking their cars into the fast lane and flying by, but most simply passed. Actually, everybody passed sooner or later. The 830 cars and trucks that went by the Malibu as it poked along at 55 mph was nearly 10 times the number that passed on the speedier trip home.

Officer Panelli said the CHP sees very few drivers cruising I-5 at 55.

It's not illegal, however -- there's no minimum speed limit on that stretch of road, and the Vehicle Code says only: "No person shall drive upon a highway at such a slow speed as to impede or block the normal and reasonable movement of traffic."

"If you're doing 55 in the right lane,'' Panelli said, "you're probably OK. It wouldn't be like you're the only one out there going that slow, since trucks and cars towing trailers have a 55 speed limit.''

Most motorists wouldn't dare try it, however. "You want to go with the flow,'' said Jihadda Govan of Delano, who was taking I-5 back from a wedding in Humboldt County. "You feel like a hazard doing 55 when everyone else is going between 70 and 90.''

Comey said that even though the AAA encourages motorists to conserve fuel by lifting the right foot off the gas pedal, he would worry about going 55 on the wide-open highway.

"You wouldn't want to sacrifice safety for fuel economy,'' he said. "If you're driving 55, and the ambient traffic speed is much higher, you could be putting yourself in danger because the other drivers might not be paying attention and might crash into you.''

But Panelli said he wouldn't classify 55 as an unsafe speed.

"I've never (responded to) a collision that occurred where someone said, 'This guy was driving 55 so I crashed into him,' '' he said.

"Usually, the cause is the opposite. Someone's driving too fast.''

Many motorists said time was more important than money.

"We're coming from Seattle,'' said Hugh Lee, a content provider for an Internet music service, bound for West Los Angeles with his friend, Leah Clarin, a Nordstrom merchandiser. "So we just want to get to our destination as fast as we can.''

Seth Springer, an Oakland special-education teacher heading for the Grand Canyon in a Toyota Prius hybrid, said he was keeping a close watch on his mileage, which is recalculated and displayed on the dashboard display every five minutes. It was at 44 mpg, a bit better than the 42 he usually gets commuting to work in Hayward. He was trying to keep down his speed, he said, but wasn't too worried about the effect on mileage.

"In a Prius, you don't have to feel guilty,'' he said.

Despite the significant fuel savings, there's been no hue and cry to reinstate the national 55-mph speed limit. Castleman, who formed the Drive 55 Conservation Project as a way to lessen dependence on foreign oil after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said he's had trouble getting any politicians -- even his own state representatives -- to consider the idea.

"The 55 mph speed limit is not a number we're stuck on,'' he said. "I'd be willing to go to 60.

"The idea is to get people to slow down (and develop) an attitude of conservation,'' Castleman said.

That makes sense to Mark, who said the savings can add up by slowing down even on short trips. He figures that a commuter making a 30-mile drive to work at 65 mph instead of 75 mph would save about 30 cents in fuel costs per day -- or $150 a year -- and spend just 3 1/2 minutes more daily on the road.

"When we're talking about changing driving habits, we're not talking about driving like your grandmother,'' Mark said. "We're talking about just easing off the gas pedal a bit.''

ON THE ROAD

With gas prices soaring and people searching for ways to reduce their energy costs, Chronicle reporter Michael Cabanatuan explored an old solution -- slowing down. He drove from Emeryville to Kettleman City at 55 mph, then drove back at 70 mph and compared his gas mileage on the two trips.
Emeryville to Kettleman City
55.6 mph, 35 mpg
Gas consumed: 5.7 gallons
Travel time: 3 hours 36 minutes
Cost of gas: $17.04 ($2.99/gallon)
Number of vehicles that passed driver: 830
Kettleman City back to Emeryville
70.8 mph, 25 mpg
Gas consumed: 7.8 gallons
Travel time: 2 hours 47 minutes
Cost of gas: $22.23 ($2.85/gallon)
Number of vehicles that passed driver: 94

i love this misguided quote...

"In a Prius, you don't have to feel guilty,'' he said.

for the record, i've been driving 60 mph (on 60 mph and up roads, of course) on cruise in the right lane, and have been consistently getting the _highway_ mileage or better in combined cycle driving. isn't physics cool?

 

[Toshi]

I read a cool article in the NYTimes today. "homebrew for your car", no link since I'm on the iPhone, not a full computer.

It was about the MicroFueler. It's a $10k device by a Los Gatos startup that makes fuel-grade ethanol. It takes yeast and sugar as inputs and outputs and stores fuel. Supposedly you need 10-14 lbs sugar to make 1 gal ethanol. (food grade sugar is ~20 cents/lb according to the article but inedible Mexican sugar is 2.5 cents/lb)

Of course, you'd need a license to make your own fuel and your car must run on E100 but the possibilities are very cool.

 

[Toshi]

I read a cool article in the NYTimes today. "homebrew for your car", no link since I'm on the iPhone, not a full computer.

It was about the MicroFueler. It's a $10k device by a Los Gatos startup that makes fuel-grade ethanol.

here's that article now that i'm back on a real computer:

NY Times: Home Brew for the Car, Not the Beer Cup

Home Brew for the Car, Not the Beer Cup

Caption: Floyd S. Butterfield, left, and Thomas J. Quinn with the MicroFueler in Los Gatos, Calif. They say this ethanol system could be a threat to the oil industry.

By MICHAEL FITZGERALD
Published: April 27, 2008
WHAT if you could make fuel for your car in your backyard for less than you pay at the pump? Would you?

The first question has driven Floyd S. Butterfield for more than two decades. Mr. Butterfield, 52, is something of a legend for people who make their own ethanol. In 1982, he won a California Department of Food and Agriculture contest for best design of an ethanol still, albeit one that he could not market profitably at the time.

Now he thinks that he can, thanks to his partnership with the Silicon Valley entrepreneur Thomas J. Quinn. The two have started the E-Fuel Corporation, which soon will announce its home ethanol system, the E-Fuel 100 MicroFueler. It will be about as large as a stackable washer-dryer, sell for $9,995 and ship before year-end.

The net cost to consumers could drop by half after government incentives for alternate fuels, like tax credits, are applied.

The MicroFueler will use sugar as its main fuel source, or feedstock, along with a specially packaged time-release yeast the company has developed. Depending on the cost of sugar, plus water and electricity, the company says it could cost as little as a dollar a gallon to make ethanol. In fact, Mr. Quinn sometimes collects left-over alcohol from bars and restaurants in Los Gatos, Calif., where he lives, and turns it into ethanol; the only cost is for the electricity used in processing.

In general, he says, burning a gallon of ethanol made by his system will produce one-eighth the carbon of the same amount of gasoline.

“It’s going to cause havoc in the market and cause great financial stress in the oil industry,” Mr. Quinn boasts.

He may well turn out to be right. But brewing ethanol in the backyard isn’t as easy as barbecuing hamburgers. Distilling large quantities of ethanol typically has required a lot of equipment, says Daniel M. Kammen, director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. In addition, he says that quality control and efficiency of home brew usually pale compared with those of commercial refineries. “There’s a lot of hurdles you have to overcome. It’s entirely possible that they’ve done it, but skepticism is a virtue,” Mr. Kammen says.

To be sure, Mr. Quinn, 53, has been involved with successful innovations before. For instance, he patented the motion sensor technology used in Nintendo’s wildly popular Wii gaming system.

More to the point, he was the product marketing manager for Alan F. Shugart’s pioneering hard disk drive when the personal computer was shifting from a hobbyists’ niche to a major industry. “I remember people laughing at us and saying what a stupid idea it was to do that disk drive,” Mr. Quinn says.

Mr. Butterfield thinks that the MicroFueler is as much a game changer as the personal computer. He says that working with Mr. Quinn’s microelectronics experts — E-Fuel now employs 15 people — has led to breakthroughs that have cut the energy requirements of making ethanol in half. One such advance is a membrane distiller, which, Mr. Quinn says, uses extremely fine filters to separate water from alcohol at lower heat and in fewer steps than in conventional ethanol refining. Using sugar as a feedstock means that there is virtually no smell, and its water byproduct will be drinkable.

E-Fuel has bold plans: It intends to operate internationally from the start, with production of the MicroFueler in China and Britain as well as the United States. And Mr. Butterfield is already at work on a version for commercial use, as well as systems that will use feedstocks other than sugar.

Ethanol has long had home brewers, and permits are available through the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. (You must be a property owner and agree to make your ethanol outdoors.) But there are plenty of reasons to question whether personal fueling systems will become the fuel industry’s version of the personal computer.

For starters, sugar-based ethanol doesn’t look much cheaper than gas. It takes 10 to 14 pounds of sugar to make a gallon of ethanol, and raw sugar sells in the United States for about 20 cents a pound, says Michael E. Salassi, a professor in the department of agricultural economics at Louisiana State University. But Mr. Quinn says that as of January this year, under the North American Free Trade Agreement, he can buy inedible sugar from Mexico for as little as 2.5 cents a pound, which puts the math in his favor. While this type of sugar has not been sold to consumers, E-Fuel says it is developing a distribution network for it.

In addition, it’s illegal in the United States to operate a car on 100 percent ethanol, with exceptions for off-road vehicles like Indy cars and farm equipment. Mr. Quinn has a federal permit to make his own fuel, and believes that if MicroFuelers start popping up like swimming pools, regulators will adapt by certifying pure ethanol for cars.

Despite all the hurdles, Mr. Quinn and Mr. Butterfield may be on to something. There are plenty of consumers who want to reduce their carbon footprint and are willing to make an upfront investment to do it — consider the success of the Prius.

And if oil prices continue to rise, the economics of buying a MicroFueler will become only better and better.

 

[CBJ]

I was almost going to post that yesterday but thought you had seen it already. Very interesting idea. Still can't understand how it would be worth while going from mass production to home production.

 

[Toshi]

I was almost going to post that yesterday but thought you had seen it already. Very interesting idea. Still can't understand how it would be worth while going from mass production to home production.

a few ideas:

1) the profit is taken out of the picture except at the base material level

2) a lot easier for individuals to panhandle at their bars for stale, backwashed beer than companies (it takes alcohol as a direct feedstock)

 

[CBJ]

Yes, but if done on a larger scale more efficient transportation, better discount on sugar etc.

They compare it to the personal computer but this to me looks like a good old fashion production facility where economy of scale is important.

 

[Toshi]

Yes, but if done on a larger scale more efficient transportation, better discount on sugar etc.

They compare it to the personal computer but this to me looks like a good old fashion production facility where economy of scale is important.

good point. I could see a group of homeowners starting a co-op, pitching in to buy one of these for their community while reaping some of the economies-of-scale benefits you mention while still keeping transport costs and corporate profit largely out of the picture.

Not being dependent on corporations for energy has some innate worth, as well...

 

[CBJ]

Yes, the co-op idea also struck me a a way to go with something like that. Having a real alternative that works is great and maybe what is needed to make changes.

 

[jimmydean]

Yes, the co-op idea also struck me a a way to go with something like that. Having a real alternative that works is great and maybe what is needed to make changes.

Why not do the same thing with WVO? That way you are using a common "waste" product to produce a usable fuel alternative rather than using a food product?

I like the idea of a home still, but unless there is an abundance of source, is there truly a benefit?

 

[Toshi]

Why not do the same thing with WVO? That way you are using a common "waste" product to produce a usable fuel alternative rather than using a food product?

I like the idea of a home still, but unless there is an abundance of source, is there truly a benefit?

I think it would be great having a prepackaged kit with the bits to convert a diesel vehicle to WVO, along with the tanks and such to collect and store the oil itself.

Pain must be taken out of the process for any alternate transport to be viable, whether e-bike, home-brew E100, WVO, compressed air, or what have you.

 

[G-Cracker]

what make and model is that? how can it be clean burning if it's a 2-stroke?

Sorry, Toshi... didn't see you respond way back. It's a Genuine Scooter Co 110cc Rattler. Bad choice of words... it's not clean burning. I guess I was just trying to imply that compared to other means of transportation, it doesn't use much fuel.

Slight update: Just purchased this this past weekend, and it will be my alternate transportation in the summer heat when I don't want to ride my bike to work. Rode it in today and just loved it. 2002 Kymco Bet&Win 250cc. 75mph and 65mpg. I had a grin from ear to ear when I arrived at the office this morning!

 

[DaveW]

Sounds good.
What's that bike under covers in the back?

 

[G-Cracker]

Sounds good.
What's that bike under covers in the back?

That's my girlfriend's Scooter... TNG Milano 150cc.

 

[jimmydean]

I think it would be great having a prepackaged kit with the bits to convert a diesel vehicle to WVO, along with the tanks and such to collect and store the oil itself.

Pain must be taken out of the process for any alternate transport to be viable, whether e-bike, home-brew E100, WVO, compressed air, or what have you.

I was thinking in terms of the micro-fueler, only using WVO rather than sugar.

I was thinking a community project that used a home distillery for WVO to bio-diesel. If you had enough interest for a designated location, then setting up a pickup/drop-off route wouldn't be bad at all.

What I am working on currently is kind of like that. My friend has a connection that is a delivery route to local restaurants. He set it up with a few locations to pick up waste oil when he is there to deliver laundry products. The restaurant loves it because they don't have to dispose of the oil.

The 5 gallon containers from the restaurants are dumped into 55 gallon containers that are picked up by us from the laundry guy. From there the oil will be converted into bio-diesel for use in our personal vehicles. The laundry guy gets free bio for his Sprinter in exchange for collection.

If you set up a community program, you could have a scheduled pick-up or a location for drop off by the local restaurants. The collected oil can be converted and stored at a community fueling station that is set up on a card system, or pin pad. The fuel used is billed to the individual to cover costs (like $1.50 a gallon or so) and the system is almost purely self-sustaining.

I like the idea of the micro-fueler, but using recycled products rather than sugar would be even better.

 

[chicodude]

here's that article now that i'm back on a real computer:

NY Times: Home Brew for the Car, Not the Beer Cup

Yeah, but it seems to me a good answer for when we run out of oil, but it will just prolong our unsustainable way of living. It seems to me the real answer is to ditch cars no come up with other ways to fuel them.

I'm also curious if this will have the same negitive effect on the world food supply like E85. You know, people cutting down forests so they can farm sugar and stuff such as that.

 

[Toshi]

I was thinking a community project that used a home distillery for WVO to bio-diesel. [...]

I like the idea of the micro-fueler, but using recycled products rather than sugar would be even better.

your project sounds awesome! keep us updated. also, in defense of the MicroFueler, it can use waste beer and alcohol, too, not just sugar and yeast.

chicodude, so are you advocating the "let them drive Hummers so that the oil is used up quicker" viewpoint?

while there's a certain base attractiveness to that idea, sort of like "let the israelis and arabs nuke each other to oblivion so that their feud is 'resolved'" it's a bad idea for many reasons: climate change, national security (foreign oil dependence is bad!), danger to other drivers on the road...

with regard to the point about E85 and the corn debacle worsening food shortages around the world, two things:

1) energy is energy whether used for food or for fuel. the market places prices on each, and poor regions are losing out. while it's distasteful, it's also distasteful for us (comparatively) rich westerners to wag our fingers at brazilian farmers for choosing to maximize their own profit by cutting down the rainforest for cropland...

2) in the particular case of the MicroFueler it can be run on non-food-grade sugar as well as the waste alcohol/swill mentioned above. besides, having less sugar in the worlds' collective diet might be good...

 

[jimmydean]

And so it starts:

$400 and it was a done deal. The engine runs awesome, but the shifter is hosed and the clutch slips like crazy.

Now I am on the hunt for an 88-93 Chevy 6.2 Diesel. It's a straight swap for the V8 that's in it now. With any luck, by next summer it will be bio-diesel powered and sitting on the frame.

My goal is 25mpg average on home made B100. It will only be used for business (hauling bikes and hitting shows), so less than 5000 miles a year. It's my truck for life!

 

[Toshi]

My goal is 25mpg average on home made B100.

25 mpg, eh? aero improvements in the vehicle's future, i imagine?

 

[Toshi]

here's an awesome electric-assist (4000W!) recumbent made by someone with their own machine shop, a background in RC (fabricates RC helis from scratch), and the knowledge and wherewithal to pull off a totally-custom project.

http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/shumaker/e9_sm.jpg

ingredients:

1 Actionbent Midracer

1 10,000 RPM RC heli motor along with the RC bits to run it

an abundance of fancy machine work

the power unit:

now with a torque arm and idler pullies:

it's still not complete as of now. it'll be geared for a 45 mph top speed. i'm just blown away by the dude's fabrication skill...

 

[stinkyboy]

I was just eyeing some old truck goodness myself: http://phoenix.craigslist.org/car/646312274.html

 

[chicodude]

your project sounds awesome! keep us updated. also, in defense of the MicroFueler, it can use waste beer and alcohol, too, not just sugar and yeast.

chicodude, so are you advocating the "let them drive Hummers so that the oil is used up quicker" viewpoint?

while there's a certain base attractiveness to that idea, sort of like "let the israelis and arabs nuke each other to oblivion so that their feud is 'resolved'" it's a bad idea for many reasons: climate change, national security (foreign oil dependence is bad!), danger to other drivers on the road...

with regard to the point about E85 and the corn debacle worsening food shortages around the world, two things:

1) energy is energy whether used for food or for fuel. the market places prices on each, and poor regions are losing out. while it's distasteful, it's also distasteful for us (comparatively) rich westerners to wag our fingers at brazilian farmers for choosing to maximize their own profit by cutting down the rainforest for cropland...

2) in the particular case of the MicroFueler it can be run on non-food-grade sugar as well as the waste alcohol/swill mentioned above. besides, having less sugar in the worlds' collective diet might be good...

My point was to find another way besides different fuels for cars and truck and a way to take that out of the equation.

 

[Toshi]

My point was to find another way besides different fuels for cars and truck and a way to take that out of the equation.

cars are so quick and convenient and gas is so energy-dense when compared to other potential transport mediums that i honestly don't see cars going away for the mainstream consumer until the oil itself is gone...

 

[Toshi]

another very cool electric bike. well, an electric pusher trailer for a normal albeit ugly bike

no specs since i'm lazy and they weren't in the post that i grabbed these images from. looks like a standard hub motor setup akin to the one that i have on order. the PV panels are an interesting touch...

i considered this idea myself when i was thinking about using my road bike but had several objections. one is that i'd always just leave the trailer at home if it weren't part of the bike itself. the second is that trailers don't travel on buses easily if at all, and having a bus bike rack as a bugout option is very nice for the bike commuter.

 

[buildyourown]

25 mpg, eh? aero improvements in the vehicle's future, i imagine?

I can believe that, but only with some other mods. I had an '88 6.2
It had a TH400 tranny, which was a horrible mate for that engine efficiency wise.
You will do much better with a 4sp, especially if you have a tach and drive it like a diesel wants to be driven.
You would also do well to regear. The problem with my truck was the 3sp tranny and it was in 3rd at 35mph. At 70, it was wound out.
If you regeared so it could cruise at 2k, you would see pretty good mileage. The 6.2 is a great motor if you aren't pulling huge loads. It got a bad rap because people tried to turbo them and pull huge trailers.

 

[jimmydean]

25 mpg, eh? aero improvements in the vehicle's future, i imagine?

I am lightening it quite a bit and it will sit about 5" off the ground. The focus is on engine efficiency and final drive ratio. Since I won't be driving it daily, it will be geared for low rpm highway mileage. I have seen quite a few 6.2 turbos that get 28mpg on the freeway with a 3/4 or 1 ton rig.

The '71 isn't as heavy as a lot of newer trucks and I am replacing the suspension and brakes with a much more modern setup that saves a lot of weight. A full dress 6.2 is only about 150# heavier than the the iron brick that's in there now.

If an 800hp '65 Impala can get 22mpg, a 320hp '71 C10 should get 25mpg. Not to mention it will run on home brew bio, so it has a lesser impact overall.

 

[Toshi]

iShoes. (no, this is not a joke, it's a real product! one of the electric bike forum guys has a set that he's selling used...)

iShoes. http://theishoes.com/products.html

11.8 lbs as per the image above. 5 cell A123 Li-ion pack: 18.0v, 2.3 Ah. 13.5 mph, range "up to 3 miles", payload 100-250 lbs, shoe size 7-14

a cool homemade electric chopper:

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4032

currently running 48V of SLA with poor resulting range (underperforming the rated Ah by a lot), but in the process of upgrading to LiFePO4.

 

[jimmydean]

A guy on Dieselplace.com just switched his truck to use electric fans and clocked 32mpg average on a road trip driving under 65 with his 6.2L diesel.

That makes my 25mpg estimate easy.

Another thing I am going to do is get a printout from DEQ with the 307 gas now, the 6.2 diesel running dino, and the 6.2 running bio to get some real numbers as to actual exhaust emissions.

I know I will at least double my mpg with the diesel motor, but I'm interested in seeing what the emissions difference is as well.

 

[Toshi]

my e-bike update:

- the wheel/motor, controller, throttle, and do-all computer arrived!
- the battery and charger are still in transit
- a 15 lb front wheel feels really heavy
- REI's sale started today, and the Novara Transfer is $509, marked down 15%

 

[Toshi]

i ordered a novara transfer today. one of the (multiple) local REIs has to build it, since it was in the back room still boxed up. should be done later this week. score.

also, here's a look at the electric bits. the black box on the right is the motor controller, rated for 48V and 30A.

 

[jimmydean]

Sweet deal! Get that pig built and post up some youtube action!

 

[Toshi]

so it's looking like my RX-8's not going to sell on the private market. it's on eBay but I give it a 25&#37; chance of hitting reserve. it's apparently not a good time to be selling a not-cheap red sports car.

thus my plans car-wise may be in for revision since trading in the car might be in order. Honda Fit, maybe? hmm...