The Gas Vehicle Thread

Nothing as exciting as running out of runway in ground effect deciding to retract flaps to gain airspeed before that 50ft obstacle becomes an issue....

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Oh, yeah, I wanted to practice short field landings. There was a private field where a farmer had a J-3. Came in with full flaps (40 deg.) Realized I was too far down the field and did a go around - forgetting those barn door flaps were still down. Trees were coming up quick. Then I realized my mistake and got the flaps up past 20 going to 10. It was like the aircraft was suddenly supercharged. A good lesson. Of course, an appropriate check list would have helped, but when it happens fast, you forget about such things.
 
Oh, yeah, I wanted to practice short field landings. There was a private field where a farmer had a J-3. Came in with full flaps (40 deg.) Realized I was too far down the field and did a go around - forgetting those barn door flaps were still down. Trees were coming up quick. Then I realized my mistake and got the flaps up past 20 going to 10. It was like the aircraft was suddenly supercharged. A good lesson. Of course, an appropriate check list would have helped, but when it happens fast, you forget about such things.
I hole punch in a 66 c206 off a grass strip ne of dallas. 40° flaps do not allow climb.
Btw, I was the 8th car in line when they opened H2 to the public. Haole at Leilehua HS, 74-77. 1967 olds cutlass, 330, 2spd power glide. Those were some good times.


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That looks like my '77 Datsun B210. It was pretty much a slug off the line, but got 40 MPG on the road. No AC and light as a feather (in the wind, too.) Only replaced the water pump in 135K miles. I liked it. When I sold it in '83, I sold it for $1000 less than I paid for it!!! Car prices had exploded due to safety and emission improvements. Used cars in good shape sold very well indeed - especially if they got good mileage.

Light as a feather indeed. I had one too. Scary on the highway when being passed by semi's - the car would be pushed a couple feet sideways.

They had this miraculous ability to get better gas mileage in a short period of time due to their automatic weight reduction program (aka rust). They didn't last long in any states using road salt.
 
I hole punch in a 66 c206 off a grass strip ne of dallas. 40° flaps do not allow climb.
Btw, I was the 8th car in line when they opened H2 to the public. Haole at Leilehua HS, 74-77. 1967 olds cutlass, 330, 2spd power glide. Those were some good times.


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Yeah, I'm sure those WERE some good times. I'm sure you remember "Kill a haole day."

IIRC we drove H2 in 1975 on our first trip to the Islands.

Heh, heh, when we were tourists, we always drove any part of H3 that was open (mostly from MCBH to the exit at Kam Highway.) Now, we take our Tourist friends from one end of the H3 to the other. It's the "poor man's" helicopter ride through the mountains.
 
After the military, I started college in Connecticut and picked up this guy:

View attachment 46471

1965 Vette converible (with the optional hardtop), 327, 300 HP, (HH engine code), 4 speed Munci transmission, Glen Green (one year color). I was nuts to sell it back then, and I can add that to the many bad decisions I have made over the years.:D

I think that is the most beautiful convertible Corvette ever made. (The '63 through '68.) YMMV
 
I think a "plan" that everyone gets a chance to "look at" and (in a sense) "vote on" would be good. Don't just willy/nilly start pushing things when we don't know what the actual plan is. Saying we're gonna have X percent EVs by 20XX isn't a real plan. Its more like a fantasy or at best a goal.

Regarding the 100 mpg car (hybrid or not) There is a good treatise on this subject I think I've shared before. My take away: It suggests that the car shapes would have to change significantly. Cars would likely have to be constructed as two passengers abreast (no console - more or less shoulder to shoulder like a small aircraft - maybe 40 inches wide cabin) and add seats behind for either two or four passengers. Cars width's would likely need to shrink to 2/3 of what they are now. Safety and other issues might arise. Safety is also an issue in general design but also weight.

Clearly the Prius has a remarkable Cd and improving it would be difficult - though possible. But a "skinny" car reduces air resistance a lot. I don't know if you would ever get to 100mpg without major improvements in the ICE part of the vehicle. There are potential improvements and actual improvements all the time, but the heat engine comes with physical limitations of efficiency. They are bounded by "laws" that are immutable. Metallurgy, friction, cost, safety, etc. all play into the formula.

Clearly, nothing is more efficient at point of use than an EV. Factoring in all the losses along the way might just give an edge to an 80 mpg car if it can be built. YMMV

Here is the "Do the Math" treatise on the "100 mpg Car." I think it's pretty cool and informative as well. Would love to discuss it with anyone who knows more than I do about the subject.

https://dothemath.ucsd.edu/2011/07/100-mpg-on-gasoline/

I found a YouTube regarding the theoretical potential for efficiency of an EV. It's got a lot of stuff in it, so the bottom line is that probably the best that could be hoped for a car that looks like a car is about 8 KWh/100 km or an equivalent of about 260 mpg.

 
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I guess airplanes are gas vehicles. :LOL:
 
It is indeed, IMO.

I grew up with the C3 as my mechanic uncle had one. Then he traded it for a C2. "Uncle, why get that old junk?"

And then I saw it, and realized he was right. This is the best generation.
 
It's been interesting to watch over the years as a car manufacturer came out with a new economy car. Small, lightweight, good mpgs, etc. Then after a couple years each year it got a bit bigger, heavier, less mpgs. Then the manufacturer comes out with a new economy car. Remember the first Toyota Rav4? Tiny little thing, now it's quite a big thing.
 
I think that is the most beautiful convertible Corvette ever made. (The '63 through '68.) YMMV

Not to be nit-picking, but I think you meant "67". 1968 was the start of the newer body style, but still called a "stingray", but not by purists!:D Stingray badge lasted through 1976. A small piece of trivia is that the 1968 Vette did not carry a Stingray badge, but later years did up to 1976. Then in 2014, the Stingray badge is back again! :facepalm:

From Hemmings....

After some delays due to teething troubles, Larry Shinoda’s radical Mako Shark concept became the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray for 1968, also known as the Corvette C3. Significantly revised from the linear C2 with its knife-edge beltline, the new model featured a T-top option for the coupe and a tunnel rear window, which was removable. The front sloped steeply with pop-up headlights, and fenders were sharply crowned, creating the impression that the car was lower. The new model rode on the same wheelbase, but was seven inches longer and had a Kamm tail.
 
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Not to be nit-picking, but I think you meant "67". 1968 was the start of the newer body style, but still called a "stingray", but not by purists!:D Stingray badge lasted through 1976. A small piece of trivia is that the 1968 Vette did not carry a Stingray badge, but later years did up to 1976. Then in 2014, the Stingray badge is back again! :facepalm:

From Hemmings....

You are correct! I should know because my good college buddy had a '68 (and I got a '69.) Not sure what I was thinking.:facepalm: Time for the home??:LOL:
 
Slight tangent.
When a diesel freight train can't make it up a hill with curve, bring on the steam locomotive. This oldster is usually doing passanger excursions. It is fueled by diesel instead of coal.


 
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I guess airplanes are gas vehicles. :LOL:

I've heard proposals to make aircraft electric. A few have demonstrated "possibility" but they are quite limited in range (and weight capacity.)
 
Had a 100 mile run on our 20+ year old jeep with the top and doors off today.

It's one of the old 6 cly built between 1952 and 2006, they made over 5 million of them so hope I got a good one:) With just over 100,000 miles on it, should go to around 300,000. At 5,000 miles a year I figure it should go another 40 years. Will be mid 90s at that time, hopefully I can still buy gas 40 years from now and with any luck be able to see well enough to still drive:)

If you're referring to the 4.0 liter straight six, that motor is based on AMC's 232 from the mid-60s (obviously with some updates). AMC and Nash had a knack for producing excellent straight-six engines, all with seven main bearings. That's a big part of why they're so long-lived.
 
Slight tangent.
When a diesel freight train can't make it up a hill with curve, bring on the steam locomotive. This oldster is usually doing passenger excursions. It is fueled by diesel instead of coal.
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Being my hobby is old cars (30s through 60s, occasional newer), I am firmly in loving the ICE camp. I joke that my hot rods are hybrids, they burn gas and rubber. Not against EVs if they work for the person and driving needs. Just hate that gov't is forcing them on us and not letting market forces determine the mix. Gov't regulation is a non-competitive way to artificially select winners and losers.

Driving my old cars always seems to put a smile on my face and improve the drive. No such thing as quick gas and go, someone always talks to you. Fellow vehicles give thumbs up or wave. It makes others happy seeing an old car out driving around.

There is nothing sweeter than a good running ICE at WOT, especially the sound of a V8 or V12. Four cyl and 6 cyl, whether inline or V configuration just don't sound as good as those two previous; and a V-10 just doesn't have the nice sound quality of any of these. As long as I am on the tangent of sound quality, the absolute worst is the rotary engines. Just do not sound good at all.
 
Slight tangent.
When a diesel freight train can't make it up a hill with curve, bring on the steam locomotive. This oldster is usually doing passanger excursions. It is fueled by diesel instead of coal.




I have the HO model on display downstairs... but it is 4005...
 
I tend to switch between straight razor and scraper. The straight razor shave requires total focus.:D
I shave with a straight razor every day. Good fine motor skills and the ability to think of only the task at hand are crucial.
 
Another example of 4 wheeling adventure, proves that 4x4 will just get you stuck farther than can be reached with recovery vehicles.
Helicopter lift out of this place get pricey.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/jeep-...-trail-needed-a-black-hawk-helicopter-airlift
"That wasn't cheap, as you can imagine—a representative from Northern Pioneer explained to me that those aircraft cost $8,250 per hour to charter. All in all, they said it was an hour job to fly out from Big Lake, Alaska, and drop the Jeep where it could be loaded onto a rollback wrecker."
 
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Another example of 4 wheeling adventure, proves that 4x4 will just get you stuck farther than can be reached with recovery vehicles.
Helicopter lift out of this place get pricey.
https://www.thedrive.com/news/jeep-...-trail-needed-a-black-hawk-helicopter-airlift
"That wasn't cheap, as you can imagine—a representative from Northern Pioneer explained to me that those aircraft cost $8,250 per hour to charter. All in all, they said it was an hour job to fly out from Big Lake, Alaska, and drop the Jeep where it could be loaded onto a rollback wrecker."

That's why the 4x4 "animals" have winches (front AND back.) Late BFF used to do the 4x4 thing. Between the group of animals who charged into mud, they never lost a vehicle. Hooking a winch from a couple of other 4x4s or a tree always pulled the beasts out of the mud. YMMV
 
That's why the 4x4 "animals" have winches (front AND back.) Late BFF used to do the 4x4 thing. Between the group of animals who charged into mud, they never lost a vehicle. Hooking a winch from a couple of other 4x4s or a tree always pulled the beasts out of the mud. YMMV




LOL... I remember seeing a video of a stuck jeep... they had a heck of a time trying to pull it out.. got a truck with a big diesel hooked up and it took off.... pulled the front axle off the Jeep... I do not remember if they got it out on the video...
 
LOL... I remember seeing a video of a stuck jeep... they had a heck of a time trying to pull it out.. got a truck with a big diesel hooked up and it took off.... pulled the front axle off the Jeep... I do not remember if they got it out on the video...

Heh, heh, wonder how that all went in the insurance agent's office. "You WHAT??"
 
Best ICE vehicle I have ever had was the 2018 Ford Transit 250 van we bought new for $31,500 and sold in 2022 for $32,000 after going across the country with it on a epic road trip, hauling materials for our house, camping, etc.

Never did any maintenance except oil changes (4 total I think with the 28,000 miles it had on it).

So....cost of ownership of an ICE vehicle like that was about negative $150 a year.
 
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