volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse PowerDork
7/7/22 7:08 p.m.

Beating the system, stickin' it to the man. 

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/563955438685617/

May be an image of car and outdoors

May be an image of car and outdoors

May be an image of text that says 'SUNDAY ocTo6er 31 993 Rebecca Beers Section Editor SYRACUSE HERALD AMERIC Business Kirkville man cut car believes automakers making Kirkville Metro half to make a point au solicited their began MULDER hilehe car Kirkville than experimental models ef- co-work- 'Where Hef- make OUG HEFFRON stands near modified mpg. stingy says that's "Are ecause gasoline prices relatively prices: right now. Heals thinks high-mileage have taken pressure Mulder makers build more efficient au- gas build going wait gallon before says. Beat appears every the Business'

NY Nick
NY Nick GRM+ Memberand Dork
7/7/22 7:26 p.m.

It's pretty cool and looks like he did a nice job on it. 

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/7/22 7:37 p.m.

That's pretty awesome.

TJL (Forum Supporter)
TJL (Forum Supporter) Dork
7/7/22 7:39 p.m.

Aero car or other auto-oddity could be a fun class at the challenge. 

flat4_5spd
flat4_5spd Reader
7/7/22 7:41 p.m.

"we need a commuter vehicle that's safe, gets high mileage, that's comfortable and fun to drive." 

Even by '90s standards, I'm not sure that he ticked more than one of those boxes, but you have to respect someone who had an automotive vision and made it happen. 

 

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/7/22 7:52 p.m.

In reply to flat4_5spd :

It's definitely a commuter vehicle.

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter)
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/7/22 10:00 p.m.

That should be a Lemons racecar. 

volvoclearinghouse
volvoclearinghouse PowerDork
7/8/22 8:17 a.m.
Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

That should be a Lemons racecar. 

That was my first thought, too, though the cage might be tricky.

My brother sent me this link; he lives up near this guy.  It's also near RPI, so my first thought was this was some student's project back in the Teal Nineties. 

I mean, it makes sense.  Add lightness, reduce frontal area, improve cD.  I do wonder about the left-right weight balance.  And the craftsmanship is at least one notch above your typical backyard hack job.  I mean, the wheel covers even match the rest of the car!

Patrick
Patrick GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/8/22 8:31 a.m.

I call bs. No way people were asking him where they could get one

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
7/8/22 8:50 a.m.

In reply to Patrick :

Over 20,000 people put deposits on Elios 

sleepyhead the buffalo
sleepyhead the buffalo GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
7/8/22 10:00 a.m.

one of the founders of ecomodders (i think) had a good piece on this and an interview with the builder(?), way back in the day:
https://www.metrompg.com/posts/xfi-aero-car.htm

edit to add "wayback machine" link to original page on the car (original link of which was in the above link):
http://web.archive.org/web/20180523223016/http://www.dougheffron.com/car.html

pilotbraden
pilotbraden UberDork
7/8/22 11:31 a.m.

I would think that a cage would be relatively straight forward to build  . Top fuel dragster cage ought to fit right in there

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/8/22 1:00 p.m.

I'd kind of like to see this continue to exist as a hypermiler, but I can't help but see all that former passenger-side luggage space into which beefy powertrain parts could be packed laugh

travellering
travellering HalfDork
7/8/22 1:10 p.m.
GameboyRMH said:

I'd kind of like to see this continue to exist as a hypermiler, but I can't help but see all that former passenger-side luggage space into which beefy powertrain parts could be packed laugh

No, that's where the mega fuel cell goes to make the first zero-fuel-stops Cannonball run car...

Keith Tanner
Keith Tanner GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/8/22 1:17 p.m.
GameboyRMH said:

I'd kind of like to see this continue to exist as a hypermiler, but I can't help but see all that former passenger-side luggage space into which beefy powertrain parts could be packed laugh

You want to put it on top of a Supermodified! Too bad it's not RHD, that would have made things easier.

Cactus
Cactus HalfDork
7/8/22 1:19 p.m.

I remember seeing that article years ago. At some point you'd have to wonder when it might just be easier to ride a scooter. Sadly all the ones that I'd ride are less efficient, so maybe he was onto something.

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
7/8/22 5:14 p.m.

All that work and he didn't even close off the bumper. We built one about 10 years ago that got similar fuel economy numbers without all that body work.  Closing off the front end with a big dam, lowering it and removing the mirrors all made a big difference. Instead of changing to a taller final drive ( or taller fifth gear that he claims) we put 13's on it and ran up to 50psi on them.  We experimented a lot but ended up with a special cam, a bit more compression and a lot of timing advance to get those numbers, and we didn't even start with an xfi. 

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
7/9/22 8:34 p.m.

Forget commuter, that would be a great contractor's vehicle.  Stick the ladders/lumber/plumbing on the side and go.

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
7/10/22 5:43 a.m.

Good call. It's ideal for an electrician, everybody knows they're  weirdos. 

physician
physician Reader
7/11/22 9:20 a.m.

God that passenger seat calls for a bike engine with a chain to a rear diff!.

Something like  a vtwin of v4 should wedge in nicely. 

An sv650 may keep the mpg down as it do 4l/100km in the aero brick bike.

 

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