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Hi folks. This site was recommended to me by my favourite Forum's webmaster. I usually hang out at Stationwagonforums.com. He passed this site tip because he knows from my rants and tech threads that I'm all over this issue and the many ways it can be achieved. So for me this site is a real breath of Fresh Air!

Thanks for being here. Looking at what some of the vehicles are achieving already, one wonders why Henry Ford's Model-T system wasn't built up to go from it's original 40 MPG on Wood Alcohol, Farm Gas, kerosene or regular fuel, instead of seeing the car take the brunt of today's messed up environment.

Hopefully, more sites like this will prove to politicians that their constituents are the people they should have backed, instead, from 101 years ago.

Hi Norman, welcome to the boards.

I must say the 79 Fairmont Squire is an interesting choice, is it your daily driver?

My first "car" was the family farm truck, it also had Fords straight six in it, albeit at a higher (300ci) displacement. Good engines those, nearly bulletproof.

Hi Stormin' - you're not the first Winterpegger in this group!

Glad to have you here. I see from your profile you're a semi-retired engineer. Which field?

cheers-
Darin

I've been restoring it since November 2006, our only car. We lived in Mexico and bought her there in 1997, then drove her here with the 302. I blew the 302 in my yard, after replacing a new factory-rebuilt carb (I dropped a bolt into the carb by accident) but was planning to swap it to a stock 200 inline six. I'm still waiting for the cold weather to warm up (2 to 3 weeks) to finish reassembling the interior, electrical, etc. I did a full torn-down restoration, because the car had no rust.

With a couple of MDS Ignition springs in the distributor, I can get the car up to 35 MPG city driving (CDN Gallon). With a few more tricks, I can improve that by another 15% at least. It only weighs 2,645 lbs. Wet.

Industrial Eng. Manufacturing, Numerical Control, Workflow, all that jazz, and Software Eng. (was a Microsoft Solution Provider for 15 years) and a degree in Bus. Now my wife and I are starting up a Bird/Bat/Yard Friendly goods shop, making our designs and marketing locally, starting later this Spring.

Welcome to EM. Sounds like you have a classic wagon -- you don't see many of those around anymore, let alone in good condition.

I look forward to the progress...

Best FE,

RH77

Welcome to the forums. It's always an absolute delight to see people who want space for cargo and such and not using an SUV.

Truth be told: the very first car my dad and I looked into getting (even before taking my driver's test) was a 1979 Ford Fairmont Coupe. It was light blue in colour and had a V8 engine. We probably would've bought it for the $400 they wanted for it, except the engine had a knocking noise :(. I still remember the mono sound stereo and the neato vent window that opened by a turn knob.

Enjoying this -21*C weather? With the past few days in the -30s, the -21 was a beautiful day for riding a bike around the University of Manitoba :p.

Welcome to the site Norman!

Here's a few pictures:

December 12, 2007 (Too cold to carry on):
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...e/IMG_2754.jpg

November 14, 2007 (finally woodgrain is on):
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...e/IMG_2668.jpg

December 10, 2006 (Finally got the six cylinder into the car):
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...h_IMG_1926.jpg

October 14, 2007 (engine compartment almost done):
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...EngineComp.jpg

November 6, 2006 (Project donor car and my Squire wagon crossmember swap):
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...8_I6KFrame.jpg

October/November 2007 (Roller painting under way):
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ntBooth011.jpg

You can see more about my roller project here:
http://rolledon.com/projects-f2/1979...-rose-t135.htm

Your warm welcome just took some of the chill out, we're at -38C tonite, -48C with the windchill tomorrow. :)

Oh it's the Fairmont-based wagon -- much lighter than I thought. Great condition too! Good mileage potential.

I once owned a '79 Fairmont for a day. :confused:

4-cyl, 4-speed, Coupe. The rear suspension mount rusted through and it was about ready to give loose completely. Someone at school was selling it for $50, so I took the deal.

Planned it as a project, but it proved too rusted-out to salvage. Junked it for $75. The engine/transmission was still strong, but too much work to get it drivable back home.

Keep warm up there!

RH77

I spend most of my time derusting and undercoating all over. Very pleasantly surprised to discover that the mexican-built cars with AC also get extra factory undercoating. It was like new UNDER the floor (exterior) and inside! :)

I checked on the Ford Ranger History and they produced a diesel version of the same 2.3L V-4 up until 1996. I kept the V8/V4 crossmember for an eventual upgrade. The 1996 engine produced more HP and more Torque with a factory FE of 28 MPG. That's easy to improve on.

Thanks, I'll be coming back more frequently after I finish reassembling it. We're finally out of the cold, but the snow is still melting and the deep frost makes it almost too muddy to work on it. Another couple of weeks. It's been really tough without a vehicle since November, 2006. So it will be a pleasant change. Lots of reno work went on hold.

Still reassembling, guys. I'm looking hard at building in better MPG methods:

If gasoline engines are not much more than 50% efficiency, then I want to dig deeper into what it takes to get mine to that level at least. Once I get that or better, I'll go slow, starting with an Advance Timing Curve Kit from Mr. Gasket to get peak torque and RPMs in the common ranges that the engine needs. That should give me a 10% boost in HP, maybe 15% in torque, and possibly 20% in MPG improvement.

Next will be straight water injection - maybe needing another tweak to the Timing Curve, and a bit more efficiency - 8%? or more.

Then I'll look at a Hydrogen booster building project.

That's my plan anyway. ;)

Your car is a neat project. I think it's fascinating watching an old, conventional restoration. That engine bay is cavernous! :eek:

I believe gas engines are only ~30% efficient. Turbo-compounded diesels have reached ~46%, but they are about the most efficient of internal combustion engines.

I'm not too familiar with older engines, but I think your % gains seem a little optimistic. Your biggest gain from modifying the engine would probably come from increasing the CR, as I bet it is really low (6.5:1?). I've only seen water injection applied to heavily boosted/high CR engines (e.g. WWII aircraft), but I suppose it might work alongside advanced timing.

The hydrogen generator will probably be a waste of time. I've never seen one work and I can only conceive of it helping raise a fuel's octane number. I think you'll see the biggest gains by modifying driving style and sticking to more conventional tactics first.

I look forward to seeing the rest of the restoration. :)

- LostCause

It is a low compression at 8.4:1 (Factory Specs). Here's where I'm starting with a water injection system:

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_...earth/me3.html

Here's how I'll get the engine a bit more efficient :D:
http://www.classicinlines.com/AlumOverview.asp

And!!!! Since I've done this before on a 1975 Chrysler Town & Country 440 CID with great results, I'm thinking of doing a fuel vapouriser like this one:
Yep, that's my car. We bought this Farimont Squire, while we lived in Guadalajara, until we moved back to Canada.
http://jabi.com/store/jbp-1729m.html

Or the Carl Cella system like this:
I've heard that he's way too optimistic about his results. Who cares about MPG, if the fuel is free? :D
http://www.hasslberger.com/tecno/hydrogen.html

And I've got another idea to collect the humidity from the air (turbo-charger or air pump), condense it to water state, electrolyse it and then run it into the fuel system. That way I won't carry any water (which freezes in -40F) ;) or Hydrogen gas cells that could send me to the here-after, before my time. :thumbup:

Like you said, its cavernous under the hood. Lots of experiment room and mostly on the side without exhaust manifolds or heater hoses. :)


If I don't try, I'll kick my own butt. If I succeed, I'll kick the OilCo's butt. :rolleyes:

Oops, forgot the first change (It'll pay for the others. :D):

Mr. Gasket makes a variety of Advance Timing curve spring kits for Ford and GM engines, and my little six. Saves from 5 to 15% on fuel, a bit more HP and more torque at the more common City/Hwy speeds. For $10? It's a no-brainer:

http://www.mr-gasket.com/ProductsLis...minselection=3

How-to:
http://www.carbdford.com/viewtopic.p...ed077c35804eab

Here's some Ford Six info on results - It became a Sticky/Tech Article:
http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21002

Better written FordSix comment on the Advance Curve Kit:
http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30894

Tough little beasts with 7 main bearings - like a Duracell bunny.:D