I can't express how good it is...
 

...to know I'm not the only one who is trying to optimize their vehicle with respect to efficiency.

I recently finished my engineering degree, and I have seen what is possible (With commercial projects such as Loremo and Aptera, for example). I seem to be surrounded by people who are obsessed with performance and status symbols...meeting a group of people like yourselves is a breath of fresh air.

I currently drive a pickup, and through good driving habits alone I get twice the gas millage I should, but my current goal is to obtain an old Type-1 VW beetle, modify it with modern technology such as EFI and electronic ignition, and make as many other modifications as I can to increase efficiency.

In the mean time, I hope to learn as much as possible from a site like this. I see a lot of useful knowledge floating around here.

Cool. Welcome to EM. I get my improvements over EPA estimates via modified driving habits, too. $0 dollar investment, ~$1200 in fuel savings.

Welcome to the site. Combinations of driving techniques and modifications can lead to so much better efficiency than we have today. Just the other day me and another member were talking about how the car manufacturers seem to think their compacts getting 35 mpg is so much to brag about. Its just the tip if the iceberg!

...what does the " 97 " in you handle mean--1897 or 1997 (ha,ha)?

..."Welcome Aboard" from the 'olde Pueblo' in the "land-o-sand."

Just last night as I bicycled past an older small car I though that doing something like you describe (an efficiency oriented restoration/modification of a small, light classic) would be a fun project.

Welcome to EcoModder!

PS you may have seen this thread about a diesel Beetle conversion:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...list-6097.html

oldtimer97 -

I'd LOVE to see someone do this. Would you use a stock VW engine or replace it with a more modern one? Perhaps a defanged Porsche engine?

It seems like the VW bug chassis is such a natural for Ecomodding. You may be able to borrow ideas and/or bodies from the Beetle's kit-car heritage. If I were rich, I'd use a Perry 550 Spyder kit as the body for a conversion :

Perry Ds,Inc. 550 Spyder
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~perry...es/spyder1.jpg

CarloSW2

I'll ignore the roars of laughter, but I'd like to get a Ford Pinto (my first new car was a '76 Pinto Stallion) and convert it to a diesel in the same vein as MAX (Mothers Automotive X-prize) from Kinetic Vehicles. Seems like it could be a cheap, yet cool (to me anyway) alternative to a hybrid.

I like your idea stingy! :thumbup:

As far as flat air-cooled VWs; I love 'em but they have some inherent disadvantages for max fe, the biggie being the relatively loose and constantly changing piston-to-cylinder tolerances vs the more stable, tight environment of water pumpers. Were I to do a max effort VW I think I'd go for a water cooled engine swap of some sort.

@Old Tele man: lol. The 97 actually comes from the old song, “Wreck of Ol’ 97.” Obviously, the railroad has left it’s mark on me, as well.

@MetroMPG: Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, the Craig’s List entry has expired, but I’ll keep an eye out for such a kit.

@cfg83: I was planning on keeping the stock engine, since cost is a factor. It’s pretty efficient compared to the lot of them on the market

@Frank Lee: Yeah. Air cooling has its disadvantages. That may change eventually; who knows.

Thank you all for the welcome. I’m impressed by your sense of community, as well.

Frank -

Sooooooo, maybe I could convince *you* to spend *your* money on a Porsche transplant?!?! Hrmmmmm, or maybe we could get bgd73 to transplant a Subaru boxer engine into an ol' bug chassis, sans the 4WD. Has anyone done that?

CarloSW2

...I eventually got my '72 Pinto with 1.6L Ford-of-Britian (Kent) engine from 24 mpg up to 36 mpg...unfortunately, it needed LEADED regular gasoline, which is outlawed now.

oldtimer97 -

Ok. Frank will correct me on the details, but he told us how students disabled and/or removed two cylinders of a VW engine to increase MPG. I think a key point is that a boxer engine is "balanced by design", so disabling/removing 2 of the four cylinders won't cause the engine to shake itself apart.

CarloSW2

Forget efficiency; build a Caddywagen. :-)

Caddywagen

Carlos: If, someday, I take action on a long-time dream of mine, I'll get a Speedster replica going. Thing about that is, it's purpose probably wouldn't be a max fe effort thus it'd probably be air-cooled. That's not to say, however, that it couldn't be modded. There are several proven air-cooled VW fe mods; in fact I think I referenced some of them here at EM.

Also referenced/discussed was the "50/50" VW project (50 mph/50 mpg) built by Mankato State University students back in the '80s; I saw the car at a local car show and ended up going through the MSU program. They removed a pair of cylinders. Twin VW conversions have been popular in aviation as well.

I have also been looking in to getting an old beetle to fix up myself. But have had many ideas so far. First I was thinking to swap engines with a used Toyota engine sitting in my dads garage to give it more power and speed. Then was thinking about just keeping the stock flat 4. Then just recently thought what about an engine from a smart car cuz they both are rear engine rear wheel drive. Maybe the turbo diesel (70mpg US) or just the gas (41mpg). The diesel would have almost the same amount of power as the stock engine (they only make they for Europe), and the gas would have just a pit more power.

I really just want a project car. Something I can drive daily if I want. I would like to have the extra power of the bigger engine. Just for all around peppy performance and some good FE.