I want to build a 100-mpg car (and I want it to look vintage)

[sgtlethargic]

Ah ****, I just lost my reply- I give up.

My plan is to start with an old car and modify it to be shaped like the BOCruiser, choose an engine that produces the horsepower needed to move it at 60 mph near its maximum efficiency, and add a turbocharger for accelerating (if needed).

[oil pan 4]

Hey wasn't there a guy who put a 3cyl kubota diesel in a metro and was getting around 100mpg?

[sgtlethargic]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Hey wasn't there a guy who put a 3cyl kubota diesel in a metro and was getting around 100mpg?

What's a CHAdeMO?

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by sgtlethargic

My plan is to start with an old car and modify it to be shaped like the BOCruiser, choose an engine that produces the horsepower needed to move it at 60 mph near its maximum efficiency, and add a turbocharger for accelerating (if needed).

Do you have the bodywork experience required to modify such a car to become more aerodynamic while maintaining that vintage car look?

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Hey wasn't there a guy who put a 3cyl kubota diesel in a metro and was getting around 100mpg?

100 mpg would require serious ecomods in a Metro. A metro is basically a far less aerodynamic Insight with a less efficient engine. The Insight can get 100 mpg up to ~50-55 mph stock. There is a thread about a seriously modded metro that supposedly gets Insight-like numbers (probably could do better than the Insight if it had the Insight drivetrain) here. Funkhoss averaged over 90 mpg for 90 days in his Metro, but that's with mods and serious hypermiling, not 60 mph driving.

[sgtlethargic]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

Do you have the bodywork experience required to modify such a car to become more aerodynamic while maintaining that vintage car look?

Not yet.

[M_a_t_t]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

Hey wasn't there a guy who put a 3cyl kubota diesel in a metro and was getting around 100mpg?

I think you are thinking of changzuki's car

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...xed-23497.html

There was a guy who did a kubota swap in a metro, but I don't think he ever got it on the road (atleast not that he mentioned in his thread)


https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...geo-32945.html

[JulianEdgar]

Originally Posted by sgtlethargic

Ah ****, I just lost my reply- I give up.

My plan is to start with an old car and modify it to be shaped like the BOCruiser, choose an engine that produces the horsepower needed to move it at 60 mph near its maximum efficiency, and add a turbocharger for accelerating (if needed).

And you've got the mechanical and electronics background to do that? Turbo selection; fabrication of the exhaust manifold, intake plumbing, intercooler plumbing; development of engine management, changing the fuel system and injectors - and so on?

Maybe I am pretty slow, but just turbocharging my Insight and fitting and mapping the engine management was, for me, a year-long project on its own.

And I have done turbo and electronics work on cars plenty of times before!

[freebeard]

Thanks for not getting half done before asking for opinions.

Personally, I'd be most comfortable with a Beetle floorpan.







The taper at the front compared to a Ghia/Type III pan will accommodate modern front wheelwells and a beam extender can increase the wheelbase by ~8".



To accommodate the rear engine follow Luigi Colani:





<airframe//powerplant>

You can put almost anything on a VW bellhousing. Pinto, TDI diesel, electric, & etc.

For a pure electric, the Lexus Highlander 68hp axle. For a hybrid boxer or inline three/four, the GM E-Assist serpentine belted 20hp altermotor.
______________

Else, clone Aerocivic.

[oil pan 4]

Originally Posted by sgtlethargic

What's a CHAdeMO?

It's a rapid charger.

[freebeard]

It's a charging standard.

CHAdeMO
chademo.com
CHAdeMO is the trade name of a quick charging method for battery electric vehicles delivering up to 62.5 kW by 500 V, 125 A direct current via a special electrical connector. A revised CHAdeMO 2.0 specification allows for up to 400 kW by 1000 V, 400 A direct current.Wikipedia