What crazy car project would you like to do?

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by Flyinghippo

Reverse in my truck is too fast, especially if I have a load or want to backup to a trailer. So two crazy ideas I have had is to either mount a 2nd Ranger 5 speed manual inline behind the factory one and shorten the driveshaft. Or attach a 4 wheel drive transfer case to the rear of the 5 speed that is in it. I think the transfer case idea would be much more realistic to attempt. There would be a little added weight and maybe a little more friction plus I would have to come up with a linkage to control the transfer case.

The t-case seems to be more suitable to your needs than a secondary transmission, altough you would have much more low-range options with that. Anyway, to engage the low-range in a transfer case would require you to get the vehicle stopped, while with a secondary transmission you could even shift it on-the-fly. Maybe another option would be getting a lower differential ratio and an aftermarket overdrive unit to keep the cruise RPMs at their current range.

[freebeard]

Trucks I drove in the 60s had electric two-speed rear axles. I don't know if they're small enough for your Ranger.

[smokey442]

About 5 years ago I removed the radiator and substituted a heat exchanger. The hot water was then pumped into a water jacket around the exhaust producing steam. Steam powered the turbine side of a turbocharger that was mechanicly linked to the crank via belt. Worked real well for about 40 hours run time. Went from 30 mpg to 37mpg with a corresponding increase in power. the transient saturated steam eroded the turbine blades and performance degraded fairly quickly. I'd like to substitute a Tesla style turbine and change the method of getting heat out of the exhaust. Time and lack of$$$$$ are keeping this a dream at this moment.

[freebeard]

I think you could use recycled hard drive platters in a Tesla turbine. The gaps for the read/write heads are too great, so thinner shims would tighten it up to keep laminar flow.

The turbo might work if it had some hydrophobic coating, but I don't know what would survive in those conditions.

Gold plating? Nuclear submarines have solved it.

[Flyinghippo]

Originally Posted by smokey442

About 5 years ago I removed the radiator and substituted a heat exchanger. The hot water was then pumped into a water jacket around the exhaust producing steam. Steam powered the turbine side of a turbocharger that was mechanicly linked to the crank via belt. Worked real well for about 40 hours run time. Went from 30 mpg to 37mpg with a corresponding increase in power. the transient saturated steam eroded the turbine blades and performance degraded fairly quickly. I'd like to substitute a Tesla style turbine and change the method of getting heat out of the exhaust. Time and lack of$$$$$ are keeping this a dream at this moment.

Are Turbos ever made out of Stainless steel or aluminum? Or is there something they can be made out of that won't corrode? As a teenager in the 80s I thought of making steam just from running the exhaust through the insides of a long small round boiler to produce steam to make electricity. My brothers thought it was stupid. I think it was Volvo who posted a press release of the same idea in the 90s but I don't think anyone has done anything like that.

[Superfuelgero]

a/c compressor. Use a swash plate variable displacement.

[freebeard]

Turbosteamer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[ecoTex]

I would like to do a crx hf powered, front drive version of Old Mechanic's teardrop car.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

The turbo might work if it had some hydrophobic coating, but I don't know what would survive in those conditions.

Gold plating? Nuclear submarines have solved it.

Along with just about every thermal power plant (other than gas turbines), and many other applications.

[Flyinghippo]

Think of those little toy cars you pull back on until they make the noisy clicks when the inside spring is fully wound,,, then you let it go across the room.
Take that concept and modify it. What I would love to "try" is something like that on one of my Rangers to capture braking energy and reuse it to take off from stop signs or stop lights. I'm sure the amount of energy captured would be maybe 2/3 of the power needed to get back up to speed of maybe 30 mph.
The mechanism would be a chain driven off of the rear of the transmission and hooked up with a brake and clutch to a series of multiple garage door coil springs, or maybe some other spring. Have the springs connected one to the next, to the next, to the next, to the next etc via chains. I don't know if it would take 10, 20 or more springs to capture and hold the energy. At the other end of this mechanism is a brake and clutch to hold the sprung chains energy. That energy is ran foreward with a shaft up to the rear of the transmission which is of course hooked up to the driveshaft.
When its time to takeoff from the stoplight/stop sign the clutch at the far end engages and the far end brake is released and away you go taking off and hopefully not spinning the tires. I'm sure someone thought of this 100 years ago. The down side is I'm guessing this series of chains, clutches, brakes, springs, frame, guards, controls etc would weigh 500 pounds or more and cost me $1000, $2000 or more to build and take up half or more of the bed of my Ranger.
So I'm guessing the motor/generator setup in a Prius works a lot better than my idea described above.