Honda BF50 ignition modification for MO power.

[kmclemore]

Oh, and just for giggles I went out to my shop and rooted through my "Horror Show" box - the place where I put all the real nasties I've collected from cars I've worked on.. and came up with this *very* detonated piston.... for those of you who've never seen one, this is what it looks like, and it ain't pretty....





(Oh, and for those of you that are anal enough to try and guess, that piston is from a Triumph 2000 saloon - similar motor to the GT6 and TR6.)

[Catigale]

There is no possible way you're getting a 10% mileage improvement from changing spark plugs.

Sure there is. You have to spray the ignition wires with SuperCroil, which lubes the path of the electrons, reducing resistance, and giving better mileage

Its....Fuel Mileage Improvement Gimmicks of the 70s for $500 please Alex

What is:

Magnets in the Gas Tank?
Decoder Coils on the Wheel Hubs
Ionising Fuel Gizmo in Fuel Line - "Separates fuel into positive and negative to increase there energy of interaction"

Im dating myself remembering all these gadgets....

[Chip Hindes]

Don't forget the fuel supercharger (an unpowered propeller inserted between the carburetor and intake manifold); "water injection" consisting of an vacuum line bubbling through a container of water. Not to be confused with real water injection which actually worked in some applications.

Also, the 100mpg carburetor, proven, patented but not available to the public because it was purchased so it could be supressed by (take your pick) the evil U.S. Government, the oil companies and/or all of the big three auto companies.

Not a mileage gizmo but my favorite was the toilet paper oil filter.

Sorry, Robert. Please don't take our making fun personally. I don't doubt that you correctly determined that your mileage improved after installing the Direct Hits. The problem is that there are so many factors which can affect mileage, particularly in a situation where an engine is fairly heavily loaded, that a single simple test such as the one you conducted is simply not enough data from which to draw a conclusion. You need to test these things under very, very tightly controlled conditions in order to get a valid result. I didn't look at everything on the website, but after looking at several of the cited tests, I gave up trying to find something from a certified, independent test laboratory.

I was in the auto mileage business for several years. In a properly maintained, modern engine, lighting off the fuel air mixture with a spark plug, any quality spark plug, is not a problem. In fact, the combustion event is extremely tightly controlled. You have to get special dispensation from the state of CA to install any device, after (in effect) proving not that your device does anything better, but only that it does no harm.

[Catigale]

Don't forget the fuel supercharger (an unpowered propeller inserted between the carburetor and intake manifold); "water injection" consisting of an vacuum line bubbling through a container of water. Not to be confused with real water injection which actually worked in some applications.

Also, the 100mpg carburetor, proven, patented but not available to the public because it was purchased so it could be supressed by (take your pick) the evil U.S. Government, the oil companies and/or all of the big three auto companies.

Not a mileage gizmo but my favorite was the toilet paper oil filter.

These were great - thanks Chip, I had forgotten about the water injection - that was a classic...

All- make sure you use marine grade tp if you upgrade your oil filter to the TP model of course.

[Don T]

Hello:
What a hoot! I worked for Cadillac from 78>84 and you would be surprised how many of those caddy's came in with either a cow magnet taped to the fuel line or one of those water / platinum bubbling devices hooked into the PCV line. Like anything would improve the milage of a boxy, 4800 lb, 500 cubic inch rig, pure detroit iron.

[kmclemore]

Don't forget... "water injection" consisting of an vacuum line bubbling through a container of water. Not to be confused with real water injection which actually worked in some applications.

Indeed! Most of them were total rubbish. I love those turbo-blades you stick into the intake... and anybody here remember the "Fish Carburetor" company? Ahh.. sweet memories... grab an old J.C. Whitney catalog from the 1960's and you'll get a real laugh, for sure.

[TRIVIA]
But on the H2O subject, I wonder if anyone here can name the only US production car that came with Water Injection as standard equipment right off the showroom floor?
[/TRIVIA]

Hint #1:

(click the pic for the answer)

Hint#2:
I loved GM in the 1950's & 1960's.. they came up with some really nifty innovations during that time... like the Pontiac Tempest with a lightweight alloy V8 up front and a Ferarri-like rear transaxle with engine-speed drive shaft... or the air-cooled 180HP Corvair Spyder with a turbocharger. Nice stuff.

[Chip Hindes]

Dad had the '62 Olds 88 with the conventional Rocket V8, a big block 394 cid which in those days was considered a real monster, when the high performance Pontiacs had "only" a 389. The Olds had about the largest 2bbl carb I've ever seen before or since, which, after you pulled the air filter element out, sounded just like the secondaries on a 4bbl when you put your foot in it. Don't tell Dad how I knew this.

Dad was an Olds man but didn't go for the high performance versions. He had traded in a '57 Olds for the '62, but the '57 didn't have the J2 supercharger option either.

Are you sure that Tempest had a V8? I seem to remember the "big" motor for that car was an OHC straight six with a fiberglass drive belt, which I believe were both industy firsts in the U.S. Or was that just another option?

Was this the one in which the drive shaft was fixed at both ends to be permanently flexed downward in the middle, to eliminate the center hump, or am I running all these together?

And now that we've hijacked this thread into stuff which has nothing to do with Macs or sailing...

[Frank C]

[TRIVIA]
(and hijacking continues) ... What manufacturer delivered that same, General Motors aluminum-block V-8 engine to USA showrooms in what two-seat sportscar WITH fuel injection, nearly 20 years later (yet, still 25 years ago) ??
[/TRIVIA]
Kevin might be the only one who can answer, but he's disqualified from participating on this question.

(HINT: only ~3,000 units made it to the USA.
I have one of them languishing in a dusty ole warehouse.)

Click here for photographs

[Moe]

Are you sure that Tempest had a V8? I seem to remember the "big" motor for that car was an OHC straight six with a fiberglass drive belt, which I believe were both industy firsts in the U.S. Or was that just another option?

That was the base engine for the Tempest starting, IIRC, in 1966. We had one. The optional motor was a 326 or 389 in the GTO.

[Chip Hindes]

That was the base engine for the Tempest starting, IIRC, in 1966. We had one. The optional motor was a 326 or 389 in the GTO.

Yes, but by then I'm 99% sure they had gone back to the conventional tranny behind the engine. It was the early sixties version that had the rear mounted transaxle.

"Three deuces and a four speed, and a three eighty nine." The three deuces was optional; the standard GTO was a single four bbl.

I had no idea the TR was a Pontiac V8; always assumed it was a Rover; or was the Rover actually a Pontiac as well?

Here's another question. Does anyone know if that Pontiac is actually the 60 degree aluminum V8 which originated at Buick? The 60 degree V made the engine quite narrow compared to the more conventional 90 degree V, which would have made it more suitable for a car originally designed for a straight engine like the TR.

Got to say though, the TR7/8 is not my favorite in the looks department, compared to the TR6 it replaced. Might be one of the things which finally killed Triumph.

IMO the winner in this category has to be (of course) the earlier AC Cobra, followed closely by the Sunbeam Tiger. Though good looks didn't save those either. And, anybody (other than Kevin) famliar with the Daimler Dart SP250? Absolutely great looking car.

[Moe]

That was the base engine for the Tempest starting, IIRC, in 1966. We had one. The optional motor was a 326 or 389 in the GTO.

Yes, but by then I'm 99% sure they had gone back to the conventional tranny behind the engine.

I'm 100% sure of it.

[Robert]

Much more than a spark plug change. These DirectHits are a set of low resistance wires, impedance matching cable ends (for better energy transfer and no radio interference) and resistorless spark plugs. The top quality aftermarket spark plugs I took out were in excellent shape with less than 20K miles on them, I wanted to know the difference compared to good plugs. Yes the data I gave 9.9mpg before and 11.2mpg after are true I measure the MPG on those type trips every time and made the same trip many times both before and after DirectHits. The MPG numbers don't change much (+/- 0.2 MPG max) on different trips, so I stand by my data.
..
More of the fuel ignites sooner so the burn happens in less time which provides more torque and lower emmisions.
..
The spark happens in a very brief and much more predictable manor that allows the engine to run smoother (in the world of RF electronics this is called reduced jitter). This smoothness allows more efficient use of the increased torque. This is why the DirectHits provide the greatest improvement at high RPM and heavy loads.
..
Finnally, the engine computer will adjust the timing (or it can be done manually) for more power and better economy without pre-ignition.
..
There is no down side to directhits, they are easily installed and removed to return to stock. But once you try them you will not want to remove them.
..
Please have a look at the DirectHits web page and the testimonials before you come out so strongly against something you don't seem to have researched. Thank You

[Frank C]

... I had no idea the TR was a Pontiac V8; always assumed it was a Rover; or was the Rover actually a Pontiac as well?

Here's another question. Does anyone know if that Pontiac is actually the 60 degree aluminum V8 which originated at Buick?

Yes, actually the same engine for Buick, Pontiac, Rover & the Triumph TR-8. I have a 1970 TR-6 too, but the TR-8, when running, was a vastly more modern, comfortable and fast ride than the TR-6. Besides, it also has that unmistakable V-8 rumble (instead of the 6's brrrrrp)! I recall that GM bought the aluminum V-8's tooling back in years since 1980s, but cannot recall to what purpose .... anyone?


I really like the TR-8 as a driver (when Lucas pemits ), but I also fully agree about the Cobra and Tiger. Given my druthers, I'd add the Tiger to my warehouse, but an even greater priority would be the blue one in background above. THAT ONE has a really impressive "brrrrrrrp!"

[Captain Steve]

Hey...I had one of those TP oil filters. Bought it at the swap meet...where all good auto improvements are sold. IIRC I bought a bottle of some oil additive from a guy with a trailer mounted engine. He drained out the oil and it kept running...due to the molecular coating left behind by the additive!

[Catigale]

Remember that commercial where a bunch of engines are started, the oil is drained, and the pitch was

You should buy our oil since the engine ran the longest until it seized...

Great marketing, lousy science....

I think it was Castrol IIRC