How would you like a chance to park the Chevy SS454 pickup the Powerblock TV guys worked on in your garage? Well, if you want to put in a bid, maybe you can, it's on eBay right now. So is their Ford F150 Lightning. If you watch the shows, you know how much work they do on each truck and after everything is done, what do they do? Well, they auction them off to the highest bidder and they're sitting there now waiting for you to take a shot. It can't hurt to try, you might get a pretty sweet deal.
-listings have ended-
Powerblock TV SS454 pickup
Powerblock TV F150 Lightning
For a real alternative fuel option, woodgas conversions are about as alternative as you can get. This Ford F150 has a woodgas generator in the bed and is a current example of some pretty old technology. It was built by a guy just to see if he could make it work, which it does.
Woodgas had a period of popularity around WWII when gasoline rationing meant you either parked the car or found some alternative fuel for your engine. Some European countries at the time, Denmark is one great example, used woodgas in almost 95% of their vehicles; farm machinery, tractors, trucks, fishing boats, even stationary engines, you name it. The widespread use shows it definitely works but it's also inconvenient and not really an option unless all other fuels are unavailable.
Woodgas is one type of producer gas, the result of controlled and incomplete combustion of some carbon material such as wood, many types of biomass or charcoal among others. The gas given off consists of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane, among the combustible components, the rest being primarily nitrogen. When this woodgas is fed into the engine you can drive down the road like you would with any other fuel, except for the rather cumbersome gas generator you need either attached to your vehicle or on a trailer along with its fuel supply, plus the lower power produced makes driving a more utilitarian pursuit. It works, but it's slow and finicky.
The photo below shows an example of an Adler Diplomat conversion back in WWII, which also indicates the size of the gas generator on the back of the vehicle, plus bags of wood fuel on the roof. Interesting technology and necessary at the time but again, not something you would want for your regular commute.
If you know what to look for, you'll see woodgas powered vehicles in movies about WWII, usually a pickup truck but sometimes a car will have one of these contraptions on the back. Neat technology and not something well known these days. I think it's pretty cool.
Adler Diplomat with wood gas generator
Link: Ford woodgas conversion on eBay - listing has ended
Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) appears it will become the leading method to reduce diesel emissions on heavy duty trucks. Before any technology will work, a supporting infrastructure must be in place and unless truck companies agree on which technology will be used, installing the support can be risky. Now, in a major move forward, executives from the leading truck companies have agreed on SCR as the one they will adopt.
SCR injects a small amount of fluid into diesel exhaust converting nitrogen oxides into nitrogen and water. The fluid is kept in a separate tank and needs to be refilled, on Class 8 trucks, that can be every 2000 to 4000 miles. In order for the technology to be used, the fluid has to be available at refueling stations across the country and this distribution network is now in the planning stages.
Press release: [click to continue…]
With all of the talk about natural gas conversions, it's easy to overlook another conversion that is available right now, propane conversions for pickup trucks. Roush Performance, a builder of well known, high power pickups like the Roush Nitemare, among others, has created both the ROUSH® Liquid Propane Injected F-150, a fully-assembled and government-certified pickup truck and also the ROUSH® Liquid Propane Injection Kit.
The kit has an estimated install time of 8 hours and can be installed on any 2007.5 or 2008 gasoline-powered 5.4 liter, V8. There is no loss of power, torque or towing capacity. One difference between this conversion and bi-fuel natural gas conversions is the truck will be dedicated to propane without the ability to switch between fuels.
The complete conversion kit includes a new fuel tank with multi-valve fuel pump, stainless steel fuel lines, billet aluminum fuel rails, an upgraded custom ROUSH® PCM calibration, and all necessary wiring, hardware and instructions for install.
Jack Roush has come up with an excellent array of fully assembled vehicles and high performance kits with factory level fit, finish and vehicle integration and made them available to everyone. Propane conversions are targeted to fleet owners who will more likely have a fueling station on site. Propane costs at least $1.00 less per gallon than gasoline plus there is a $0.50 per gallon tax credit for using the fuel. The kit has a suggested retail price of $8595.00 so payback could come quickly.
A further advantage to running on propane is a reduction in emissions, 20 percent less nitrous oxide, up to 60 percent less carbon monoxide and fewer particulate emissions.
Fast install, affordable, low emissions, no loss of performance, ... what's not to like? The kits will be available in September.
Link: Roush Performance
After our article on natural gas conversions for pickup trucks, many of you had questions about where to get kits for specific trucks and how to go about the whole process. I'll try to answer some of those questions and lay out the information in a series of articles so you can decide what will work best for you. This information will apply to cars, as well, so you might want to bookmark us now and follow along no matter what you drive.
Important!
The actual process of installing a CNG system is within the capabilities of an experienced and knowledgeable vehicle technician, BUT, there are regulations regarding the process you need to be aware of. I would hope this process is going to get easier in the future as natural gas becomes more popular, but right now, it's cumbersome.
Dedicated or Bi-Fuel
To begin, compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles are of 2 types, dedicated and bi-fuel. It's pretty easy to figure out what that means, a dedicated CNG vehicle runs on CNG only, a bi-fuel system allows you to run on CNG or gasoline at the flip of a switch. This is important because tax credits to offset some of the cost look at each type differently, something we'll get into later.
EPA and CARB emission rules
CNG conversion systems fall under vehicle emission rules from both the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB). EPA rules apply to everyone in the U.S. while CARB rules apply to California and those states which have decided to adopt those rules for their own use. (Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington). Only EPA and/or CARB certified conversion systems can be installed on vehicles manufactured after 1994. Although non-certified systems are available, the EPA considers installation of those systems to be tampering with emission controls and punishable with very hefty fines.
Who and what gets certified?
Small Volume Manufacturers (SVM) offering retrofit conversion systems must go through the certification process for each model year and engine family they are going to sell kits for, a time consuming and expensive procedure, so, though many engines will run fine on natural gas, kits are only offered when certified on a particular engine.
Who handles the installation?
EPA and CARB certified systems are not sold to unapproved installers. A qualified system retrofitter (QSR) is someone who has been trained to properly install the components and who has all of the documentation necessary. Some kit manufacturers do the installation themselves, others use a QSR. Any service facility that would like to become approved can contact the kit manufacturer for details.
The next part in our series will cover costs and tax credits, ... stay tuned.
This Ford F150 plug in hybrid conversion by Hybrid Electric Vehicle Technologies takes the popular but low mileage pickup truck and turns it into a green high mileage machine. Even better, the conversion has greater low end torque for improved towing capabilities.
By integrating an electric motor/generator into the existing drivetrain and modifying the differential for better traction, plus adding advanced batteries and an adaptive control unit, the truck now turns in numbers of:
Up to 15 miles all-electric range
Up to 41 MPG for 30 miles/day mixed-speed driving
Up to 21 MPG as a hybrid (beyond all-electric range)
Though by no means ready to go into production, the company is looking to begin a small pilot program where individuals or organizations will provide a vehicle to be converted for $60,000. These conversions will demonstrate the technology and its benefits while showing the potential business opportunity as large numbers of conversions bring the costs down to a reasonable level and vehicle return on investment makes sense.
Think of all of the vehicles that this type of technology will work for, trucks, buses, vans, SUVs, all of those vehicles that currently exist in great numbers but get low mileage. The huge number of similar vehicles on the road make the conversions a high potential business. Look for more developments soon.
Link: HEVT via Autobloggreen
Are you ready for a pickup truck that gets 37mpg? Of course you are, but who wants a tiny little truck you can't haul real loads with? Right? Well, the Tiger Truck, has a 103" X 62" bed, that's larger than a Chevy Silverado, and it has a load capacity of 3,360 lbs, that's also more than the Silverado. What's the catch? The problem is, outside of Oklahoma, you can't drive on public roads.
The truck is designed by the ChangAn Automobile Group of China. Tiger Truck, of Poteau, Oklahoma, imports about half the parts, by value, needed for assembly and sources the rest in North America. The bodies are welded and painted in Oklahoma, the assembly is completed and upgraded interiors are installed. The truck meets CARB/EPA standards however it does not meet federal safety standards for use on public highways.
Oklahoma governor, Brad Henry, signed a bill to make the truck legal in Oklahoma except on federal highways. Outside of Oklahoma you are limited to off road use and a speed of 25 mph, which means it can still be used on construction sites and college campuses, farms, golf courses, lots of places where there's work to do and an on-site truck is all that's needed. The Tiger Champ will not break any speed or horsepower records but in the days of $4 dollar gasoline, it might fill the needs of many users.
Link: Tiger Truck via Automotive News (subscription required)
Photo: Automotive News