November/December 1980
By the Mother Earth News editors
A number of inventive Midwesterners tinker to save a tankful, at the first annual
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Most auto racing fans consider the Indianapolis 500 to be the high-speed motor sport event of the year, but not many car enthusiasts have even heard of the Iowa Energy 500. Well, you're about to get to know the latter event . . . because MOTHER recently sent one of her editors to the capital of the Hawkeye State to cover the "race", which was held as part of the Iowa State Fair.
As the name implies, this 500 was oriented toward energy — and its conservation — rather than toward blinding speed. The event was organized by the Iowa Energy Policy Council and the Des Moines Area Community College ... to demonstrate practical vehicle modifications used by motorists to increase the efficiency of their automobiles.
The event's promoters divided all entrants into six divisions, based on vehicle weight and the type of fuel used (gasoline or gasohol, and gasoline with additives selected by the contestant) . . . and included an open seventh class for unusually modified vehicles burning any fuel. (There was a demonstration category as well for those who couldn't qualify or didn't care to officially enter the run, but nonetheless had worthwhile hardware to display.)
Needless to say, mechanically minded tinkerers, from quite a few different states, were out in full force on the morning of the competition. All types of "stock" machines — from a 1920 Ford to a Dodge motor home — were entered, along with several more radical vehicles ... including an AMC Gremlin retrofitted with a Waukesha diesel engine that burned a fifty-fifty waste-oil/fuel-oil blend.
Perhaps most mind-boggling, however, were the many "trick" fuel-pinching devices designed by the entrants. Some people opted to use assorted types of fuel heaters to improve their MPG figures . .. while others went a step further and tried vaporizing the liquid energy. Of course, there were a number of water injectors in use — plus several different friction-reducing fuel additives — and a few shade-tree mechanics chose to merely lean out their vehicles' carburetors and advance the ignition timing slightly.
