Mother's Dual-Fuel Alcohol-Powered Van!

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ONE LIKES IT HOT

Warming the alcohol carburetor's air supply notably improves the carb's ability to vaporize the stubbornly liquid fuel. So MOTHER's researchers adapted a heater core and plenum assembly, from a Ford Pinto, to function as an "atmosphere" preheating canister. First, they cut a circular hole in one side of the box, to correspond with the mounting flange of an aftermarket air-cleaner unit. Then the crew riveted a threaded crossbar to the inside surface of the chamber to provide a mount for the rod that holds the filter in place. The "hot box" was finished by fitting and fastening a backing plate to the rear of the container, and ducting a flexible plastic feed tube from this surface to the carburetor intake.

After mounting the device with two aluminum brackets, and "teeing" the new heat exchanger into the van's existing hot water system, a consistent supply of 170-175° air was available at any time after the engine reached operating temperature. (Of course, the original air filter hookup was reconnected to the gasoline side of the system, demanding nothing but a slight relocation.)

PERFECT TIMING

Rather than rely on a "by guess and by golly" timing control cable, we chose to regulate the ignition "chronology" by using equipment that was already on the vehicle. After advancing the initial timing 12° over the factory specification (to a point at which it seemed to suit—at idle—both gasoline and alcohol fuels), we tied the distributor's advance diaphragm control hose directly into the ported vacuum fitting on the ethanol carburetor. Since this connection functions only in the "off idle" position, the proper timing adjustments were automatically made—through both the vacuum and centrifugal advance systems—when the accelerator pedal was depressed.

The gasoline carburetor, on the other hand, has its vacuum fitting plugged . . . so ignition timing in the "petrol" mode is entirely reliant upon the centrifugal advance mechanism in the distributor.

MORE TO COME

Needless to say, all the folks here at MOTHER (and, judging from the response at our seminars, just about everyone who's taken a gander under the van's hood) are downright pleased with the newcomer to our alcohol-powered "fold". It has long since proved itself reliable, practical, and—perhaps best of all-totally flexible . . . since it burns both gasoline and high- or low-grade alcohol fuel (right down to 170-proof "juice") with nary a cough or sputter.

But there's more news: Our recent experiments indicate that it's possible to have an effective dual-fuel system using a single carburetor (in fact, we've already adopted just that sort of setup in our Ford truck) . . . so keep a weather eye on our forthcoming issues for the latest details of MOTHER's renewable-fuel-vehicle research!

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