Old car guys lament - cartoon

[studemax]

[SuperBuickGuy]

yup

[silver_bullet]

I'm a bit more die hard about history and the future of our favorite pass time

[Beagle]

maybe not capacitors and regulators.

Woodgas and carburetors.. not the first time it's been done. We're not going anywhere really new. Contact points, condensers (capacitors) and distributors are certainly not going to just go away.

"extreme" "epic" "badass" "you've never seen this"... or have we. Wasn't there already a battle of steam, electric, and petrol/diesel?

I came into this scene with 2 horsepower I had to learn to keep running. I suspect I'll go out with a little more.

Old guys lament: I wish I could remember who said this. Gray Baskerville quoted somebody in HotRod one time, I think it was Lil John Buttera, who said "All of this is just another way to keep from walking"

and it's been a helluva ride.

[Monster]

EV's started a long time ago, but technology has finally made it more viable, so that is the (near) future for us. I've been into the newer golf cart motors, controllers and batteries for a little while now and it's amazing.

[Beagle]

EV's started a long time ago, but technology has finally made it more viable, so that is the (near) future for us. I've been into the newer golf cart motors, controllers and batteries for a little while now and it's amazing.

120 years or thereabouts...

[Jesse James 80]

I disagree, being taught to think and use your hands is never a waste of time. While engines are different now (and we may be moving to electric) having a basic understanding of how things work can lead to figuring out/understanding new technology.

[Beagle]

Yep, all new techs will have to master this instead:

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

120 years or thereabouts...

Wow, I haven't seen a Baker Electric since leaving my home town. There was a little old lady, that had a 1912 I think, that she used to get to and from her summer home in the Berkshires to the market, to Tanglewood, and to the train station in town so she could take the train back to Boston when the summer season was over.

Can you imagine replacing that battery pack with lithium ion batteries, well until you see the price tag. Our lab helped ASRC here in Albany repower a mobile lab's electric system used to measure emissions out in the field. I don't remember the company that made the batteries or electronics to make it all work, but the battery cart was worth about $25k when it was done, not counting the technician's time to design and assemble the whole thing. 8 12-volt batteries and an inverter/charger/controller plus wiring.

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

Oh the rest of the story on the Baker electric: she stored it in the local garage's storage barn from September to June. They took it out every now and then to exercise it, and would drive it to the train station ready to go for her when she got into town...

[Captain]

Oh the rest of the story on the Baker electric: she stored it in the local garage's storage barn from September to June. They took it out every now and then to exercise it, and would drive it to the train station ready to go for her when she got into town...

Sounds like a Used Car Salesman's Pitch !!

[Beagle]

Wow, I haven't seen a Baker Electric since leaving my home town. There was a little old lady, that had a 1912 I think, that she used to get to and from her summer home in the Berkshires to the market, to Tanglewood, and to the train station in town so she could take the train back to Boston when the summer season was over.

Can you imagine replacing that battery pack with lithium ion batteries, well until you see the price tag. Our lab helped ASRC here in Albany repower a mobile lab's electric system used to measure emissions out in the field. I don't remember the company that made the batteries or electronics to make it all work, but the battery cart was worth about $25k when it was done, not counting the technician's time to design and assemble the whole thing. 8 12-volt batteries and an inverter/charger/controller plus wiring.

What I find most interesting these days is some kids (and older folks, just big kids really) harvesting lithium ion batteries that have good capacity left for pretty much dirt rather than sending them to the landfill. It's kind of cool if you're willing to accept a certain potential for fire... kind of like when I was a youngster scavenging an old lawn edger motor for my minibike and not quite understanding gasket seals on old Briggs and Stratton gas tank / carburetor setups. Same potential for fire, but the old junk was easier to put out. lol. I don't see a lot changing for the kids interested in something besides their cell phone / social media status, just different technology.

I doubt they teach industrial classes rebuilding the same crappy 2hp horizontal that they did when I was a kid. It wouldn't matter - I couldn't enroll in my school because all I had at the time were vertical shaft mower engines. I wonder what the challenges are today?

I imagine this feeling being not so far off from the guys building buggies and coaches lamenting the inevitable loss of skills of a wheelwright, blacksmith, coachbuilder, or any other craft or trade very few folks can pass on these days.

[dave.g.in.gansevoort]

What I find most interesting these days is some kids (and older folks, just big kids really) harvesting lithium ion batteries that have good capacity left for pretty much dirt rather than sending them to the landfill. It's kind of cool if you're willing to accept a certain potential for fire... kind of like when I was a youngster scavenging an old lawn edger motor for my minibike and not quite understanding gasket seals on old Briggs and Stratton gas tank / carburetor setups. Same potential for fire, but the old junk was easier to put out. lol. I don't see a lot changing for the kids interested in something besides their cell phone / social media status, just different technology.

I doubt they teach industrial classes rebuilding the same crappy 2hp horizontal that they did when I was a kid. It wouldn't matter - I couldn't enroll in my school because all I had at the time were vertical shaft mower engines. I wonder what the challenges are today?

I imagine this feeling being not so far off from the guys building buggies and coaches lamenting the inevitable loss of skills of a wheelwright, blacksmith, coachbuilder, or any other craft or trade very few folks can pass on these days.

Now there's a novel thought: Scavenge the batteries, motor(s) and electronics from a Prius and build a light weight roadster, say under 1500 lbs if possible (skip the safety stuff that a Prius has) and see how fast it would go. I can see it now a Prius/Winton Bullet

[Beagle]

Now there's a novel thought: Scavenge the batteries, motor(s) and electronics from a Prius and build a light weight roadster, say under 1500 lbs if possible (skip the safety stuff that a Prius has) and see how fast it would go. I can see it now a Prius/Winton Bullet

It's the controller costs that keep me sidelined, I'm not quite that dedicated to figuring out the electronics yet. Randal (TheSilverBuick) on here was building a six wheeler ATV with electric conversion but haven't seen him in a while. I think life may have gotten in the way... it does that.

https://bangshift.com/forum/forum/bangshift/project-cars-update/1144802-the-tank

I spend way too much time on Youtube, but here is a guy building a Honda Insight with a Harbor Freight 13 hp powerplant. He started out trying to get a 99.00 engine to make it go 50 mph. I don't think he got that "everything is going electric" memo!! It's pretty hysterical, well, to me. He's got a tiny turbo in the works for it currently which makes me laugh even harder. It's the whole "Let's Find Out" mentality that I love.

and channel video listing if interested: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_e...jXB1f4g/videos