Posted on 05/10/2022 11:16:16 AM PDT by Red Badger
VIDEO AT LINK.......................
V8 With Lawn Mower Carburetor
The original Ford Maverick wasn't a small pickup truck. It also didn't have a hybrid four-cylinder engine, but that's not stopping this V8-powered 1974 Maverick sedan from getting a whopping 41 mpg from its 5.0-liter engine. That's considerably better than the brand-new hybrid version Ford offers today, which gets an EPA-combined rating of 37 mpg. But as you can imagine, there's more to this story than just a small carb on a big engine.
The experiment comes from ThunderHead289 on YouTube, and it's actually well-thought-out. It starts by finding the smallest lawn mower carburetor available with a float bowl, as that's necessary for it to work on a larger engine. An adapter plate was 3D printed to mount the carb to the intake, with another adapter printed to hold small air cleaners. With everything bolted into place, the engine fired up on the very first attempt, proving the concept was feasible.
Starting up is a far cry from driving, and that's where things get a bit more complicated. Needles were adjusted for a proper idle, and a method of regulating the fuel pressure was established to better match the carb's capability. Also, it's worth noting that this engine isn't exactly stock. It's used as a testbed for rebuilt carburetors and has a few manual adjustments for controlling fuel pressure. It also includes some modern tech that allows on-the-fly adjustments of engine parameters, including the air-fuel ratio.
A good portion of the video offers a deeper dive into the technical aspect of the experiment, but for our purposes, just know that it freaking works. Not only that, it seems to work quite well. The old V8 Maverick starts up cold without hesitation, idles smoothly, and emits a proper V8 sound when given the beans. Of course, the engine is down on power – exactly how much isn't mentioned in the video but on a 37-mile test run, it reaches highway speeds of up to 80 mph. The trade-off for power is efficiency, as a fuel stop after the drive revealed an estimated mileage of 41 mpg.
With gasoline prices in the US currently averaging above $4.00 per gallon, seeing an old V8 outperform many hybrids is certainly impressive. How long such a small carb lasts in this application, however, remains to be seen.
Source: ThunderHead289 via YouTube
Cool. My first car was a 1974 yellow-green Maverick. It ran well, but the body rusted like crazy thanks to lots of salt on the roads during New England winters.
That will put the pressure on the TORO Time Cutter.
Earth killer!!!!!! 😂🙌
“...a tad underpowered”
LMAO, you think?!
Sure, if you lean the mixture on any combustion engine you’ll get better fuel mileage, if it will keep running that way.
How many Taiwanese semiconductors were needed to make this motor work?
As long as Americans continue to demand that even their Camry's need to be quick off the mark we will continue to have relatively poor gas mileage.
I once got a test drive in the latest performance version of the Camry. Yes, it was fast and performed well, but it will never beat a BMW and what's the point? If you settle for a Camry then you ought to get better gas mileage rather than faster 0-60.
“...a tad underpowered”
~~~
LMAO, you think?!
~~~
Yeah, I don’t get it. The lawnmower carbeurator is going to have a smaller airflow venturi and an equally small float bowl metering needle, so even if your air/fuel ratio is calibrated, your engine is going to heavily fuel starved. I would imagine the V8 is going to have a much higher negative pressure at the top of the manifold than a lawn mower would, so you’ll have to adjust your metered gasoline to compensate, but even still... starved. Where it gets interesting is when you hit the throttle and your throats are too small.
Perhaps the article forgot to mention that this Maverik got 41 miles per gallon.
Starting at the top of Pikes Peak.
In Neutral...............
I think this whole thing is a set up to get views the way so much is on youtube.
0-60 in about 10 minutes. Still a cool experiment. I like doing stuff like that too.
LMAO!
“Lawn Mower Carburetor”
Do you have to wait for the grass to grow before this thing will work?
Yes, and burn holes in the pistons, too!
I follow ThunderHead289 on U-toob. He is part of the “new generation” of engineers, mechanics, and tinkerers who will (hopefully) carry automotive engineering forward beyond us ol timers. He appears to have natural antibodies to wokism that plague so many of his generation.
Interesting (if not terribly practical) experiment.
That wouldn’t even pass todays emissions standard 🤪
Not as underpowered as one might think.
At the top end, yes. For passing and high power acceleration, yes.
Installing a Big A$$ Carburetor is probably THE biggest error most people make when “tuning” an engine. Virtually all of the tuning literature available is geared towards drag racing, full throttle acceleration, and what is suitable or desirable for drag racing is not a good a idea for a street engine.
The Air Fuel Ratio at cruising is where most gains can be made, with a suitable advance curve, around 50° or more, very good highway economy can be had with lean air fuel ratios. Under load or acceleration the AFR must remain fat, or stuff starts burning up.
The CFM calculators are also geared towards racing. The OEM usually installed small carburetors. If you plug in a normal cruise RPM (instead of 5800) it will suggest a CFM very close to the OEM. Good fuel atomisation is dependent on a high velocity thru the venturi.
Too large of a carburetor actually runs lean, believe it or not.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.