We're about reviving old cars.

In case you've wandered here from Planetforward, here's a brief overview of our club and an update on what we've been doing. Welcome to the blog of Sewanee's Eco-Auto Club.

During our club's inception, we realized that while schools across the nation are researching and investigating new, greener means of propelling cars, there was less of a focus on low-cost modifications that can easily be done by anyone.

By modifying our 1998 Ford Explorer with cheap and simple upgrades that can be done in a free afternoon, we hope ultimately to create an "Eco Explorer" that others can emulate.

Lowering the vehicle ($210) and putting on low-resistance tires ($605) . . .

Using a 2011 Traverse's front fairing ($35) and a rubber panel from a tractor supply ($60) . . . 

Performing an engine tune-up after 200,000 miles ($440) . . . all have shown considerable gains already.

We can lessen the load on the engine, whether by improving aerodynamics or weight, and so we can revive a car that would otherwise soon become a down payment. 

Save the environment and your wallet at the same time. 

Without an obvious place to put the Scangauge,
we've begun to modify the center console of ol' Ewvee to better accommodate the Scangauge.

In the Nabit art building we fabricated a cradle (using parts from a local builders' supply) to hold the Scangauge. You can see the removed center console above.

The strange cut seen above was made in order to allow the connection port in the back of the Scangauge to remain uncovered; the majority of the wiring will be hidden in the cavity behind the Scangauge.

The tape here holds the two metal pieces together while the cold weld firms up.

Eventually we will place a cover around the Scangauge's actual display, so it appears more flush with the console.

We have a working Scangauge.
Scangauge has pulled through and provided a model that is modified to work with the Ford Explorer. We can now more accurately determine the MPG.

It's been a while, but we've been slowly progressing. 

Beleaguered by some organizational problems and empty assurances of the Scangauge company (the computer we had been trying to use to determine MPG), we've decided to move forward with our basic experience-based MPG calculation of 16 MPG. After getting her a full tune up, we cranked Ewvee's front down and placed blocks in the rear to drop the whole car's body a few inches. The question now is whether to get taller wheels/tires in order to have the engine work less (at the expense of a higher ride height) or to get shorter wheels/tires in order to lower the height even more drastically, lessening the frictional air that sneaks beneath into the under carriage. Stay tuned.

We brought Ewvee to a local sand pit scale to be weighed

and then removed the aerodynamically unfit roof rack. We also fixed a sticky seatbelt. Little steps for now -- the real work will begin in January.

Ewvee's weight? 3960 pounds (give or take 20, and Rocco was standing on the scale when he took the above photo) with just over a quarter tank of gas (we took a photo of the gas gauge also, just for future accuracy's sake).

We might benefit from some elaboration on our plans

at this point. At the moment, as stated in the heading of the blog, we plan to do a number of small modifications to the car to improve the fuel consumption of Ewvee a little bit at a time. Before we do those modifications, though, we will catalogue the state of the car as it is right now: we will calculate its general efficiency, determine problem areas in the car, weigh the car (of course taking into account the amount of gas in it), etc.

In the long term (which of course depends on how quickly we make the minor modifications) we have narrowed the possible directions of the project to the following:

Gas: This is where Ewvee will be after the initial modifications. We hope to see significant improvement in fuel efficiency through weight reduction, lowering, and maybe even custom-fabricated aerodynamic parts (in addition to the other modifications mentioned in the header).

Hybrid: This would be a series hybrid, a gas or diesel engine powering an electric motor. Though some new, non-consumer vehicles use diesel motors to provide energy to electric motors, no one before has pursued a basic series hybrid using a diesel engine in an ordinary vehicle (as far as we know).

Bio-Diesel: If we swapped the current engine for a diesel one this modification would be relatively simple. It would allow Ewvee to run off of not only gas station diesel, but grease from our dining hall, from local fast food restaurants, etc. We could possibly incorporate this into a diesel hybrid, creating a singularly unique vehicle (if not one that can be entirely replicated due to the inevitable shortage of grease if too many bio-diesel cars are on the road).

Natural Gas: One possibility, with the ubiquity of natural gas in America, is converting the engine to run off of natural gas. This would not greatly increase efficiency, but it would lower emissions, be cheaper, and reduce dependence on foreign oil entirely.

Stay tuned.

Travis, Rocco, Enrique, Elizabeth, Tyson, and Spike

clean the future EUV ("Ewvee," extended use vehicle) after discussing possible directions for the project.