When and if I build my $20,000 CSP Roadster, I think I'll go with the
Electromotive HPV-1. I'd put it where the battery normally sits and put the
battery in the trunk. You can run foot long (or shorter) wires to good
non-resistor plugs (platinum splitfires) and get all the spark you need or
want. Fasten a magnetic pick-up to the crank somewhere and you've got
infinitely variable timing that's adjustable for RPM ranges, etc. It would
probably even run the car on cheap wine (about 12 octane, I would guess)
I used to have a few old carbon tetrachloride glass containers that fit in
funnel shaped holders on a wall. When a fire broke out, you threw the
container at the fire, the glass would break, and the liquid would turn to a
gas that snuffed out the fire, like halon. Unfortunately, a byproduct of
the process was a lethal gas, I believe Fosgene. I thought Halon did the
same thing under a rare set of circumstances. My solution to a car fire
suppression system is to use good old water as the snuffer. Place several
lawn sprinkler heads at various locations in the car, pressurize a 30 or 50
gallon drum full of water, and if the car catches on fire, pull a lever and
soak the location with environmentally safe water. You could buy bottled
water to fill the drum, but most drinking water is pure enough. The water
won't harm the car unless you continue to drive it after it catches fire,
and water enters the engine through the intake system. There is a slight
weight penalty involved.
Enough of this serious talk! TDROC is having it's annual New Braunfels
mini-meet this Saturday at the Schumans' house. We'll meet at the
Schumans', drive somewhere for lunch, swap a few lies, take a few pictures,
then go home. Write me for details if you want to come. We will have our
annual Fall Fling in the Rockport-Corpus Christi area October 20th and 21st.
Ditto on the details for the Fall Fling.
All of this Olympic stuff reminds me of when I drove a shuttle bus during
the '84 Olympics in L.A. I spent a lot of time in (?on?) the parallel bars.
There was a great concern about terrorists, and we took a lot of
precautions. Things got a little tense when someone broke into various
places and stole bus driver uniforms and a bus. We later found out they
were trying to smuggle migrant workers in from Mexico. So far as exotic
machinery goes, I was allowed to drive a supercharged, rear engined,
$225,000 vehicle that would easily break all known speed limits. (if you had
a long enough road)
Leisure Suit Terry
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