1959 376mpg car :)

[Coyote X]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1959-Opel-P1-THE-Shell-Oil-Co-Experimental-Car_W0QQitemZ150112656708QQihZ005QQcategoryZ6472QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm sure this car runs real well, heh.

Wonder what kind of driving techniques they used to get the mileage they did out of that car.

[Red]

Thats pretty cool....wonder if it'll run? 376mpg is a pretty lofty goal

[Ryland]

wow, it looks like an empty rusty shell with an engine that is most likely full of water and rust! I would guess the whole thing weighs about 800 pounds.
it looks like the warm air intake is the crank case vent... if you notice the carburator is plumbed right in to the valve cover, so I would suspect that at some point they have a air cleaner and air intake that lets more air in to the crank case? I like that idea, but wonder how well it works, and wonder if all the insulation is ment to keep the engine warm, with all that cool air coming in.

[zpiloto]

wow, it looks like an empty rusty shell with an engine that is most likely full of water and rust! I would guess the whole thing weighs about 800 pounds.
it looks like the warm air intake is the crank case vent... if you notice the carburator is plumbed right in to the valve cover, so I would suspect that at some point they have a air cleaner and air intake that lets more air in to the crank case? I like that idea, but wonder how well it works, and wonder if all the insulation is ment to keep the engine warm, with all that cool air coming in.

I kinda though the same thing about the weight. Imagine how good your car would run if it weighed 500#

[BeeUU]

I imagine there is some asbestos in there, the EPA will stop by the new owners home and confiscate the car!!

[Sludgy]

That old engine looks a bit shabby....... but I like the design concept. Twin chain drives, with the rear wheels close together to eliminate the differential. I'll bet with a more modern engine that car could do better than 376 mpg under 30 mph.

Here's a link to a 28 HP Kohler engine that uses closed loop EFI for fuel efficiency. If you add a three way catalyst from some old car to the engine exhaust, I'll bet the car would even pass EPA smog regs.

http://www.kohlerengines.com/onlinecatalog/productdetail.jsp?engnID=26160

[Ryland]

I was thinking something more like a metro xfi engine in there, but really, unless you had space for a car collection, why bother with that one? it's not road worthy, didn't even have a title, or lights, I suspect you could make a better copy that would cost less then what that sells for.

[brucepick]

376 mpg - I bet it's true, they just forgot to put in the decimal point.

[Bill in Houston]

Convince the folks at the dmv that it's a three wheeled motorcycle.... :-)

[Wazabi Owner]

I'm temped to write and ask if it really gets that good of mileage. Looks like several have already asked the question and seller is going nuts - he does need to work on his customer relations skills a bit, makes me WANT to write and ask the question. ;)

The car looks to be in not too bad of shape honestly, not too great either though - I've restored worse. I can understand the insulation, OK idea, I guess though it reminds me of Cheech & Chongs "Up in Smoke". ;) If you're too young, rent the movie. Alabama - no title required, just Bill of Sale - at least it was a few years ago. Probably changed over the years.

[Ryland]

I suspect that the reason it's sat for as long as it has, is that it's not truely road worthy, and wasn't ment to be, alot of records like that were made on closed tracks, it just had to look from the outside like something socialy acceptable for the time, and that was it, top speed is most likely some where around 40mph, if even that.

[Biffmeistro]

I have no doubt that it truly gets 376 mpg. It's an utterly impracticle, purpose built car made purely to achieve a record. Heck, there's cars out there that get thousands of miles per gallon, but those are purpose built cars to break records, and would be useless on the street.

[DaX]

theclencher - are you the one with the two part question, Mr. Tigger-Fip?!?! :)

[landspeed]

Why would you fill the engine bay with ice?

[Gary Palmer]

I wonder if the ice was so they could run it with no radiator?

It looks like it comes with the specialized, low rolling resistance tires, on the drive wheels. Check out that tread depth.

[Bill in Houston]

Must have been doing burnouts. :-)

Since they are not flat, I bet they are solid rubber. That would definitely help the gas mileage...

[DaX]

I wonder if the ice was so they could run it with no radiator?

It looks like it has a radiator in the pictures, but it's packed with insulation and there are no vents cut in the side if the car to allow cross-flow. Hmmm.

[Bill in Houston]

I see what you mean on the bead, but the bottom of the tire is not compressed or flattened like a flat tire would be. Maybe he put it on small blocks.

What a weird rig. It's a big go-kart with a car body laid on it...