I’m still working on the brakes on the PV, saw today when I took them apart again that I have 3 new bands and 1 old (wasn’t worn) it pulls in the direction the old band is, could that be the cause, the old band braking better?
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Old brake shoes often brakes better, because they are “worn in” to match the drum diameter, but i dont think it should do that much, especially when only one are used.
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Some questions, @JO_Olsson , had you tried setting the ignition 4-5 degrees earlier, and did that make any difference to the power?
What thickness do you usually use on sheet metal, when welding car sheet metal?
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On the Mazda truck I advanced as much as the slots allowed - maybe 5-10°. Not enough to make it ping on gasoline. That was a long time ago and I can’t remember if it made a noticeable difference.
On the Rabbit I operated the dist extensivly with a cable, but couldn’t tell no difference at full power at all. The only thing that happend was it altered the idle sound and rpm.
The Volvo still has standard timing and as Göran mentioned the other day the only reasonable way would be to relocate the crank sensor (which is hidden snug to the firewall 
)
I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful.
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Oh, and sheet metal. I don’t even own a mig and I do all my welding with sticks. I’ve done very little body work. The latest repair was the Volvo’s “threshold-box” and I tacked in place an old “house-window-splash-plate” with a thin stick 
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Ouch, sheet metal bodywork with stick…
Been there-done that. A lot.
And i just hate it, especially from down up, in body coat…
Im impressed 
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No reason to be impressed Göran - you never saw the end result I guess the body tectyl is what
mostly holds that sheet in place. But as long as the inspector is happy - so am I.
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Thanks JO, I think moving the ignition doesn’t have much of an effect on newer engines, maybe has to do with higher compression, then I don’t need to bother with this.
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Hi JanA.
Both Tone and Joni on their compression boosted engines say they then did not need then extreme ignition timing advances for wood gas.
Regards
Steve Unruh
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For your 1995 production 4.3L it would have had a 9.1:1 Compression Ratio when brand new.
For reference my 2011 year 4.3L has a 9.2:1 Compression Ratio.
Still better than the older engines for sure. The compression ratio in the 1987-1991 models saw a huge bump from 8.6:1 to 9.1:1
Highest ratio I see for the 4.3L is from early 80s models going into cars like the GMC Caballero or Chevy El Camino at a 9.3:1
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Some questions: I can drive the car at 3000-3500rpm on the slopes (70-75kmh) (45mph), but I think it pulls poorly, on the next gear it can’t bear to increase.
Is it the ignition or is it getting too little gas?
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I don’t think it is the ignition but rather your gas flow.
I remember a video from one of the Argos meetups of a guy with a 60s era Chevrolet truck that has a 400 Small Block, but he only uses a single 2" gas pipe. It doesn’t over pull on the gasifier for him because it can only flow so much at a time so even at wide open throttle he isn’t overheating the gasifier. His maximum speed is 65 MPH at full throttle.
He has a 4 speed automatic transmission, 700R4. He has a very low 4.10 rear gear ratio so he needed that overdrive for highway speeds.
You can tell by his cooling that he has plenty of flow up until after the filter, that single 2" PVC line is his bottleneck.
If you think you can add it, put in an additional gas hose to your intake, or go to a slightly bigger single hose. Maybe 3"?
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Thanks Cody.
I have to try to come up with something, I wonder if there is any point in this unit, or if I should make a new one.
I have a 2’ and a 1.5" from the radiator, noticed a little difference when I put the 1.5", got a little stronger, but I probably destroy everything between the aggregate and filter, 60mm (2.4").
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What do you think about just changing the existing tubes 63mm (2.48") to 76mm (2.99")?
And letting the cyclone stay wouldn’t be that much work.
The question is if I need a shut-off between the unit and the filter, smp had it to not wet the filter with condensed water, I have a valve that I close to the air into the unit, shouldn’t it do the same thing?
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I think increasing your pipe size will give improvements to flow. Not sure if your cyclone would become more or less efficient since the flow would change there as well.
As for a valve I am also not sure of. I bet Goran will have a good answer for that.
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Hi Jan, a shut valve between gasifier and filter could be a good idea, but problematic because of temperature, and NO leaks are allowed here.
A shut-off after filter will stop the gas some from traveling through filter (the way i have on my Chevrolet)
Shutting the primary air will lead to water vapor/pressure in gasifier going througt filter, a shut-off after filter will help (as i have on my Volvo)
But, i have my filters built this way
The double walls act as a pre-cooler, where most water will drop, instead of on the filter itself.
This is just my theories, but the hard “cake” of soot around the circumference on my filters seems to prove it.
I think easiest, and most important is to shut the gas somewhere before engine, closed in one end=no “draft”
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Yes, yes then I was so good and took out the filter so I wouldn’t burn it up, then I put it behind my back and take out the angle grinder and light it on fire with the sparks, jippy.
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Oh no, some days we would be better off staying in bed.
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Was this the welding blanket or the stainless mesh?
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It is welding felt, must withstand 550 degrees c, the carbon on the cloth gets very hot.
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