I became a member of DOW about the same time Wayne started posting the construction videos and have been working on this ever since. I went out looking for a Dakota and came home with a 91 Caddy. I have followed all of the projects on the site and have learned from each one of you, thanks. Because I needed to put it on the back of the Caddy I had to arrange things a little different. The entrails are 95%WK, for preheating the incoming combustion air I used SS flex pipe (two 25 ft pieces of ! &1/2 flex tube), they enter the bottom of lower drum and go around and around the outer jacket of burn tube and into the outer jacket same as WK. For water collection in the hopper I used corragated roofing tin forming a inner wall inside hopper that sits in the bottom of gutter up 2 in. from top of hopper tapered in about 2 in. all the way around to form a funnel for the water to go down into gutter and drain out to a collection point.
This is a dual system all the way, from the dual combustion intake air inlets in bottom of lower drum to the one butterfly that lets woodgas into the 4.9 engine. I got it running on wood the week before the Ind. meet-up but decided that may be a little to far for a test run. I’ve started and ran it many times, I think I’ve driven it about 200 miles so far and having a ball doing it, was in a small town parade last weekend with it, it’s fun to see the jaws drop. Again, thanks to everyone for the knowledge, ever since I heard it could be done I knew I wanted to do it but didn’t know the right way, thanks to all of you I do now. Herb
Pictures & videos…
I wanna see that!
TerryL
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Hey Herb,
Thats a thing of beauty!
I have used flex tubing in a similar capacity… seemed to work well.
Interested in how it works for ya.
Please send more pics and a walk around/driving video.
Very Very nice work.
TerryL
Have you driven on wood yet? Would like to see pictures.
That is cool!!
And the bar rises !!!
Thanks Herb.
Looks like you’re putting the “wood” in Fleetwood! Very impressive. Do the air shock/levelers work to keep it up?
WoW! HerbH!
We gonna call those “RibbonCandy” dropchambers? exchangers? or gas coolers?
Impressive your full system paralleling. 40’s lesson on how to make it all shallower and better flowing and heats distributed come back alive again to modern EFI.
Also Neat another “cat skinning” way to crosscut trunk wood discs with your layed down bandsaw system. Real narrow kerfs on those.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Whow. I’m thinking my build is like buying a computer outdated before I get it done.
Very nice very nice
That’s one good looking caddy…I would like to see video of that thing in action …
Very nice build!!
Thanks fellow wood gases, I don’t know how the flex tube works yet, how can you tell? All I know is I needed the room and had to do something inside lower drum to get fresh air to the outer jacket of burn tube, it’s bound to heat the incoming combustion air some and then it still goes into the proven WK saw blade super bad boy air heating system, now there is a HOT idea, wow. Put the WOOD in Fleetwood, nice play on words as usual Carl, the air shock system leaks about enough to have the battery down every other time I wanted to start, I put air bags in the rear coils ($100.00 from JCWhitney) That remedied that, there’s about 150 lb of fuel in the trunk and about half full in the hopper left over from parade in the pics. I like “Ribbon Candy” Steve but probably more like dropchambers, I do get some very fine ash out of the 3" belch valve ports. Ya I had that old metal band saw so it got pulled out of retirement and now cutting tree discs or what we affectionately call them around here “cow patties”, That is a 20 in. log, I cut them about 2 in. long, they split fairly easy with a hatchet, I can work up a hopper of fuel half way fast. I don’t have a way to do a video yet but I’m working on it, Thanks for all the kind words, Herb
That has style!
That thing is excellent! How does it move along? According to Wikipedia that 4.9 is about a 9.5:1 compression ratio, in the region of 200hp on gasoline.
I like that heat recovery plan with the metal tubing.
Hello Herb,
Thanks for posting the pictures but I will make sure the wife don’t see the one showing the shiny Caddy. I have enough “ honey do jobs “ already!
Great Job.
I have a feeling this is not your first rodeo!
Sweet lookin coolers… very classy
Hey Herb, what exactly is that tubing that you used for your pre heat air inside the gasser? very cool
Most of the driving I’ve done with it has been around our little town here in Woodward Ia. We have a 4 lane outside of town (141) and I took it out on it a couple of times. It gets right down the road, I’ve had it going 65 mph for about 15 miles, truned around and the same on the way back, the first temp gauge read about 700 degrees, the middle gauge read about 250 degrees and the one on the hay filter didn’t come off the bottom peg. I’ld like to ask the experts, I’m at 6 in. restriction, 5 ea. 7/16 in. nozzels and they are 16 in. from restriction, is that about right? I remember reading to start small and work bigger. That 65 mph was level hi-way, if I went uphill it lost speed, one time down to 38 mph. Thanks
I’d go one size bigger, see what you get! 65 is pretty good already, and on hills you will lose some speed. You should see lower temps with a 7 inch restriction, although I’m not sure where you’re at without a direct comparison. A grate temperature probe would be a good idea.
Do you have any timing advance on it? Also out of curiosity, what did it weigh before and after?
Herb, Boy does that look familiar !!
Next time I get near Des M maybe we can get together. Mike
Hello Herb,
The frontal profile of your caddy may be close or even less than that of the dakotas but the weight may be more. This might explain the good level speed and the poor uphill performance .
I think a rule of thumbs would be as long as you are making clean tar free gas you can go bigger on the restriction.
I’m also curious if you have timing advance .
Great job !