FAQs about the ultimate flex-fuel car.

.: If your idea's so great, why don't you talk to the car companies?

I have. They're not interested in anything which they don't develop. Nor does it matter that I told them I'm not planning on taking any patents out or want any money for my idea from them. Don't believe me? Here's the response I got from Chrysler. The only thing I've done to the scan of the letter is cut my address out.

.: Why should I give you any money? You're getting a car out of this. What am I going to get?

You will get everything on the car, including copies of all blueprints, its performance, and a listing of dates and locations where I'll be showing the car. I will not be taking out any patents on this, so anyone with the means will be able to start building and selling the engines. I'll also post photographs and videos of the car as it's being worked on. You'll aslo get listings of suppliers, so you'll know who to go to for parts. Additionally, once I reach $1,000 in donations, I intend to file for non-profit status, so you'll get a tax deduction on your donation (even if you contributed money before I file).

.: Yeah, but your car's ugly! What good does your engine do me if I have to drive something that looks like that?

I'm going to be designing the thing so that it should be relatively easy to drop it into any rear wheel drive car built before the mid-1980s.

.: Why not a modern car? And what about front wheel drive vehicles?

Modern cars are simply way too computerized for me to be able to do this economically. I'd need all kinds of fancy gear (that only a car dealer would have) as well as an army of techs who know how to use the stuff and figure out how to work around any problems that would crop up.

And a front wheel drive car should be possible, but it's not something that I want to tackle right now. The amount of available room in such a car is pretty limited, and since this will be a pretty "rough-and-ready" prototype, I'd rather use a car with as much available room as possible. Once I get this car built, I'll certainly be willing to tackle a front wheel drive vehicle, if someone's willing to pay for it.

.: What kind of qualifications do you have? How do I know you're not some crazy scam artist or something?

Photo of the test vehicle

As far as qualifications go, I've been a machinist for nearly ten years now, during that time I've made parts for nearly every major car maker, components for military hardware, and I also served as a consultant on the restoration of a 1948 Tucker which once belonged to George Lucas. You can see photos and videos of the restoration of the Tucker here. Additionally, I've spent some 10 plus years trying to figure out a way to drive older vehicles in an evironmentally friendly manner. Finally, I won't be doing this alone. I have friends who're professional engineers in a variety of fields (including such areas as mechanical engineering and powerplant operation), who've graciously agreed to help me on this project.

.: If I choose to donate, how much of my money will go towards building the car?

Almost all of it. Once I get the initial costs of getting the non-profit set up, all the money I recieve will go towards building the engine, restoring the car, paying for the necessary insurance, taxes, testing, and entry fees for car shows. I will not be using the money for any living expenses I might have, or take it as salary. I will be posting scans of receipts, as well as all financial information I possibly can. If you don't see a particular piece of information, feel free to email me, and I'll do my best to answer your question.

.: How much is this going to cost?

That depends upon a number of factors. The total cost of the car, customizations and all, if I have to pay for everything will be approximately $25,000. However, the actual cost could be a great deal lower. It really depends on if folks are willing to donate their labor and/or supplies to help with the project. I estimate that someone who was only looking to build the engine and boiler could do it for about $6,000.

.: Can't you get a grant or something?

Sure, do you know of a professional grant writer who's willing to give me a hand with this? I'm not kidding, grant writing is an art, one at which I'm not skilled in. Certainly, I intend to apply for some when I get the chance, but I don't have expectations that I'll actually get any. Nor is getting a grant a guarantee that I'll be able to make this technology freely available to everyone, which is my primary goal, after getting the car up and running. Back in the 1970s a father and son team, while working for the EPA, developed a steam powered car which met all emissions and fuel economy requirements set forth by the EPA to be considered successful. It even got a write up in Popular Science (link goes to a PDF of the article, and also includes the fuel economy listings for new cars in 1974), but that wasn't enough to get people interested in building the cars.

.: Are you going to keep bugging me for money if I donate anything?

Nope. I'm only asking for a one-time donation, and I will not share your information with anyone, unless you give your permission.

.: Okay, you've convinced me. How can I help?

Well, you can donate money by clicking this button:

.: thank you!

Thank you for paying attention this far. The site's always under construction, so check back often for updates (click "Latest News" to read my blog). I apologize if it seems like nothing ever changes, but I am not a web designer, and unless I can get someone to volunteer to take over handling the website, its going to take me a while to make big changes to this site.