[seattle smitty]

Hey, I have had the same thing happen, and evidently my posts were turned down (???). This week I tried to post to the Technical Articles forum (which automatically requires approval, I believe), to a thread by Robert McDonald in which he solicited requests from readers for diesel-related topics. My post never has appeared. I think I also PM'ed Mr. McDonald with the same comments. I don't care if they are printed, just that he can see them.

Here is what I wrote:



Mr. McDonald,

I saw that you were guaging interest here in diesel topics, and would like to put in my two cents. I observed to Mr. Vizard some time ago that a lot of people here, and a lot of old racers and rodders elsewhere, are increasingly interested in rebuilding street engines for increased efficiency, meaning better throttle response and low-to-midrange power when needed, and better fuel economy all the time. My suggestion was that the GFN crew consider opening a separate "Fuel Efficiency" forum, since the topic is getting some attention already. A lot of us don't need or want 500hp for the street. What we want is ways to cut our consumption of $100/barrel petroleum.

This particularly applies to operators of big commercial vehicles. My mobile-welding service truck has a Ford 460 engine, which I will shortly rebuild with tight-squish closed-chamber 429 heads, better exhaust system, better carb and manifold, and all the standard tricks for improving efficiency (it will make a lot more power, too, but that isn't particularly important). A lot of my customers run diesel trucks and diesel equipment, and burn hundreds of gallons a week, and the cost of fuel is a huge issue with them. Many of them are mechanically skilled enough to rebuild and modify their equipment, and any pointers you can provide that will cut their fuel burn would be most welcome.

Personally, I will shortly be working on a couple of small diesels for daily-drivers, a Toyota 1C-T in an '85 Camry, and a Nissan SD-22 for my little pickup.

What I'm getting at is that maybe not all of your readers here will be building mega-horsepower off-road monster-trucks, but would still like to know about rebuilding diesels for increased efficiency (now I hope the monster truckers don't run over my thread!!).