NOT A Good Idea - Making Smoke

[Howard Wright]

Also takes me back to my teenage years. I had an NSU Sport Prinz, rear engine 650cc air cooled 2 cyl. During a long fast  corner I happened to glance in the rearview and saw a 2 storey cloud that covered the road. Thinking I had blown the motor I pulled over to discover the open oilcan in the capacious rear had tipped over and dumped a pint onto the muffler.

 

Hi Squeak

I learnt to drive in the saloon version of the Prinz.  Great little car although I did spin it a couple of times soon after I passed my test.  The sports version looks superb.

Cheers

Howard

[Tony Griffiths]

My 1921 Sparkbrook 286cc 2-stroke Villiers-powered motorcycle (deflector-piston type) had a hand-operated, fuel-tank mounted pump that fed oil through an adjusted dial with a slight glass to check the flow rate. It was possible to drain a whole single shot of oil into the crankcase in one go and - when fitted with a Lodge 3-electrode spark plug - the engine would 8-stroke and produce, as one dropped into Monsal Dale, a very thick smoke cloud indeed. That the engine could manage this was astonishing and that Lodge plug had another benefit, on steep hills the bike would climb without having to get off and run alongside it as always happened no matter what make or grade of single-electrode plug was fitted.

[Steve Parkin]

I tried this with my Renault 4 in 1976 in the valleys on the Isle of Mull. 

We filled the valleys with smoke very effectively but getting over hills was a problem. I only had to fill the sump daily!

Modification resulted in an AA Relay from Strontium to Milton Keynes that took over 24 hours! AA. Relay didn't cover the islands so we had to drive off the island via the ferry.

Kept the piston as memorabilia.

[Steve Jones]

All the above smoke stories pale into insignificance when one of the floating gudgeon pins in my Ulsteroid special gouged a groove in the cylinder during a trip to the Scottish Highlands. I changed the late cylinder head with an early head that had 18mm plugs to keep it going.  It  ended up doing 20 miles to the gallon of oil.   It would still run and I set off on the way back to North Yorkshire, stopping in the Kwik Save in Kelso to buy a trolley load of cheap oil which at the time was £1.99 a gallon.   I blasted over Carter Bar with Andy Hastings following in his similar Ulsteroid.  Unfortunately he broke the crank trying to keep up by the Otterburn ranges and we both got a lift back home courtesy of the AA and RAC.  Having followed in my smoke screen, Andy and the car looked black.  Happy days.

The bore was damaged early doors on our way up. I think we stopped in Edinburgh on the first Sunday morning. When we set off again, the smoke from Malc's engine stopped the traffic on Princes Street Nevertheless, he got the car to Granton on Spey, did all the many and various runs through our time there and got it back to Otterburn by re-filling the oil and swapping plugs between cars. I'm sure he'd have got it home but took the chance with a lift from the AA when Andy's car broke its crank. At that point, we were maybe 10 or so minutes behind them and I remember briefly stopping to hear the news while they were waiting for their lift. As he says, happy days. Difficult to accept that it's now 25 years since that trip.

Steve

[Colin Morgan]

Actually, I would never dream of creating extra smoke - in fact, I have gone to the opposite extreme, which is what gave me the idea in the first place.

Having fitted one of these to my Ruby exhaust downpipe, once it is up to temperature, the CO, NOX and SOX are gone and the exhaust smells as sweet as fresh grass.  


  Catalytic Converter.jpg (Size: 87.56 KB / Downloads: 120)

Catalytic converter 'space velocity' calculations showed it would be just right for a Seven - everywhere except in really fussy California - and it was only £17.49 off ebay.

I have to remove it and use a hot flame to 'burn out the black' every few weeks which regenerates the titanium catalyst back to new - but it is easily done using meths in the back garden when the neighbours don't have their washing out.

Anyone else tried one?

[Andy Bennett]

I've had one of these for exactly a year, strange coincidence that. For cleaning I have found that putting it inside a quilt cover and then in the washing machine does the trick. The quilt cover stops it from smashing the glass window. I have also found that you can attach a vape cylinder to the inlet side so you can pick your own smell. My 7 is currently cherry and banana soufle.

[Steve kay]

Looks at calendar……….

[Colin Morgan]

Thanks, I'll try that, Andy - though I will have to time it so I don't get caught. Any smell is better than SOX?