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| New "van" 30-33 MPG Even at that I will still have to raise my prices,, just not as much or as fast. |
The Wildfire Info
If it interests anyone else here is where you might get one. RPK Investment
Motors 402-466-7744 ask for Joe. He has 2 left and will take $6995.00 if you tell
him Davi Wayne-Disney told you about him. He is going to be putting them on
Craigs List or someplace for $7500.00. 8/31/11 Joe might be talked down on
the price if you agree to handle the task of getting a title. Apparently Nebraska
has changed the rules and is making him jump through a lot of extra hoops. If
you are in a state that has a Bonded Title program you should be able to do it
with little difficulty as long as there has never been a title application made in
any other state.
Now,, this is not going to be something you buy and immediately start doing a
lot of driving. I may eventually get the hang of it,, but getting in and out of the
front seat without banging my head on something seems to be an elusive art.
At present I would not recommend one of these for someone over 5' 8". On the
other hand,, getting in and out of the back seat is a breeze and there is enough
room in back that I am going to explore the idea of setting it up to work inside
if this AC thing http://www.swampy.net/mk3.html works as advertised. I have
the MK3. 8/31/11 Still working on getting the MK3 to drain properly. This is a
problem caused by all the dust down here in South Texas. It seems to clog up
the MK3 drain system.
The videos below are of the 2 cyl 650 cc version but the interior on the 800 cc
4 cyl 4 stroke water cooled version I have are identical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg8X2LyHfy0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WNbFEv0hRQ
The second video says it "has AC but the buttons are gone". NOPE,, no AC..
and there never were any buttons or levers. In fact,, there is no duct work to
any of those vent louvers on the dash.
First issue (for me at least down here in South Texas) is that there is hot water
running through the heater ALL the time. That is going to get a control valve
real quick. (DONE) Also the fan is single speed,, HIGH and loud. That will also
get changed pretty quick. 8/3/11 Accidentally found that there is an installed
stop valve. It is in the hose line to the heater but only accessible from under
the vehicle.
If your feet are as big as mine, you will need to have the foot pedals and
linkages adjusted. (DONE)
8/31/11 I have now adjusted the clutch cable. As it came you had to push the
clutch all the way to the floor and even then it wouldn't completely engage the
synchronizers so I could get it in reverse without some gear grinding. Also had
the gas cable break because of poor alignment between the cable and the
peddle. Used a cable from a bike brake cable repair kit as a replacement. I also
think heavy gage picture hanger wire would work. All together I have now
adjusted or replaced every cable on it.
Almost every cable or whatever running through the body is just an open hole
and will have to be sealed. (DONE) Also the body in general is light weight.
Think very early VW. Acceleration and shifting are very reminiscent of an old
VW too.
I have changed the 2 point shoulder harness that is connected to the seats for
3 point belts with all points connected to the body.
It comes with 12 X 4.5 8 ply bias nylon tires at 60 PSI that are not balanced..
Very hard ride and a lot of vibration. Takes 8-10 miles for the flat spots to
warm up and go away after it sits. Balancing them helped a lot. The vehicle
load weight rating has erroneously been listed as 600#. The rating is 630KG
which is 1389#
9/7/11 The spare doesn't fit the front hub. The stock tires are the same, but the
front rim requires a 1/2" bigger center hole than the back rims or the spare.
It is being advertised as getting anything from 60-75 mpg. The Odometer reads
in Kilometers and it may get 60-75 kilometers per gal.. which would be 37-46
mpg.
After getting a lot of strange millage results I found an APP for my cell phone
that turns it into a speed-o-meter and odometer. Wonder of all wonders,, when
the installed speed-o-meter read 50 mph,, the phone read 43 mph. This means
that it was reading about 14% higher than actual performance. I have now put
P165/80-13 tires on the back and when the speed-o-meter reads 50 mph the
phone reads a bit over 51 mph. This necessitated opening the front and sides
of the rear wheel wells out about 1 inch. Using P155/70- 13 tires would
probably make the speed-o-meter right or still a bit high but not require body
modification. With only me in it I get 34-37 MPG. With my sharpening
equipment (about 700 #) plus me in it I get 28-30 MPG. 8/31/11 I have changed
the configuration of the equipment I carry and reduced the weight about 300#.
This has raised the mileage to 29-33 mpg.
8/31/11
As the ambient temperature here has gone up, I have been having many
problems with the cooling system. Some are just poor quality control like loose
hose connections causing leaks and even having hoses come completely off
the nipples. Others seem to be design flaws.
The worst one is that the radiator is mounted in a way that severely restricts
the flow of air through at least 1/3 of the core. In addition when the wind is
blowing the same direction I am traveling, it seems to disrupt the overall air
flow and until the wind speed is high enough (30+ mph) to actually start
pushing the vehicle enough to reduce the engine load, it causes the engine
temperature to go up.
I am planning to relocate the radiator into the front behind the grills and put an
electric fan on it and some sheet metal to make more air go through the core.
This will also let me remove the permanent un-clutched fan from the motor. I
expect to get an improvement in fuel economy by not running a fan all the time.
If it interests anyone else here is where you might get one. RPK Investment
Motors 402-466-7744 ask for Joe. He has 2 left and will take $6995.00 if you tell
him Davi Wayne-Disney told you about him. He is going to be putting them on
Craigs List or someplace for $7500.00. 8/31/11 Joe might be talked down on
the price if you agree to handle the task of getting a title. Apparently Nebraska
has changed the rules and is making him jump through a lot of extra hoops. If
you are in a state that has a Bonded Title program you should be able to do it
with little difficulty as long as there has never been a title application made in
any other state.
Now,, this is not going to be something you buy and immediately start doing a
lot of driving. I may eventually get the hang of it,, but getting in and out of the
front seat without banging my head on something seems to be an elusive art.
At present I would not recommend one of these for someone over 5' 8". On the
other hand,, getting in and out of the back seat is a breeze and there is enough
room in back that I am going to explore the idea of setting it up to work inside
if this AC thing http://www.swampy.net/mk3.html works as advertised. I have
the MK3. 8/31/11 Still working on getting the MK3 to drain properly. This is a
problem caused by all the dust down here in South Texas. It seems to clog up
the MK3 drain system.
The videos below are of the 2 cyl 650 cc version but the interior on the 800 cc
4 cyl 4 stroke water cooled version I have are identical.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg8X2LyHfy0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WNbFEv0hRQ
The second video says it "has AC but the buttons are gone". NOPE,, no AC..
and there never were any buttons or levers. In fact,, there is no duct work to
any of those vent louvers on the dash.
First issue (for me at least down here in South Texas) is that there is hot water
running through the heater ALL the time. That is going to get a control valve
real quick. (DONE) Also the fan is single speed,, HIGH and loud. That will also
get changed pretty quick. 8/3/11 Accidentally found that there is an installed
stop valve. It is in the hose line to the heater but only accessible from under
the vehicle.
If your feet are as big as mine, you will need to have the foot pedals and
linkages adjusted. (DONE)
8/31/11 I have now adjusted the clutch cable. As it came you had to push the
clutch all the way to the floor and even then it wouldn't completely engage the
synchronizers so I could get it in reverse without some gear grinding. Also had
the gas cable break because of poor alignment between the cable and the
peddle. Used a cable from a bike brake cable repair kit as a replacement. I also
think heavy gage picture hanger wire would work. All together I have now
adjusted or replaced every cable on it.
Almost every cable or whatever running through the body is just an open hole
and will have to be sealed. (DONE) Also the body in general is light weight.
Think very early VW. Acceleration and shifting are very reminiscent of an old
VW too.
I have changed the 2 point shoulder harness that is connected to the seats for
3 point belts with all points connected to the body.
It comes with 12 X 4.5 8 ply bias nylon tires at 60 PSI that are not balanced..
Very hard ride and a lot of vibration. Takes 8-10 miles for the flat spots to
warm up and go away after it sits. Balancing them helped a lot. The vehicle
load weight rating has erroneously been listed as 600#. The rating is 630KG
which is 1389#
9/7/11 The spare doesn't fit the front hub. The stock tires are the same, but the
front rim requires a 1/2" bigger center hole than the back rims or the spare.
It is being advertised as getting anything from 60-75 mpg. The Odometer reads
in Kilometers and it may get 60-75 kilometers per gal.. which would be 37-46
mpg.
After getting a lot of strange millage results I found an APP for my cell phone
that turns it into a speed-o-meter and odometer. Wonder of all wonders,, when
the installed speed-o-meter read 50 mph,, the phone read 43 mph. This means
that it was reading about 14% higher than actual performance. I have now put
P165/80-13 tires on the back and when the speed-o-meter reads 50 mph the
phone reads a bit over 51 mph. This necessitated opening the front and sides
of the rear wheel wells out about 1 inch. Using P155/70- 13 tires would
probably make the speed-o-meter right or still a bit high but not require body
modification. With only me in it I get 34-37 MPG. With my sharpening
equipment (about 700 #) plus me in it I get 28-30 MPG. 8/31/11 I have changed
the configuration of the equipment I carry and reduced the weight about 300#.
This has raised the mileage to 29-33 mpg.
8/31/11
As the ambient temperature here has gone up, I have been having many
problems with the cooling system. Some are just poor quality control like loose
hose connections causing leaks and even having hoses come completely off
the nipples. Others seem to be design flaws.
The worst one is that the radiator is mounted in a way that severely restricts
the flow of air through at least 1/3 of the core. In addition when the wind is
blowing the same direction I am traveling, it seems to disrupt the overall air
flow and until the wind speed is high enough (30+ mph) to actually start
pushing the vehicle enough to reduce the engine load, it causes the engine
temperature to go up.
I am planning to relocate the radiator into the front behind the grills and put an
electric fan on it and some sheet metal to make more air go through the core.
This will also let me remove the permanent un-clutched fan from the motor. I
expect to get an improvement in fuel economy by not running a fan all the time.