True story from 38 years ago:

My first car was a Corvair van.  It was an opposed 6 cylinder with two carbs , one for three cylinders.  I paid four hundred dollars for it.  First automobiles are an unbelievable feeling, as most of us remember. 

I remembering asking the woman about the mileage of the van (I think remembering back I was trying to ask questions that would get her to lower the price.)    She said he saved all the receipts (he had just passed away - purchased the van from his wife) and pulled them out.  The last receipt for fuel was from almost a year ago!  I asked her how that was possible and she said it got very good millage.  I just figured she was wrong, as that did not seem possible in my mind.  I paid her for the van, and off I went.

The first thing I noticed was the complete and total lack of power it had.  If it was uphill, there was ZERO acceleration, and I mean ZERO.  If you hit a hill at ten MPH, you stayed that speed till the crest of the hill.  Level was also rather slow, but it would accelerate somewhat.  After a few weeks, I was delighted to learn one if not both carbs were altered.  The most noticeable alteration was the fact that the drivers side carb was completely disconnected to the foot pedal.  Once I re hooked that up, I could now get the acceleration any first time driver was looking for.  I now noticed my ever stable and non-moving gas gauge was now dropping.  I did not care as gas was 26 cents a gallon!   26 cents!  ( I remember as my first job as pumping gas.) I drove it for six or so months as I remember before I found something bigger and faster than the opposed six.  I do not even remember what ever happened to that van.  As I remember it just failed due to a broken steering linkage, and I just abandoned it under a bridge.  Yes I was a stupid boy in my youth.

Thinking back, I wonder what that man had done to that van to make it run so slow and so long on a tank of fuel.  I remember fully that he only purchased fuel every 9 months or so, I had the receipts and the odometer numbers.  It seems to me it was getting 80 mpg, but I would not swear it was that exactly.  I remember my friends did not believe me as to the millage.  I also remember the fuel gauge did not move as I drove and drove and drove it.  I also remember it did not accelerate very well or at all up a slight hill.

Just a true story about something I remember very little about, except I was there in a time where fuel was cheep, and vehicles were simpler and easy to do modifications on.

Maybe that is why the government wanted the Corvair done in!  I loved mine and will always think back of it fondly wishing I still had it.

Hi all,
  Here's my fuel vaporizer. Some details later.

How does the cat help?

About 85% of the gasoline is still SLOWLY burning when the exhaust valve opens. About 200 feet per second.
 Gasoline burns very fast when broken down to the molecular level.

.

it looks like an interesting approach, how's the 4.6 do with it on?

I still need to hook all the controls up to it. It was first enstalled on my 400hp 351c engine. 

At 40F temps, the engine started at a 20 to 1 air fuel ratio.

Very nice, was the head temp kept under control,(no melted pistons). What heats the cat up?

The 351c had exhaust temps of only 500F, after running from 1000 to 1600 rpm's, for 3 minutes.