Is there a simple way to divorce my existing car from $3.00 gasoline?

Question

"Simple" meaning something I or my husband can do without having to install a different engine.

Answer 1

You can make your own fuel for 75 cents a gal. A guy in Tennessee sells legal stills.

Answer 2

To make it simple, NO!  Propane is an alternative fuel, but it has less energy per gallon and the price may be no better.

If it is an old rear-wheel drive you could put in an electric motor, rechargeable batteries and use a small steam engine to power a generator to keep the batteries charged.  You'd plug it in to recharge at home. Very clean and able to use any liquid or gaseous fuel you choose.

Answer 3

Sorry but no.

Answer 4

Probably not... Gasoline engines are engineered to run on gasoline and you should not change them to such things as ethanol or E85 without changing a lot of the internal gaskets which ethanol tends to harm...

Now, I am unsure of the guy who said something about propane but that I believe that propane is at least as expensive, if not more expensive, than gasoline on a per BTU basis (a measure of the heat). Finally, I doubt if it is street legal per the EPA.. so..

Answer 5

Basically no.  There are ways that you could convert your existing engine to operate on some other fuel, but these are all probably more complex and intensive than actually replacing the engine (which probably won't do much either).  Such projects are usually more in the hobby category than necessity category.

If you really want to cheaply reduce your fuel usage, purchase a later model (important for the computer controlled engines and durability) used compact car.  These get great mileage, cost little, and further (since you're not increasing demand for new vehicle production) have less impact on the environment.

The Japanese imports seem to be your best bet for durability and engine efficiency, but if you could find a used VW diesel in good shape (fat chance) you'd be sitting pretty.

Answer 6

Yes!

You can convert diesel engines to run on used cooking oil.

See link.

Answer 7

If you drive that far to and from work, I'm guessing you live in a rural area where propane tanks and deliveries are common.  And since you say its an old jalopy, then perhaps it doesn't have as much sophisticated electronics and fuel injection systems as new cars now have.  So a propane conversion may be the ticket for you, check this link out, I have a friend who uses this on an offroad application, and it works great!!!