The TECODRIVE 7000 is a prototype built in 1991 at the request of the Department of Energy in California. The Department of Energy has build 10 prototypes with the purpose to study the conversion of school buses from gas to CNG. The Tecodrive 7000 is the first CNG vehicle certified in California. It only has 248 on the odometer. I am the 3rd owner of the Tecodrive 7000. The engine is a BBC tall deck 427 Mark IV, 7.0 L, precisely, it is a 427 High Performance.
GM stopped the production of the 427 in 1969. Since I have bought the Tecodrive 7000, the common argument from the mechanics has been "no, it cannot be a BBC 427 because GMC had stopped the production in 1969". BUT, yes it is, because Tecogen has built the prototype on a used engine. Tecogen has used the block of a 427 tall deck, to build the prototype described in a patent released by Tecogen on August 18, 1993:
A method for converting a diesel engine to a natural gas fueled engine, the method comprising the steps of providing new cam profiles on a cam shaft portion of the diesel engine, the new cam profiles being operative to close intake valves of cylinder heads of the engine during intake strokes, operative to close exhaust valves of the cylinder heads, and operative no earlier than the exhaust valves closures to open associated intake valves, modifying portions of the cylinder heads to adapt the cylinder heads to accept spark plugs, fixing spark plugs in the cylinder heads, providing means for conveying natural gas fuel to the intake valves, providing a blower for supplying air under pressure to the intake valves, and providing an after-cooler for cooling the air supplied by the blower prior to the air reaching the intake valves.
The Tecogen 7000 was built on an Otto-cycle engine as described in the certification provided by ARB. In the field of invention of the patent, Tecogen describes:
(...) This invention relates to internal combustion engines, and is directed more particularly to a method for converting a four-stroke cycle diesel engine to a spark ignition natural gas fueled engine.(...) It therefore would be beneficial to have available a method by which a diesel engine could be converted to run on natural gas, without the requirement of substantial modification or replacement of the cylinder heads and/ or pistons, and which would provide for proper timing of exhaust valve and inlet valve operation.In accordance with a further feature of the conversion process, there is provided blower means 26 for compressing air to an elevated pressure and directing the air under pressure to the intake valves 10. In a preferred embodiment, the blower means 26 forces air into the carburetor 22 to mix with fuel and, thence, into the intake manifold 24 and through the intake valves 10 into the cylinder 13.To avoid self ignition of a portion of the fuel-air mixture during the combustion process, or "knock", as a consequence of temperature rise in compression, there is provided an after-cooler 28 which receives the air discharge of the blower and releases cooled compressed air into ducting 30 leading to the intake manifold 24.To control the power of the engine, there is provided a throttle valve 32 disposed in the ducting 30 between the carburetor 22 and the intake manifold 24 and adapted to selectively increase and decrease the flow of fuel-air mixture into the intake manifold.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FROM THE TECOGEN PATENT
Reference is made to the accompanying drawings in which is shown an illustrative embodiment of the invention, from which its novel features and advantages will be apparent. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a graph representing the pressure-volume characteristics of a conventional diesel engine and the pressure-volume characteristics of the same engine converted to natural gas fuel in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a series of stylized diagrammatic representations of an engine cylinder with its piston disposed in various positions corresponding to locations on the graph of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the natural gas fueled engine and associated components after completion of the conversion.
In Historical Review of the Big Block Chevrolet - Complete History of Big-Block Chevrolet Engines - Written by Tony Huntimer and published on Checydiy.com, I found some precious informations to continue the identification of the engine and especially, the tall deck:
The early tall deck (10.2-inch) Mark IV blocks are harder to find than standard 9.8-inch deck blocks. While these tall deck engines are usually torque monsters, they produce very little top-end power unless they are rebuilt with the right parts; high-flow heads, large valves, high duration cams, etc. Drag racers seek out these tall deck blocks because they want to punch out a huge bore and cram a big-armed stroker crank in the main caps. You need to check your block casting numbers to identify your block before starting your project. A tall deck engine may not be suitable for your application. Because the deck of the block is taller, the heads are farther apart, which requires a special wider intake manifold or adapter spacers to bolt a standard deck intake manifold. These engines are wider and taller, and you may run into problems fitting one in your engine compartment under the hood. For a typical street car, it takes more money to get respectable power output from a tall deck Mark IV block, rather than a standard deck block. If you have any concerns about using a tall deck for your application, check with your machine shop or speed shop for advice.
(...) All tall deck truck blocks had the word “TRUCK” cast into the back of the block. All other production (non- GM Performance and performance after market) big-blocks had the words “HI PER PASS” cast into the back of the block denoting a high performance passenger car.
GM Performance cast-iron blocks feature 9.8-inch and 10.2-inch deck heights. GM also offers a new and improved ZL-1 aluminum standard deck height block that is based on original tooling. If you find one of these new GM engines, it will be easily identified as a new performance engine by the “GM” logo cast into the block or the lack of other “classic” cast markings. If you are looking to find a high-performance big-block to build and don’t have to use a classic Mark IV, you can simply purchase a new GM block already equipped with billet main caps and other upgrades designed to hold the stresses of 1,000-plus horsepower.
From the certification of the Tecodrive 7000, we know that Tecogen has used a three-way catalyst AC Rochester PN 25128946, an AC Delco PN 1103791 for the ignition system, two regulators and a mixer for the fuel system, an IMPCO mixer PN CA425M-2, IMPCO HP regulator PN HPR-501 and IMPCO LP regulator PN PEV-1.
This technology could lower the emissions of non-methane hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides by 5.66, 2.55 and 3.57 times lower than the emission standards.
There is fewer literature on tall decks than there is on standard BBC 427, but here on Wikipedia, we find some interesting information about the carburetor.
On the blog "all about diesel", we find an interesting description of the Gen II Mark IV engines:
On the Hemming forum, we learn more of this legendary engine:
In this world of innovation, one man has probably initiated the revolution that brought to the Tecodrive 7000. In the 60th while attending law school, Ralph Nader started his thesis with those words : "For over half a century, the automobile industry has brought death, injury and an inestimable sorrow and desperation to million of people". With the mystery engine, General Motors had created the euphoria that muscle cars owners, mechanics and fans had fantasized on public roads and Hollywood movies. It was the era of Goldfinger and other mystery cars that were not "just cars", but real industrial myths.
The highly successful and versatile 427 cu in (7.0 L) version of the Mark IV engine was introduced in 1966 as a production engine option for full-sized Chevrolets and Corvettes. The bore was increased to 4 1⁄4 in (110 mm), with power ratings varying widely depending on the application. There were smooth running versions with hydraulic lifters suitable for powering the family station wagon, as well as rough-idling, high-revving solid lifter models usually applied to a minimally equipped, plain-looking, two-door Biscayne sedan fitted with the 425 hp (317 kW) version of the 427 - (RPO L72). Perhaps the ultimate 427 for street applications was the 435 bhp (441 PS; 324 kW) at 5800 rpm and 460 lb⋅ft (624 N⋅m) at 4000 rpm of torque L71 version available in 1967 to 1969 Corvettes, and in the Italian Iso Grifo. This engine was identical to the 425 hp (317 kW) L72 427 (first introduced in 1966), but was fitted with 3X2-barrel Holley carburetors, known as "Tri-Power", in lieu of the L72's single 4-barrel carburetor. Both engines used the same high-lift, long-duration, high-overlap camshaft and large-port, cast-iron heads to maximize cylinder head airflow (and, hence, engine power) at elevated engine-operating speeds. Consequently, the engines offered very similar performance and resulted in a car whose performance was described by one automotive journalist as "the ultimate in sheer neck-snapping overkill".
Typical magazine road tests of the day yielded 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.6 seconds and 1⁄4 mile (402 m) in 13.8 second at 104 mph (167 km/h) range for both the L72 and L71. In 2011, Super Chevy Magazine conducted a chassis dynamometer test of a well documented, production-line, stock but well-tuned L-72 "COPO" Camaro, and recorded a peak 287 hp (214 kW) at the rear wheels, demonstrating the substantial difference between 1960s-era SAE "gross" horsepower ratings and horsepower at the wheels on a chassis dynomometer. Wheel horsepower (which is obtained at the drive wheels and thus takes into account drivetrain power loss) does not equate to SAE net HP (which is horsepower at the flywheel, like SAE gross, but with all accessories included, unlike SAE gross). The RPO L89 was an L71 fitted with aluminum heads. While this option produced no power advantage, it did reduce engine (and hence, vehicle) weight by roughly 75 pounds (34 kg). This resulted in superior vehicle weight distribution for improved handling, although the difference in straight line performance was negligible. The 1969 ZL1 version of the 427 engine was developed primarily for Can-Am racing, where it was very successful in cars like the McLaren M8B. The ZL1 specifications were nearly identical to the production L88 version of the 427, but featured an all-aluminum cylinder block, in addition to aluminum cylinder heads, which dropped the total engine weight into small-block territory (approx. 575 lb or 261 kg dressed).
The first Corvette RPO ZL1 engine package was built in late Fall 1968 and featured aluminum closed chamber heads, until sometime in 1969, when the Corvette ZL1 engine changed to having open combustion chamber aluminum cylinder heads, as the 1969 L88 had. The ZL1 engine also featured a light weight aluminum water pump, a camshaft that was slightly "hotter" than the L88's, and a specially tuned aluminum intake manifold. Like the L88, the ZL1 required 103 octane (RON) (minimum) fuel, used an unshrouded radiator, and had poor low speed idle qualities - all of which made the two engines largely unsuitable for street use. (102 octane RON [Sunoco 260] represented the highest octane gasoline sold at common retail stations.) As impressive as the ZL1 was in its day, actual engine dyno tests of a certified production line stock ZL1 revealed 376 hp (280 kW) SAE net with output swelling to 524 hp (391 kW) SAE gross with the help of optimal carb and ignition tuning, open long tube racing headers, and with no power-sapping engine accessories or air cleaner in place.
A second engine dyno test conducted on a second production line stock (but recently rebuilt and partially blueprinted) ZL1 revealed nearly identical figures for the various "gross" conditions. Period magazine tests of the ZL1 were quite rare due to the rarity of the engine itself. High-Performance Cars tested a production line stock, but well tuned, example and recorded a 13.1 second/110 mph (180 km/h) 1⁄4 mile (402 m), which correlates quite well with the previously referenced 376 hp (280 kW) SAE Net figure. Super Stock and Drag Racing Magazine recorded an 11.62 second/122.15 mph (196.58 km/h) 1⁄4 mile (402 m) in a ZL1 Camaro that was professionally tuned and driven by drag racing legend Dick Harrell, although that car was also equipped with open long-tube S&S equal-length headers, drag slicks, and minor suspension modifications. Using Patrick Hale's Power/Speed formula, the 122.15 mph (196.58 km/h) trap speed indicated low 11-second ET (elapsed time) potential (e.g. with larger drag slicks) and suggested something on the order of 495 hp (369 kW), "as installed", in that modified configuration. This large difference in power suggests that the OEM exhaust manifolds and exhaust system were highly restrictive in the ZL1 application, as was also the case with the similar L88.
The $4,718 cost of the ZL1 option doubled the price of the 1969 Corvette, but resulted in a car with exceptional performance for its day. Just two production Corvettes (factory option at dealer) and 1969 Camaros (non-dealer option from factory - COPO 9560) were built with the ZL1.
Chevrolet capitalized on the versatility of the 427 design by producing a wide variety of high-performance, "over-the-counter" engine components as well as ready-to-race "replacement" engines in shipping crates. Some of the components were developed to enhance the engine's reliability during high RPM operation, possibly justifying the use of the description "heavy duty." However, most of these items were racing parts originally designed for Can-Am competition that found their way onto dealers' shelves, and were meant to boost the engine's power output.
Beginning in 1969, the highest performance 427 models were fitted with the new open (vs. closed) chamber cylinder heads, along with design improvements in crankshafts, connecting rods, and pistons, adopted from the Can-Am development program
(...) Commercial applications
Mark IV engines saw extensive application in Chevrolet and GMC medium duty trucks, as well as in Blue Bird Corporation's All American and TC/2000 transit buses (the latter up until 1995, using a 427 with purpose-built carburetor). In addition to the 427, a 366 cu in (6.0 L) version was produced for the commercial market. Both the 366 and 427 commercial versions were built with a raised-deck, four-bolt main bearing cap cylinder to accommodate an extra oil control ring on the pistons. Unfortunately, the raised deck design complicated the use of the block in racing applications, as standard intake manifolds required spacers for proper fit. Distributors with adjustable collars that allowed adjustments to the length of the distributor shaft also had to be used with 366 and 427 truck blocks.
Mark IV engines also found themselves widely used in power boats, a natural application for these robust power plants. Many of these engines were ordinary Chevrolet production models that were fitted with the necessary accessories and drive system to adapt them to marine propulsion. Mercury Marine, in particular, was a major user of the Mark IV in marine drives, and relabeled the engines with their corporate logo.
On the blog "all about diesel", we find an interesting description of the Gen II Mark IV engines:
The Chevrolet "Big Block" is a term for a series of large displacement V8 engines that were developed in the USA during the 1950s to the early 1970s. As American automobiles grew in size and weight following the Second World War, the engines powering them had to keep pace. Chevrolet had introduced its popular small block V8 in 1955, but needed something larger to power its medium duty trucks and the heavier cars that were on the drawing board.
Generation 1: W-series The first version of the "Big Block" V8 Chevrolet engine, known as the W-series, was introduced in 1958.
(...) The W-series engine was made of cast iron. The engine block had 4.84-inch (123 mm) bore centers, two-bolt main bearing caps, a "side oiling" lubrication system (the main oil gallery located low on the driver's side of the crankcase), with full-flow oil filter, and interchangeable cylinder heads. Heads used on the high performance 409 and 427 engines had larger ports and valves than those used on the 348 and the base 409 passenger car and truck engines, but externally were identical to the standard units. One minor difference between the 348 and 409/427 was the location of the engine oil dipstick: it was on the driver's side on the former and the passenger's side on the latter. No satisfactory explanation was ever offered for why this change was made. However, it did provide a fairly reliable way to differentiate between the smaller and larger versions of the engine.
As with the 265- and 283-cubic-inch "Small Block" engines, the W-series valve gear consisted of tubular steel push rods operating stud-mounted, stamped-steel rocker arms. The push rods also acted as conduits for oil flow to the valve gear. Due to the relatively low mass of the valve train, mechanical lifter versions of the W-series engine were capable of operating at speeds well beyond 6000 RPM (revolutions per minute).
Unlike many of its contemporaries, the combustion chamber of the W-series engine was in the upper part of the cylinder, not the head, the head having only tiny recesses for the valves. This arrangement was achieved by combining a cylinder head deck that was not perpendicular to the bore with a crowned piston, which was a novel concept in American production engines of the day. As the piston approached top dead center, the angle of the crown combined with that of the head deck to form a wedge-shaped combustion chamber with a pronounced quench area. The spark plugs were inserted vertically into the quench area, which helped to produce a rapidly moving flame front for more complete combustion. The theory behind this sort of arrangement is that maximum brake mean effective pressure (BMEP) is developed at relatively low engine speeds, resulting in an engine with a broad torque curve. With its relatively flat torque characteristics, the "W" engine was well-suited to propelling both the trucks and heavier cars that were in vogue in the USA at the time.
The W-series was a physically massive engine when compared to the "Small Block" Chevrolet engine. It had a dry weight of approximately 665 pounds (302 kg), depending on the type of intake manifold and carburetion systems present.
(...) Generation 2: Mark IV Series Development of the second generation Big-Block started with the so-called Mystery Motor (Mark II Z33 427) used in Chevrolet's 1963 Daytona 500 record-setting stock cars. This "secret" engine was a substantially modified form of the W-series engine, and was subsequently released for production use in mid-1965 as the Mark IV, referred to in sales literature as the "Turbo-Jet V8".
Where the Mark IV differed from the W-series engine was in the placement of the valves and the shape of the combustion chambers. Gone was the chamber-in-block design of the W-series engine (which caused the power curve to drastically dip above 6500 RPM), and in its place was a more conventional wedge chamber in the cylinder head, which was now attached to a conventional 90 degree deck. The valves continued to use the displaced arrangement of the W-series engine, but were also inclined so that they would open away from the combustion chamber and cylinder walls, a design feature made possible by Chevrolet's stud mounted rocker arms. This alteration in valve placement resulted in a significant improvement in volumetric efficiency at high RPM and a substantial increase in power output at racing speeds. Owing to the appearance of the compound angularity of the valves, the automotive press dubbed the engine the "porcupine" design.
As part of the head redesign, the spark plugs were relocated so that they entered the combustion chamber at an angle relative to the cylinder centerline, rather than the straight-in relationship of the W-series engine. This too helped high RPM performance. Due to the new spark plug angle, the clearance provided by the distinctive scalloped valve covers of the W-series was no longer needed, and wide, rectangular covers were used.
In all forms (except the ZL-1 Can-Am model), the rat motor, as it was later nicknamed (the small-block engine being a "mouse motor"), was slightly heavier than the W-series model, with a dry weight of about 685 pounds (311 kg). Aside from the new cylinder head design and the reversion to a conventional 90 degree cylinder head deck angle, the Mark IV shared many dimensional and mechanical design features with the W-series engine. The cylinder block, although more substantial in all respects, used the same cylinder bore pitch of 4.84" with a larger 2.75" main bearing dimension, increased from the 2.50" of the older engine (in fact, the shorter-stroke 348 and 409 crankshafts could be installed with the use of "spacer bearings" without modifying the crankshaft). Like its predecessor, the Mark IV used crowned pistons, which were castings for conventional models and impact extruded (forged), solid skirt types in high performance applications.
Also retained from the W-series design were the race-proven Moraine M400 aluminum bearings first used in the 409, as well as the highly efficient "side oiling" lubrication system, which assured maximum oil flow to the main and connecting rod bearings at all times. Later blocks intended for performance use had the main oil gallery moved up to the cam bearing bore area and provided "priority main" oiling, improving the oil system even further. These features, along with the robust crankcase design, sturdy forged steel crankshaft and massive four-bolt main bearing caps used in the high performance versions, resulted in what many have considered to be the most rugged and reliable large displacement automotive V8 engine design of all time.
On the Hemming forum, we learn more of this legendary engine:
Larger automobile engines have been built. Smaller engines have made more horsepower. A variety of other engines have won more races. Yet few V-8s have offered massive displacement to performance-hungry hordes and taken on such legendary status like the Chevrolet Mark IV big-block V-8 has. Fifty years after its introduction, the big-block remains as well respected as ever and worth a look at what made it more than just a supersized version of the ubiquitous small-block.
Used to seeing 409s and their distinctive rocker arm covers power Chevrolets around stock-car racing tracks for the previous few years, everybody in attendance at the 1963 Daytona 500 had to wonder just what Junior Johnson and a few other Chevrolet racers had under their hoods, propelling them to speeds of up to 165 MPH. It didn’t help much that the Chevrolet racers called it a Mystery Motor and left it at that. As it turned out, though the engine looked nothing like a 409 or any other W-series V-8, it shared a basic bottom-end design and bore centers (though not the overall block design) with the first-generation Chevrolet big-block and had been designed as an evolution of the she’s-so-fine engine. Dubbed the Mark II, it came in at 427 cubic inches and introduced a canted-valve cylinder head that helped the engine breathe better and that moved the wedge-shaped combustion chamber from the cylinder chamber (as in the 409) to the cylinder head. It also did away with the angled deck of the W-series V-8 and made the deck perpendicular to the bores.
GM’s withdrawal from racing in 1963 kept Chevrolet’s engineers from producing more than a few dozen of the Mark II big-blocks for racers and thus from supporting those racers who continued to use the Mystery Motor, but development continued on the big-block as a street engine within the halls of GM. A Mark III version reportedly used larger bore centers and was never prototyped (alternately, former Chevrolet engineer Bill Howell claimed the Mark III designation was to have been applied to Packard’s V-8, should GM have bought that tooling), leading to the Mark IV.
Based on ideas proposed by Corvair engine designer Robert Benzinger, a team consisting of Richard Keinath, Herbert Good, William Polkinghorne, Fred Frincke, Denny Wade, and Cal Davis began designing an engine with high-flowing heads as a priority over valvetrain packaging. Similar to the Mark II, the Mark IV used a so-called porcupine head with the staggered and canted valves operated by pushrods and stamped rocker arms, but it also used a stouter crankshaft and bottom end with larger bearing surfaces and four-bolt main caps for the more powerful versions. Chevrolet dubbed it the Turbo-Jet and introduced it in 1965, at first only as a 396-cubic-inch engine available in the Corvette, full-size cars (replacing the 409 partway through the model year), and the limited-edition Chevelle Z16.
For the following year, Chevrolet bored out the 396 to bring a 427 into the Mark IV family and began offering it in full-sizes and Corvettes. Though corporate edict forbade installing anything larger than 400 cubic inches in intermediates and compacts—and thus restricting the Chevelle to the 396 as a top engine—plenty of dealerships and tuners found success swapping 427s for 396s in Chevelles, Camaros and Novas throughout the late 1960s. That edict would come to an end in 1970, the peak of the muscle car era in Detroit, when Chevrolet bumped the Mark IV big-block to 454 cubic inches.
While muscle car fanatics know those three variants of the Mark IV—and their multitudinous designations: L78, L36, L88, L89, LS6, ZL1—by heart, Chevrolet also built a 402-cubic-inch version (a bored-out 396 offered from 1969 through 1972) and a 366-cubic-inch version (a tall-deck truck engine offered from the 1960s through the 1990s) as well as a 496-cubic-inch version (another truck engine offered from 2001 through 2009) and 502-cubic-inch and 572-cubic-inch versions (available only through GM’s performance parts catalog).
In passenger cars, the Mark IV lasted through 1976, but as indicated above, the Mark IV lived on afterward in both light-duty and heavy-duty trucks and vans, eventually incorporating a number of updates to become the Vortec 7400 and Vortec 8100 in 1996. Production continued until December 2009.
Like the small-block Chevrolet, the Mark IV big-block made its way under the hood of more than just Chevrolet and GMC products. A number of Can-Am cars, including the Chaparral 2F and McLaren M8 series, used 427s, as did the Iso Grifo 7-Litre, but perhaps the most widespread use of the Mark IV big-block V-8 (next to its use in boat and drag racing and in street rods) was in commercial applications, most notably powering transit buses, motorhomes, and even the Russian-built T-98 Kombat armored off-road vehicle.The Tecodrive 7000 had this in common with the L71, L72 and L88 that the block was cast iron. The heads of the L71 and L72 were both cast iron like the Tecodrive 7000 while the heads of the L88 were aluminum. The L71 had a Tri-Power carburetor while the L72 had one four-barrel carburetor.
Though no longer in production (at least not for installation in new cars), the Mark IV big-block Chevrolet V-8 remains one of the most supported engines on the performance aftermarket and a staple of GM’s crate engine program.
In this world of innovation, one man has probably initiated the revolution that brought to the Tecodrive 7000. In the 60th while attending law school, Ralph Nader started his thesis with those words : "For over half a century, the automobile industry has brought death, injury and an inestimable sorrow and desperation to million of people". With the mystery engine, General Motors had created the euphoria that muscle cars owners, mechanics and fans had fantasized on public roads and Hollywood movies. It was the era of Goldfinger and other mystery cars that were not "just cars", but real industrial myths.
Considered the father of the CONSUMER PROTECTION movement, Ralph Nader has had a great effect on U.S. law and public policy of the late twentieth century. (...) It was at Harvard that he first became interested in auto safety. After studying auto-injury cases, in 1958 he published his first article on the subject, "American Cars: Designed for Death," in the Harvard Law Record. It contained a thesis that he would bring to national attention in the mid-1960s: Auto fatalities result not just from driver error, as the auto industry had maintained, but also from poor vehicle design.
For the first time in car history, the designers and the manufacturers were led responsible of the safety of their consumers. When the Congress passed the laws on consumer and environmental protection, manufacturers and corporations were asked not only to innovate and to win the industrial race, but lead the market with a new kind of innovation that would care of the public safety. In the continuity of Nader, California passed the laws for environmental safety. This is the birth of the Tecodrive 7000, made at the request of the Department of Energy, thought buy politicians and an environmental organization, created by a non-vehicle maker for the safety of school buses. As Blue Bird tags it in its buses, "Your Children Safety is our business".
Tecogen Inc initiated a movement that was not only about performance to speed, but also performance to pollute less, performance to be adaptable on many different vehicles, performance to create a technology at the demand of visionary people who took at heart a better living. The Tecodrive 7000 was not to create a market, but to adapt the market and to create the need above all expectations and standards. While the standards of ARB was providing a level of admissible pollution, Tecogen Inc has created an engine 2.5 to 5.5 times less polluting than any other engine.
With the tall deck, General Motors had made a positive move in the evolution of the industry of the Big Block Chevy that probably saved the engine from political and industrial crash. More accident meant more risks, more insurance, more costs, and finally, more selection of the consumers from the wallet. GM would not have made an industry with Nasa Corvettes, Aerovettes and concept cars, but this market of dreams and fantasies survived because the more secure world of Blue Birds made it last in slow motion for the public. In facts, Tecogen Inc could have been in the competition with racing cars since the tall deck is the bigger version of a muscle car with more volume and more power. The Tecogen Inc engine has been built with a cast iron block and cast iron heads to sustain the heat, the reliability and the performance of the engine but cast iron was heavy what the L88 had partially solved with aluminum heads and that the ZL1 had completely annihilated with a full aluminum block and heads to bring the weight of the engine to that of a mouse. Tecogen Inc saved on weight differently. Instead of replacing the cast iron with aluminum, the company changed liquid fuel with natural gas, making the engine last longer, safer and cleaner.
The fuel tank of a corvette is about 18.5 gallons resulting in a weight of 131 lbs with full tank, 2.47 cubic foot. The same volume of CNG only weights 19.79 pounds, 111 pounds less than a modern Corvette with a ZL1 full aluminum engine. To compare, when GM changed the heads of the L71 with aluminum to create the L89, it only saved 75 pounds. To generate with CNG the same amount of energy as 18.5 pounds of diesel, we need 104.71 pounds of CNG which is still 26 pounds less than the equivalent energy with diesel. The volume of CNG would be 13.08 cubic foot. A vehicle like the Tecodrive 7000 is equipped with 6 tanks of CNG of about 12 cubic foot each, about 6 times more than a car. The big block that was designed to propel a light weight race car has the same Hight Performance capacity to propel 29,800 pounds, this is 10.34 times heavier than the smallest orbital rocket.
When we go on forums, we observe the feeling of the "after market", and if tall decks are not as well known and popular than standard ones, the drag racers have created a network of fans who acknowledge the performance and the versatility of the tall deck 427 BBC.
But we find also a new generation of racers who convert their engines into CNG to reach the performance of green technologies. Less pollution, less cost on energy volumes and power, less costs on the buying process, more flexibility during the life of the vehicle and less costs on the maintenance since CNG is only gas, no residue in the engine. It results in more power from the wallet to a larger amount of people who can buy cars, reach high quality and performance with less money.
With only 10 prototypes of the Tecodrive 7000 in the world, this makes this engine very special and very precious to me, because if you read this blog, you'll see that the conversion of the Tecodrive 7000 into my art studio is more than a project. It's a commitment, something that bring my ideals to a higher standard. Something that brings me joy, fun and a philosophy of life just happier.
INTERNAL LINKS:
INTERNAL LINKS:
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
[Chorus]
Oh, you pretty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
We love you
And in pretty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
What we'll do
Near, far in our motorcar
Oh, what a happy time we'll spend
Bang bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four-fendered friend
Bang bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four-fendered friend
[repeat Chorus]
[Verse 1]
You're sweet as a thoroughbred
Your seats are a featherbed
You'll turn everybody's head today
We'll glide on our motor trip
With pride in our ownership
The envy of all we survey
[Chorus]
[Verse 2]
It's uncategorical!
A fuel burning oracle!
A phantasmagorical machine!
It's more than spectacular
To use the vernacular
It's wizard! it's smashing! It's keen
Oh, Chitty, you Chitty pretty Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
We love you
And Chitty he Chitty pretty Chitty Bang Bang
Loves us too
Hi Chitty, Lo Chitty, Wherever we go
On Chitty Chitty we depend
Bang bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four-fendered friend
Bang bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Our fine four-fendered friend. (Chitty Bang Bang
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, four-tendered Chitty Chitty friend)
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment