Register now to get rid of these ads!

History Ssssssnake Oil Anyone?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by carbking, Mar 20, 2019.

  1. carbking
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 3,715

    carbking
    Member

    This thread is primarily for the youngsters among us that never had the pleasure of thumbing through the newest mail order parts catalog. And once one was done, since the pages were softer than the "slick" pages of the Sears and Wards catalogs, the pages had another use ;)

    But some of the old-timers may enjoy the memory trip.

    These are all from a 1955 catalogue, but I have others to post, depending on the interest.

    Jon.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    A buddy of mine bought the Vapojet water injector system. It was dry in 20 miles. You had to carry water with you and continue to fill it. Did it help? Sure, we got to stop and stretch our legs every 20 miles ;)

    Someone on the H.A.M.B. asked about the vacuum leak mixture screws a few weeks ago. Incidentally, these are still in a 1971 catalog, so evidently the first production run didn't sell that well.
     
    Jet96, Stueeee, kadillackid and 3 others like this.
  2. cederholm
    Joined: May 6, 2006
    Posts: 1,748

    cederholm
    Member

    Awesome!
     
    loudbang likes this.
  3. grimmfalcon138
    Joined: Jan 14, 2010
    Posts: 164

    grimmfalcon138
    Member
    from az

    More please!
     
    loudbang likes this.
  4. Mr48chev
    Joined: Dec 28, 2007
    Posts: 33,861

    Mr48chev
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    When I was in high school automechanics the instructor told us of a gent in town who was a sucker for every one of those mail order gas mileage or performance boosters like that and was always buying them and stickin them on his car until it didn't want to run right and then he would show up at the High school shop for the kids to sort out and they would pull the latest batch of trinkets off the car and tune it up and get it running right and stick the trinkets in a box that got stuck in the store room, when the box filled up they gave the stuff back to him. I think I must have had to work on the cars of a couple of his friends later as that Water injection bottle setup seemed to be real popular in this area at the time.
     
    loudbang and BigO like this.

  5. carbking
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 3,715

    carbking
    Member

    Here are some additional from the 1960 catalog:

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Seems like every few years, someone comes out with the multi-electrode spark plugs!

    Jon.
     
    mad mikey, kadillackid, egads and 3 others like this.
  6. Boneyard51
    Joined: Dec 10, 2017
    Posts: 6,442

    Boneyard51
    Member

    Laugh if will... but there was a guy in our town that did purchase everything he could for better fuel mileage. He had a carb that got 25% better mileage, a fuel pump that got 15% better milage, had those air bleed air screws , ram air., water injection.... everything!!!
    He would drive around town and about every twenty miles or so..... he would have to stop and siphon out a gallon of gas to keep his tank from overflowing! True story.





    Bones
     
  7. jaw22w
    Joined: Mar 2, 2013
    Posts: 1,671

    jaw22w
    Member
    from Indiana

    Yeah and my cousin's brother-in-law works with a guy that knew the guy that built that 100MPG carb we've all heard about.
     
    54vicky, loudbang and Boneyard51 like this.
  8. David Chandler
    Joined: Jan 27, 2007
    Posts: 1,101

    David Chandler
    Member

    God, I remember this stuff. I'm getting old. I recall talking about adding all of these things to a car, and thinking if it worked, the thing would make so much power, it would probably blow up. Now, it would be a wonder if it would run.
    A man have me a carb spacer, back in the 70's. It was another gas saver thing. It had propeller blades under the throttle plates. That was what everyone looked at, if they saw the advertisement. But in back there was a reed valve, that vented air into the mixture. I decided to use it, after I blocked the incoming air route, and removed the prop blades. I needed a carb spacer, and it fit my requirements.
     
  9. daliant
    Joined: Nov 25, 2009
    Posts: 692

    daliant
    Member

    How about the magnets to put on fuel lines to "energize" the fuel molecules for better mileage.
     
    Jet96 and loudbang like this.
  10. AVater
    Joined: Dec 9, 2008
    Posts: 3,148

    AVater
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. Connecticut HAMB'ers

    Vapo Jet--Hmm. Kinda like the oxygenated fuels of today? Alcohol works wonders don't we all agree. :eek:
     
    loudbang likes this.
  11. Slopok
    Joined: Jan 30, 2012
    Posts: 2,919

    Slopok
    Member

    I remember wooden clothespins on the fuel line to prevent vapor lock!:rolleyes:
     
    Jet96, 6inarow and loudbang like this.
  12. manyolcars
    Joined: Mar 30, 2001
    Posts: 9,176

    manyolcars

    Heres a page out of the Sears 1929 Catalog. It shows an Overdrive for my Avatar searsAOD.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  13. carbking
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 3,715

    carbking
    Member

    I am indirectly partially responsible for the great cow magnet fiasco! [​IMG] My apologies.

    A lot of years ago, got a call from a gentleman in Texas that had rust issues in his fuel and was going to take the car to the Pate show in a couple of days for sale, and could I overnight a rebuilt carburetor to him today?

    Well, the answer was no, but: I told him about the Carter Magna-trap. This was a magnet with a special shape to fit into a Carter glass bowl fuel filter. I have told many enthusiasts about this, and suggested one of the refrigerator magnets like your better half uses to stick honey-do jobs to the refrigerator.

    He told me he had a dairy farm, and had several of the cow magnets (cows are stupid, they will eat just about anything, including baling wire....oops, showing my age again [​IMG] ). If you feed one of the magnets to a cow, the wire doesn't pass into the entire digestive tract (you city folks, use Google, not about to get into the digestive system of a bovine [​IMG] ) He would make a loop in the fuel line and tape three of the magnets to the loop, hopefully to stop the rust from passing into the carburetor.

    About 3 days later he called, and he was laughing so hard, it took about 15 minutes for him to repeat the story. Seems everyone that looked at the engine asked about the cow magnets. After the first few, he started with a story that he continued to embellish as the day wore on. The final story was the magnets created a flux field, supercharging the fuel molecules, and giving almost non-Newtonian power and fuel economy!

    Well, you guessed it. P.T. Barnum scores again! This even made the Johnny Carson show (remember the "headlines" segment)? Over 300,000 cow magnets were sold in the southwestern United States within a month. Every supplier was sold out, and had back orders.

    Here is a link to a picture of the Carter Magnatrap that I placed on my website:

    http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Carter_Magnatrap.jpg

    And now you know "the rest of the story" [​IMG]

    Newspaper story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/arch...noredirect=on&utm_term=.19601413ca5d

    Jon.
     
  14. 30dodge
    Joined: Jan 3, 2007
    Posts: 498

    30dodge
    Member
    from Pahrump nv

    Don't forget the the water electrolysis (HHO) units. The hydrogen and Oxygen getting sucked in will increase fuel economy by 40% or more. They claimed to be almost free energy, only the cost of the water.
     
    loudbang likes this.
  15. Tim
    Joined: Mar 2, 2001
    Posts: 17,097

    Tim
    Member
    from KCMO

    loudbang likes this.
  16. blowby
    Joined: Dec 27, 2012
    Posts: 8,661

    blowby
    Member
    from Nicasio Ca

  17. I remember J.C. Whitney sold "rebuild in a can". Supposedly you added it to your oil and it would resurface bearings and valve seats. Even as a kid, I wasn't dumb enough to think that would work!
     
    mad mikey, Ford52PU and loudbang like this.
  18. Mike VV
    Joined: Sep 28, 2010
    Posts: 3,029

    Mike VV
    Member
    from SoCal

    Not as funny as you may think..!
    Some of the above IS ACTUALLY useful...if used properly..!

    For one...delete the "on-off" capability, who here doesn't think an engine runs better using cooler air ?
    IF setup properly, water/methanol-water will crutch a too high a compression engine. Apparently "carbkings" friend just bolted his on..! Didn't tune it properly..!

    Mike
     
    JeffB2 likes this.
  19. Frankie47
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 1,877

    Frankie47
    Member
    from omaha ne.

    Wooden clothes pins on a fuel line do act as a heat sink........
     
  20. partsdawg
    Joined: Feb 12, 2006
    Posts: 3,503

    partsdawg
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    from Minnesota

    Cures for vapor lock. Another popular ‘cure’ subject for hucksters
     
    loudbang and Hnstray like this.
  21. Hey Jim, Don Garlits has one in his museum! Ask him about it next time you see him. :eek::cool:

    Pogue-carb-Don-Garlits.jpg
     
  22. no55mad
    Joined: Dec 15, 2006
    Posts: 1,956

    no55mad
    Member

    There was a guy at work that used to try some of the above devices. Other co workers would go out in the parking lot and add fuel to his gas tank with out him knowing. They would then let him brag about the great fuel mileage he was getting.
     
  23. blowby
    Joined: Dec 27, 2012
    Posts: 8,661

    blowby
    Member
    from Nicasio Ca

    Wasn't there a gizmo you spliced into the pcv hose?
     
    Montana1 and loudbang like this.
  24. patsurf
    Joined: Jan 18, 2018
    Posts: 1,025

    patsurf

    that is great!!
     
    clem and loudbang like this.
  25. KoolKat-57
    Joined: Feb 22, 2010
    Posts: 3,073

    KoolKat-57
    Member
    from Dublin, OH

     
    loudbang likes this.
  26. If there's anything besides EPA requirements that is ever invented, discovered, or produced that actually reduces fuel consumption or increases mileage ,,, the oil companies want it.

    There's been quite a few products that actually caught the attention of the oil companies.
     
    Montana1 likes this.
  27. jaw22w
    Joined: Mar 2, 2013
    Posts: 1,671

    jaw22w
    Member
    from Indiana

    QUOTE="Montana1, post: 13004863, member: 259066"]Hey Jim, Don Garlits has one in his museum! Ask him about it next time you see him. :eek::cool:

    View attachment 4228016 [/QUOTE]
    I wonder how Garlits got that. The last I heard "Big Oil" bought it up and killed it.
     
    Montana1 and loudbang like this.
  28. Deuces
    Joined: Nov 3, 2009
    Posts: 23,753

    Deuces

    Very interesting...... :D
    Hope this thread keeps going.... :)
     
    mad mikey and loudbang like this.
  29. yellow dog
    Joined: Oct 15, 2011
    Posts: 512

    yellow dog
    Member
    from san diego

  30. carbking
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 3,715

    carbking
    Member

    Mike - tuning a bottle and a hose is rather difficult ;)

    And yes, water injection or alcohol injection CAN work, but not at a cost (then) of $2.39!

    Jon.
     
    loudbang and Hnstray like this.

Share This Page

Register now to get rid of these ads!

Archive

Copyright © 1995-2021 The Jalopy Journal: Steal our stuff, we'll kick your teeth in. Terms of Service. Privacy Policy.

Atomic Industry
Forum software by XenForo™ ©2010-2014 XenForo Ltd.