I like to amuse myself with Vintage Gimmicks that were supposed to increase your engines gas Mileage, Horse Power or both. These are some of my Favorites 1 - The Fan Flame Spark plug supposed to increase your ignition efficiency by both providing a multi sourced spark, and the little propeller on the electrode was supposed to increase combustion chamber swirl when it "Rotated at high speed" during the combustion process. A similar concept but a Fan to bolt between your carburetor and intake manifold to help the air and fuel mix. And on a More ambitious scale the Schaller 1/4 speed double Lobe Camshaft that was supposed to decrease rotational friction by turning the camshaft at 1/2 speed, and also reduce valve spring wear ect..... What other Gimmicks do you remember?
We used to sell a thick carb gasket with a screen bowl in the center of it. This was back in the 70's. The screen was stainless steel and was supposed to ionize the fuel. In reality, it just atomized it better. Some customers did report better mileage.
I've seen a lot of gas mileage gimmicks but none of these. Hope others add their favorites. Recently here I saw an old Pinto add claiming 34 MPG. My new modern comptuer controled American car claims 30 MPG highway. To me the biggest gimmicks are all the claims that computers, modern fuel injection, multiple coil packs, look alike wind tunnel cars, and other modern things are the latest gimmicks. HP is rarely mentioned but mutiple speakers, GPS, and large screen monitors seem to be selling todays cars.
I would have been a sucker for that cool looking plug. Looks kind of like a torpedo on the propeller side.
Some of the senior members may remember a claimed gimmick of just put powder coated headers on, over inflate the tires, and advance your timing to near detonation and you would get 35MPG in a big V8 up hill both ways all day long! Must have been true after all it was posted several times!
J. C. Whitney (and others) used to sell a magnet that clamped onto the fuel line just before the carburetor that was supposed to optimize. fuel economy by ionizing the fuel Because we all learned as kids that magnets are magic. As for the propeller plugs, I'd be worried that the prop would come loose and damage something important in the engine. That same type of multi spark plug junk is still being sold today, it was called "Splitfire" until they were forced to stop making mileage and horsepower claims for the product. Sales plummeted, but you can still buy them if you want to. We didn't have the FTC back in the day so snake oil was a wide open business opportunity. Speaking of Snake Oil, do you remember Marvel Mystery Oil?
I have heard and read mostly good things about the Marvel Mystery oil. My dad swore by it. I have been using it now for about a year.
On my Custom Cruiser if you lift and turn the spring loaded hood ornament sideways it decreases aerodynamic drag and you can increase the car's fuel mileage by an estimated .000457 miles per gallon.
That is a cool looking spark plug, I have never seen that before. Most of those gadgets were before my time, not quite as seasoned as some of you old coots around here.
Some others I am aware of is the Fuel Ionizing Magnets, supposed to break up clustered Fuel molecules by placing a Magnet on the fuel line just in front of the Carburetor. I also have seen a Booster Ignition Coil that was installed on a Nova I bought in the late 70's. It was a small green "coil" that plugged directly to the top of the distributor in line with the wire from the actual coil. Easy to install no tools needed, no wiring to hook up. Must have just been a contact. The car ran better after I removed it. It was the reason I got the car for $100 as it was missing very badly and the owner had just replaced all the ignition parts with no improvement. I can't seem to find a picture of anything like it on line. I do remember seeing them for sale in parts stores though.
Another plug I've seen is the Ford Polonium plug. It used the radioactive material Polonium in the center electrode. The only other use for Polonium in the modern world? As an 'initiator' for atomic weapons (supplies a big flux of Neutrons to jump-start a chain reaction).