Another Henry Smokey Yunick Hot Vapor Engine Thread 7

[SameName4Everything]

First, I am not an automotive engineer and I didn't spend the night at Holiday Inn. I jumped into this project only a few months ago and had a leg up because I know Danny Soliz very well and he is a life long adherent of Smokey, has studied the HVE and actually has 5 of the 10 known HVEs including the numbers matching Horizon and its engine. Overview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNLpHGy3fVw

Running on a stand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDL65UUjOss&t=431s

Discussing cams for the Iron Duke version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS9serKZ30s&t=263s

After having read what was readily available I have gone further down the research trail than most. I was aided by documents from DeLorean's files and other documents and articles from the past. What I have gleaned is that it is a polarizing issue driven by Smokey's legend, myth or infamous reputation. The claims are well know, but there is no proof. My question is this: Would the data pulled from 12 Dyno pulls and 10 road tests of MPG from SwRI be proof? How about reports by engineers at SwRI? Or reports and quotes from someone like Gregory Flynn who ran GM's Motor Division attesting to it working? If those showed approximately the 50MPG, Zero Emissions, 1.8 HP/CI from a 1.3l Engine using a carburetor and other tech available in 1982, would that be enough for people to say it worked?

 

[Lou Scannon]

Interesting anecdote about Clean Cams. Seems legit. I'm dubious about the "second burn" being the mechanism for significantly reducing PM. More likely it was a combination of improved oil control and increased AFR (due to turbocharger).

"Schiefgehen wird, was schiefgehen kann" - das Murphygesetz

 

[turbocohen]

I worked for Smokey on and off for a few years, he fired me 4 times. Between firings I helped Ralph Johnson and a few others and many a time yanked HVC engines. There were a lot of badly warped and melted exhaust flanges and more. High temps were a real issue that placed the designs. Modern injection technology that reduces droplet size below 10um along with some miller cycle (and a little Yunick) has essentially eliminated any benefit to super critical heating of intake air, even if parts could sustain the temps. My work later with CNG and liquid phase propane fuel systems allowed me to revisit some of the ideas I picked up from Smokey on a 3 cylinder experimental HVC engine of my own. My conclusions are that the original carbureted HVC would have not survived any durability or emissions validation as the fuel delivery transport delays were design flaws that would not make it past any OEM. Huge fan of the man, came to work at the Best Damn Garage In Town and enjoyed working for Smokey as much as I benefitted from being fired. Learned a bunch along the way. Accept that modern DI engines with optimized chamber charge motion and variable valve train actuation make a lot of earlier attempts obsolete. An engine is still a glorified air pump and the laws of thermodynamics don't lie.

 

[SameName4Everything]

We got a bit busy with some of our day jobs here at SunRock. You may see our chief engineer Danny Soliz on commercials that Ebay motors is airing. CAM Doctor is providing some interesting data. 1982 Plymouth Horizon is closer to being road worthy.

 

[BrianPetersen]

If nothing else ... that has got to be the best-condition Plymouth Horizon in existence!

 

[maxc]

Smokey used water injection to keep his engine from detonating. It was posted on his website but now it's not there anymore. That was 17 years ago.