David Vizard on Pistonheads

[carbon]

Xmas has come early. This thread could be worth following...

http://www.track-days.co.uk/gassing/top ... i+power%3F

[sandman]

Sorry - can't help it; reading those threads make me think the booksales must be slow these days...

[mk1]

Sorry - can't help it; reading those threads make me think the booksales must be slow these days...

[NotNormal]

Sorry - can't help it; reading those threads make me think the booksales must be slow these days...

Glad it wasn't just me thinking the exact same thing

[mab01uk]

For those interested DV has posted some more info on TMF and about his visits to the UK next year:
http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/to ... p__2304442

[Pete]

"On the point of my Swansea seminar. ....At $500 plus it does sound expensive "

No shit !!?? Reading that blurb it struck me that he's starting to sound like Billy Graham ! Swifty could probably tell you how to build a quick enough motor in a five minute phone call costing a couple of quid

[Austin Costin]

He was here in NZ earlier this year doing the same thing, either skint or using it to pay his way around the world.

[mab01uk]

Some photos below from the the 'Autosport Racing Car Show' at the NEC yesterday. Not been for a few years but did not seem as big as I remembered and considering the costs for tickets and parking, etc. A few race and rally Mini's and MINI's were scattered around the various stands although it was quite hard to get good pictures amongst the crowds.

Also managed to have a long interesting chat with David Vizard on the Mountune and Swiftune stands during the day and he kindly signed my 1977 copy of his famous 'How to Modify your Mini' book below!





David Vizard on the Swiftune Stand

[Pete]

That new Swifty Appendix K car has been beautifully done, amazing panel fit and painted in that early van green colour. One of the nicest he's built I think. Wonder whether it'll be at Oulton Park in March for the Masters (Donington HSCC opener is also on the same weekend ! ?)

[36inter]

Early van colour was Willow Green as my 62 850.

[tomkidd]

Really not keen on the latest swftune mini, in my opinion the green should stay on a van

[mab01uk]

Again for those interested, DV is now back in the US and has posted on TMF about his trip to the UK National Exhibition Center in Birmingham for the Auto Sports show and his future plans for some A-Series tech demo's in September:
http://www.theminiforum.co.uk/forums/to ... p__2336823

1275GT ‘Around America Economy Drive’ 1976
When speaking to David Vizard at the Autosport Show NEC last weekend I was reminded of his ‘Around America Economy Drive’ project in a Mini 1275GT on Dunlop Denovos. It was published in 1976 as a series of articles in the long gone 'Practical Motorist' magazine which I'm sure I still have buried somewhere in my magazine archive in the loft! I must dig it out to scan and post here some time soon. Does anyone else remember this or have a photo of the 1275GT he used? There is one below as shown on the rear cover of DV's book 'How to modify your Mini'

I found these extracts on the 'EconoMini' 1275GT project from an interesting Pistonheads interview with DV and on another USA tuning forum below:

DV:- "In the search for more power from my Mini engines I first got into the subject of wet port flow back about 1967 maybe 68. All this came to a head so to speak when I became involved as the project leader for the ‘Around America Economy Drive’ project using a Mini as the vehicle of choice. Here, working with several other highly competent engineers, I got to do a significant amount of work studying the effects of mixture atomization and preparation in relation to part throttle fuel economy. The result was a drive, in 1976, around the USA in a 1275 Mini GT with the family and all the luggage needed for a 3 month stay. This was no ordinary creep from point A to point B economy driving and doing so only when the sun was out and the air was dead still. This Mini was road tested by Car & Driver, driven on run flat Dunlops to determine how well they handled both on and off road conditions by Motor Trend and so on. Also I had to bash my way through 3 foot snow drifts in Wyoming by charging them in second or third gear at WOT. Failure to make it through these drifts could have meant freezing to death. I remember arriving in Laramie and noting that there was ice on the radiator in spite of the fact the engine was running. Indeed it was so cold that the heater only ever got to luke warm. All this and our mini averaged 49.88 to the gallon on our arrival back in New York. All this was detailed in one of the big UK ‘How Too’ auto magazines in 1976 – anyone remember it?"

"Interestingly enough I did this to wave the Union Jack but when I asked for some sponsorship from British Leyland they said my goals were engineeringly unreasonable. So, sponsored largely by a Japanese TV and electronics company, I set out to prove that once again they were wrong."
More:
http://pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.as ... +Interview+

The 100 mpg Carb.
By David Vizard
"First off let me give you what I believe qualifies me to address this subject. In 1975 I was the lead engineer on an economy project. The subject was a 1275 Mini GT. That’s a direct relative of the original 1275 Mini Cooper."

"The goal was to see if we could get this car to do 50 mpg at 50 mph. Once that had been achieved it would be taken on a 3 month round USA drive at normal highway speeds (not fuel economy test speeds which would take forever to go anywhere) and see if we could get 50 mpg.. An independent test at MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association) on a truly lousy wet and windy winter day recorded 55 mpg at 50 mph and 99 mpg at 30 mph. OK that 99 mpg is real close to 100 but do we all want to drive at no more than 30mph – no! Not only that but that 99 mpg was achieved with a 1600 lb car. The same size car today weighs in at over 2100 lbs and the average mid sized sedan at 2800 lbs plus."

"I am not sure my team was the first to break the 50 mpg at 50 mph but we did it before Honda and all for less than $100,000 in today’s money. We failed to see that 50 mpg with our round USA trip but did record a close 49.88 mpg. But in all fairness this figure included full throttle road test by Road & Track plus 300 miles of snow drift bashing in 2nd and 3rd gear as we drove through one of the worst winter storms in Wyoming. Added to that the car saw a hurricane in the New Orleans area which we had to out run. But that’s not the end. The car had 'run flat' tires which were magazine tested by driving at 50 mph for about 50 miles plus it was also driven off road. How many economy drives include such? Answer - about none!"

"In addition to the fuel saving we added over 10 mph to the top speed and cut the 0-60 time by 1.5 seconds so we really did address Performance, Economy and Green (PEG) issues successfully."
http://www.gofastnews.com/showthread.ph ... ally-exist


Picture 3 - DV's 1275GT parked by the Golden Gate Suspension Bridge - San Francisco, California on his 'Around America Economy Drive" in 1976