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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 1979)
I nc: DM I I MLIWIM THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1979 ITCI^Cr v/ Mike Love, Jim McKinney and John Campbell think about past and future work on the 1970 modified Honda to be freshiMlentered in a national contest in August. There are 11 other Sea. Hj testoei lish „al is 70 mpg from gas substitute ibeniaU A • _ • _ ■Aggies create energy-etiicient car Bare For Spring — Van Eli Black Patent White Patent By SCOTT D. HARING Battalion reporter Fourteen Texas A&M University idents who have been preparing energy-efficient vehicle for com- ^ c/ tition in August have run into a v minor snags and one major one it status mo ney. n the I'iljke; Love a senior mechanical gineering major, said the team shield received only $3,590 out of their aticna Jgef of $8,290. The Student ngress, ^petition on Relevant Engineer- 5 (SCORE) committee, the na- jtalgroup sponsoring the contest, d donated $2,500 alone. The rest of the donations. Love d, have come mostly from local srchants, who have donated parts, i scounts and cash. They’ve bent *0/ er backwards,” Love said. Love said the group is now going plutw.:Tough the red tape necessary to get infonniepl more money from different lentofi partments of the University, itting,t leyVe contacted the Mechanical soma, ti igineering Department and the •ningstbxas Transportation Institute, family©ngothers, concerning additional wsuit(lading Whether or not they get adioat y, Love said, is anybody’s guess. None of the students involved is itting paid for his work, Love said, id only one is receiving any class ash' There are 46 other schools in orth America entered in the com- al Intfi itition, some with budgets of over liplomal100,000. Because of their compara- ds, par 'ely small budget, the Texas A&M xthdavaB 11 had to start with a Honda 350 lep. Oti'Ught for $150 from a San Antonio iS.OOOlttkyard. The car, not available in em at tl with ik $500| the United States, was brought back from Vietnam by a serviceman. The Honda is being modified to run on vaporized methanol. Methanol can be manufactured from coal, making it a good energy alter native. The team’s goal is to reach a gasoline equivalent of 70 miles per gallon. Love said the team first planned to run some tests on the car with a standard gasoline engine and then a liquid methanol engine, but they’ve had some delays in performing the tests at the Texas Transportation In stitute’s research annex. Love said the team can’t afford to wait any longer and is going ahead with the vaporized methanol conversion without the preliminary tests. Even though the main purpose of the contest is to develop an energy- efficient vehicle, the entries will also be judged on handling, braking, emissions and cost to the consumer. The car also will have to meet 1980 federal safety requirements. After the cars are rated on these different factors. Love said the judges also award points for the orig inality of the design. For this reason, the Texas A&M team is also working on a suspension system to improve handling, modified aerodynamics and a passive restraint system. A passive restraint system is one like an air bag that doesn’t need to be hooked up by the driver. The winners of the competition to be held at the General Motors prov ing grounds in Dearborn, Mich., will receive trophies for themselves and recognition for their schools. n : Iranian line gun op-level put the lina but still in namese ; troops day 70 longrw ...» ....LSI .Andy"' . David 1 JcottPe* Sic jebbief 1 i Roge^. Petty. 1 Stone. ,ovett, 1 Dougfr ,y Le^P ..Lyn»{ .Can 1 handmade • waterproof • durable original • incredibly soft TIDDIES ARE ALWAYS UP FRONT! MENS AND LADIES Two Stack $ 12 00 Three Stack *16 00 'ulpepper Plaza 693-3003 The Texas A&M team is the only entry from Texas or the four sur rounding states. Love is optimistic about the Aggies’ chances. “We picked a good car to work with,” he said. “It’s innovative in its own right.” Love said they hope to get the car running on methanol within the next few weeks. Then, with permission of the University Police, they’ll test the car on the streets of the campus. 707 Texas linn Shala’s DON'T BUY AN UNKNOWN 696-1148 i§ W. k ?'u , e$tone 78 Years of Leadership—A Name You Can Trust fife 10-POINT DISC BRAKE OVERHAUL We install brake pads, new front seals and brake hardware; -* resurface rotors, repack front wheel bearings, Inspect master cylinder and brake hoses, bleed system and add fluid, then road test the car calipers rebuilt extra. $5988|!^ EXPIRES MAR 31,1979 ■rnn^ W*’ll install up to 5 qt*. of hifh jrooo oil. chonfe iiltor i luoriettc you cars chassis. 788 \fe: ■ STiAS 3Ei • MaOta it or mon front weaefan (aay Anwlean Car) • ChKk aa* aWwl SiMrtra Socwr • Pock a oat eamtar, cfttfar A taa-ki • Chacfc « aojuot front ArtMal bsartiea • Tool ear «ar propar sharing 6 ^095i TT minimum OF see ' fBHI JS VALUE. 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