I agree too! I've heard Geo Metro owners praise the reliability and durability of the Geo Metro engine. Obviously, the new Elio engine has 0 road tested miles on it thus far. I hope it proves to be as reliable as the Geo Metro's engine under real driving conditions...........probably better..........time will tell.
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The Elio Engine
- Thread starter ls10
- Start date
Maybe they could find someone with a bunch of unused helicopter engines they could get real cheap. Like in the movie "Tucker".
Oh, ... wait ... helicopter engines probably wouldn't meet EPA rules. Crud.
One thing I'll always remember from that movie is how when they're first looking at that engine and discussing what they'll need to do to fit it in the car, and the youngest member of the team makes an observation all the older designers missed: they'll have to put an oil pan on it. I'll always remember that moment as the moment I stopped second-guessing designers, because of all the thousands of small details that have to be handled in any design.
Oh, ... wait ... helicopter engines probably wouldn't meet EPA rules. Crud.
One thing I'll always remember from that movie is how when they're first looking at that engine and discussing what they'll need to do to fit it in the car, and the youngest member of the team makes an observation all the older designers missed: they'll have to put an oil pan on it. I'll always remember that moment as the moment I stopped second-guessing designers, because of all the thousands of small details that have to be handled in any design.
Gas-Powered Awesome
Elio Addict
That was mostly Hollywood hogwash. The engine was almost entirely bespoke, all engines were new, and Tucker bought the engine manufacturer for what would be $19,000,000 today so he could make his own engines. The engines were also water cooled unlike their helicopter ancestors. So you are right in that Mr. Elio is nearly following in Tucker's footsteps regarding the engine.
Let's hope he's not following in the rest of P. Tucker's footsteps! So if Tucker owned the engine manufacturer, was he able to keep that company after the trial? Did that engine design go into any other gas-powered "thing"?That was mostly Hollywood hogwash. The engine was almost entirely bespoke, all engines were new, and Tucker bought the engine manufacturer for what would be $19,000,000 today so he could make his own engines. The engines were also water cooled unlike their helicopter ancestors. So you are right in that Mr. Elio is nearly following in Tucker's footsteps regarding the engine.
Ty
Elio Addict
I've had two Geo's with those motors... $500 for the first, $340 for the second. The first was because the person who owned it died and his sister just wanted the car gone. The second was because the engine pooped out an exhaust valve. I fixed it for about $220 though, added a $200 convertible top, and sold it for $1,900. Not too shabby. But, my point was that I'm shooting 50% for Geo motors that did NOT require a rebuild.
I owned two of the three cylinder Metros...I drove the second one into the ground after nearly 200,000 miles. One problem was the O2 sensor wire melted rendering it useless. The second was that the tranny had a synchro ring starting to act up.
I donated the car to the Maryland School for the Blind
I donated the car to the Maryland School for the Blind
bowers baldwin
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In my mind I read "Maryland driving school for the blind"I owned two of the three cylinder Metros...I drove the second one into the ground after nearly 200,000 miles. One problem was the O2 sensor wire melted rendering it useless. The second was that the tranny had a synchro ring starting to act up.
I donated the car to the Maryland School for the Blind
Might as well be in Baltimore City...drivers are blind to the color Red and shapes such arrows and hexagons.
I thought that Tucker took the engine company to Brazil (or was that Kaiser?) used it there somehow, but later it came back as engines for utility equipment like power generators etc.?
Just checked, the engine company ended up in Poland. Tucker tried to partner in Brazil to make the Carioca (wow what a name!), very cool car for the time, but that never happened, and is one of the many western hemisphere start-ups that failed after WWII.
Tucker mostly failed because he didn't have a factory location at the critical moment. It would seem that issue was tackled very early on, probably based on knowing the Tucker history. It's a big irony issue at this point.