| Author | Message | ||
     Kevin Deasy New User Username: kevin1946 Post Number: 4 Registered: 1-2017 |
Hi I am on my second car now,1st was a Bentley 8 ( 09697) and now a Shadow (09420) both 1984. In Ireland,when you import a car which is less than 30 years old there is an import duty payable of 35% of its (dealer) market value,not what you pay for it .The tax can be from 4400€ to 8000€ & an annual road tax of 1,990€ . If the car 30 yrs old the import tax is fixed at 200€.and the annual road tax is 56€ a year. So now I can buy a 1987 (200€ tax) model,I find the carb model cars are easy to work on ,I am a little worried about the fuel Injection ? Is it a manual system. ( naturally aspirated injection ) Does the injection five much trouble ? Do they have Cat Convertors & lambda sensors? Is it the same ignition type? Is there a fuel saving? Do they have a 3.08 or a 2.69 diff. Are they a much better car to drive ,or should I keep my GOOD 84 car. Kevin I have not driven one yet I have found a good one with 75,000,full history 4 owners @ 13,500£ (15,000€) | ||
| John Beech Prolific User Username: jbeech Post Number: 172 Registered: 10-2016 |
Well, you're certainly asking good questions but I'm not the one to answer them because I'm merely on my first Rolls-Royce. Hopefully someone will respond who first, has experience with the specific car you already own 'and' secondly, experience with an older car as well. That said, because fuel economy seems to be your specific hot-button concern I urge you to . . . I. If you have not already done so, put pencil to paper to see what a 1-2 mpg improvement means in the real world vs. whatever you get now over say, a 5 year period of time. If it turns out 2 mpg 'is' a real number for your circumstances, e.g. not just noise in the signal of overall fuel expense, 'and' if you're able to quantify how long a 2mpg improvement takes to payback over the course of 5 years, 'then' you may want to also look at the thread I started about 4-barrel carburetors. This because my idea is/was to use one of the modern aftermarket Holley fuel injection systems which relies on an O2 sensor inserted into the exhaust (they merely weld a bung in the exhaust system into which they screw in the sensor for the feedback loop). Why? It's because these systems offer real-time computer based adjustment of fuel mixture. End result is an easy 2mpg of savings (in my opinion and possibly a little bit more, maybe a real-world 3mpg improvement). However, I only suggest it because a) you mention having a known good car, and b) beyond a near certain 2mpg savings this 'also' brings to the table a host of other benefits offered by FI systems versus a carburetor, e.g. easier starting hot or cold, reduced emissions when cold especially, etc. This may present a more reasonably cost-effective way to achieve your goal. Anyway, this is the thread: http://au.rrforums.net/forum/messages/30/23258.html?1482589589 . . . and it describes purchasing an intake manifold, which is a perfect fit for a Quadrajet spreadbore carburetor and thus, ideal as the basis of an aftermarket FI system versus using the existing manifold equipped with a pair of SU carbs. And if per chance your car is already equipped with the Solex 4-barrel, then you're a mile ahead of the game because the engine will already have the proper 4-barrel intake. This last, however, is a question to which I have no ready base of knowledge. Anyway, this manifold is available and it's a relatively easy conversion - if - you have any mechanical 'aptitude' and if you're mechanically inept, it's also probably not an overly expensive conversion to have done for you. I figure ~£2000-2500 all in 'if' you do it yourself, maybe add another £500-1000 for labor if you a mechanical-klutz. II. Your second option is to consider a propane conversion. Robert Noel Reddington has a thread, which addresses this and though I don't know where it is specifically it's not over difficult to find within the forum. If not within General then surely within the Silver Shadow-section. My recollection is this puts you in the 5-8mpg improvement game (albeit at the cost of a fair amount of boot space). The latter may, or may not, be an issue. Finally, the best of both worlds would be the propane and the FI conversion. I bet you could do both for about £4000-4500 if you DIY, add £2000 for a mechanic to do it for you. Anyway, more information would be helpful in guiding you. E.g. what the numbers are for your specific concerns because if you tell us . . . 1. How many miles do you drive per year on average? 2. What mpg you obtain now on average? 3. How much you spend per gallon? . . . it thus becomes grade school math-easy to calculate how much each mpg improvement means in your pocket. And it's easy to add a fudge factor for rising prices over a 5 year span if the Arabs and the Russians get their act together and presuming the Americans don't flood the market with cheap LNG exports over the next 5 years. Anyway, it's easy to calculate from this how many years it takes to pay it back even without hedging. This because while I don't know how old you are but if it means driving the car 10 years to achieve payback, it's probably a different calculus versus 5 years to pay it back, right? Especially if you're 40 vs. 60 years old! Last thing. You mention the 2.69 vs. 3.08 differential. I strongly urge you to drive a 2.69 equipped car and determine whether the results are worth it to you. I know from my experience with cars when Detroit went to taller final drives in an effort to increase highway-speed fuel economy the resultant city-driving experience of what turned into a slug was absolutely 'not' a worthwhile trade-off . . . not in my book. | ||
| Mark Aldridge Grand Master Username: mark_aldridge Post Number: 390 Registered: 10-2008 |
Kevin, I have a 1983 Mulsanne ( carb non turbo) as my daily driver. My wife has a 1987 Bentley 8 (injection) as her daily driver. The 8 has a much firmer ride than the Mulsanne, but handles better. Fuel wise , the 8 is about 2 mpg more economical cruising, not much different in town. The overall performance seems more lively on the 8 . The carb setup seems to require more maintenance to keep it running sweet. Overall I would probably not swap a well sorted car for an unknown quantity. Both of the cars have Bilstein shockabsorbers, and the Mulsanne has a Turbo R front anti roll bar. Mark |
