Practically Classics Forum

has anyone heard of pantone engines?

I believe they can paint one any colour you fancy

its a system of water injection, supposed to make your car more efficient.. sounds like another dose of b######t just wondered if you chaps had heard of it...

When i was 17 and had my first car, an austin 1100, i remembered my dad told me once that later Spitfires (fighters)had water injection..only a miniscule amount he said ,and that it turned to steam in the cylinders expanded and made more power for free !
So after fitting twin carbs to it , with trumpets and vacuum cleaner hose to tin cans in the grill for ram effect ( did all of 70mph ). and a Cooper exhaust maniflod cobbled together with 1100 bits , i got the garden sprayer and sprayed water into the tin cans while the engine was running....Expecting the engine to rev its nuts off,(??) I was most suprised when the engine just stopped...

zipgun wrote:my dad told me once that later Spitfires (fighters)had water injection..only a miniscule amount he said ,and that it turned to steam in the cylinders expanded and made more power for free !

The main point is charge cooling. Water/methanol mix - about 50:50. It is sprayed into the inlet tract, after the supercharger/turbocharger, and evaporates due to the heat from the compressed air/fuel vapour coming from the supercharger. That evaporation cools down the gases before they enter the cylinders. The lower temperatures permit higher boost pressures and higher compression ratios.

We used water injection on the Hawker/BAe Harrier too - just plain, demineralised water in that case, because it cooled the turbine disc after combustion, so did not need to be flamable (like the methanol)

Well i do know that now.. but when you're 17 and trying to make your car go faster ,and you're on a tenner a week .. and your dad gives you this idea Kinda funny looking back on it ! I used to read Street machine, and Custom car too ! Had a Richard Grant spoiler on it and a 10ft whip aerial Used to have a weekly trip to "All Car Equipe " , (that was "Quick Nick" Whitings speed shop near Brands Hatch ) for go faster goodies. Fortunately I haven't any old photo's of it