Variable Fuel Lumina - W body

[CorvairGeek]

Ran across one of these this week. I had no previous knowledge of them. Wasn't fully convinced it was a GM project, but the AC Delco Variable Fuel Sensor made me look into it.





Metal, silk screened decal on the manifold;



Nothing of interest on the Emission Control Sticker, not even California emissions;



Different label on the fuel door;



No unique markings on the dash or instrument cluster.

The GM Service manual supplement is readily available;

https://www.amazon.com/Lumina-Variab.../dp/B00435N4KG

Even found some info on emissions presented at an SAE conference;

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/980...ab3cd07e73.pdf

[tlc1976]

Wow. That?s gotta be one of the rarest finds. Seems to me a long time ago I read about 3.1 Luminas being converted to run on LP gas. Now all we need is to find a diesel Lumina but I wouldn?t be surprised if they were offered in Europe.

[85_Ciera_Rebuild]

Dec. 3, 1989

The car is a variable-fuel vehicle, one of 2,220 that will go to California over the next two years in a major assault on the tyranny of foreign oil and, perhaps, as a warrior in the battle for cleaner air.

Right now, though, the gleaming 1990 Chevy four-door lives in my driveway, and it is an interesting animal. Under the hood, there is a 3.1-liter V6, and the engine's thirst is satisfied equally by methanol or by gasoline.
...
...
That fuel, incidentally, is rarely 100 percent alcohol. Because of the inherent driveability and cold-start problems, a small amount of gasoline (about 15 percent) is added.

While the California cars will have dashboard gauges to indicate the exact percentage of alcohol running through the engine, the gauge is missing on this car and a fill-up with gasoline made the mix only roughly 50-50.

[tlc1976]

Hmmm so methanol has about half the energy of gas. But the horsepower jumps 7% when on methanol?

I know e-85 has less energy than gas . But the measly 10c less per gallon makes it not worth it.

[85_Ciera_Rebuild]

horsepower jumps 7% when on methanol?.

Octane jumps up, so those doing turbo-boosting can increase turbo-boost pressure.

Gasoline, Methanol, & Nitromethane Fuel Comparison

[Pontiac6ksteawd]

Hmmm so methanol has about half the energy of gas. But the horsepower jumps 7% when on methanol?

I know e-85 has less energy than gas . But the measly 10c less per gallon makes it not worth it.

Its very true that E85 price needs to be about 30% cheaper for it to be a worthwhile break. Fuel mileage is lower, and power is lower (for NA cars).

[85_Ciera_Rebuild]

Its very true that E85 price needs to be about 30% cheaper...

E85 vs E10 prices...etc

[Pontiac6ksteawd]

Yep.. Seen that one before. Here in Colorado, at least where I live, E85 is always the same price, or HIGHER than the e10/e15. Regular gas E0 is always the most expensive, even more expensive than e10/15 permium.

[Active]

How effective is it?