Q:Many years ago, I picked up an elegant Smiths' clock at a swap meet. I finally am building a hot rod and I would like to use this clock. (1940 Ford with Summit universal wiring kit.) When I bought the clock, I was told that it worked. Now I have seen that it says "positive earth." Is it possible to wire a positive ground clock into a car set up for negative ground? - Darrin R., Minneapolis
A:There must be a way to reverse the polarity before and after the clock to run it as its makers intended. I know an engineer from back home who would love that project for the sheer fun of doing it. Your best bet, though, for convenience, cost and reliable time, is to send the clock out to an instrument rebuilder and have them fit a modern 12-volt positive ground movement.
You should be able to get the clock all cleaned up and built for your project for about $100-$125. Because this is a hot rod and much of the rest of the car will be far from stock, there's little incentive to try to make the original Smiths' movement work. The local Triumph club recommends APT Instruments in Bloomington. Nisonger Instruments in New York is also widely trusted in this area. There are other Minnesota companies that do this work too.
Q:I have heard many different things about the amount of ethanol in our gas. The news has talked about a switch in Minnesota to 20 percent ethanol gas. Currently, it is supposed to be 10 percent. Is it all 10 percent now, or does it vary by gas station or by region in the state? -Don S., Golden Valley
A:The present law, as reflected by the state's 2008 Minnesota Statues online, prescribes "at least 10.0 percent denatured ethanol by volume" in our gasoline. (This provision is in statute 239.791 "Oxygenated Gasoline.") In researching a question for another reader about fuel economy, I talked to a researcher at the Minnesota legislature about this issue. He said virtually all pumps dispensing oxygenated fuel in Minnesota do have the 10 percent ethanol content.
There are exceptions for purposes such as airplanes, marinas, auto racing, collector cars and off-road vehicles. Those vehicles are permitted to use non-oxygenated fuels (ethanol is an oxygenate). Not every station sells non-oxygenated fuels, but collector car clubs and the Minnesota Street Rod Association have lists of those stations that do.
The legislative researcher I talked to said that some states have public pumps carrying higher ethanol levels, like 15 percent and 20 percent, which people can use to see how their vehicles respond. We have very few if any public pumps of that sort. The decision to move to 20 percent ethanol here in the future was based on research conducted at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State University-Mankato. Contemporary vehicles were shown to do fine with that, while classic and collector car owners have found that oxygenated gas causes their vehicles problems over time - hence that exception.
