A Man Needs a Radiator

Well, the fun never stops in LincVolt world.

We've been following Neil Young's LincVolt adventures for a long time and things are stepping up a notch.

LincVolt has left Kansas on it's way to Washington and is now at some top secret undisclosed location in the foothills of Virginia.

Here's an amusing story before LV hit the road about needing a new radiator. Of course, not just any radiator will do for LV.

From The Hays Daily News by MIKE CORN:

It's not everyday that a world-renowned musician and social activist pulls into Best Radiator.

But when you've got a "leaky radiator," there are priorities, and Scott Simpson's reputation for custom-building radiators is well known -- all over Kansas.

Still, Friday was a big day, not to mention long, for Scott and Denise Simpson, as musician Neil Young and crew pulled in with a 1959 Lincoln Continental that had been stripped out and fitted with electrical generation and hydrogen-producing capabilities to push the car along at more than 100 miles per gallon at speeds of up to 140 mph.

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Scott Simpson was impressed, but he pushed hard to complete the task at hand Friday, custom building a two-stage radiator for the behemoth.

The aluminum radiator took more than 12 hours to build, splicing together two stock radiators that were on hand.

And yes, Simpson said, even electrical driven vehicles need cooling systems, about a third of it cooling the electrical system.

Simpson said the engine compartment had been stripped, replaced with a single rotor Mazda engine to run the generator to produce the electricity. About a third of the fuel consumption is gas, while the rest is hydrogen, which the car makes.

"It's got like a half a million dollars worth of Google software in it," Simpson said of the car.

That electrical equipment, he said, is located virtually everywhere, under the hood, under the back seat and on the dash.

"It's a pretty involved little car," he said.

Simpson was pretty impressed with Young as well.

"He just kind of hung out on the bus, coming in to check things out and shoot the bull," Simpson said of the Young's day at the shop. "He was just a real laid-back guy with a leaky radiator. Just a nice guy."

The story continues as Neil and crew go out to eat at a local Wichita spot on The Hays Daily News.

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