SOCIETY OFAUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, INC. TwoPennsylvania Plaza, NewYork, N.Y.10001 GENERAL MOTORS EXPERIMENTAL SAFETY VEHICLE POWERTRAIN &FUEL SYSTEM FLOYD A.WYCZALEK Engineering Staff THOMAS R.LEONARD Oldsmobile Division DONALD W.PETERSON Buick Motor Division General Motors Corporation International Automotive Engineering Congress andExposition Cobo Hall- Detroit, Michigan January 8-12, 1973730280 Downloaded from SAE International by North Carolina State Univ, Saturday, September 15, 2018 Downloaded from SAE International by North Carolina State Univ, Saturday, September 15, 2018730280 GENERAL MOTORS EXPERIMENTAL SAFETY VEHICLE POWERTRAIN &FUEL SYSTEM FLOYD A.WYCZALEK Engineering Staff THOMAS R.LEONARD Oldsmobile Division DONALD W. PETERSON Buick Motor Division General Motors Corporation ABSTRACT TheExperimental Safety Vehicle powertrain andfuelsystem developed byGeneral Motors incompliance with Contract DOT-OS-00095 with theU.S. Department ofTransportation include several special features: alowengine accessory package tomeet thefront visibility down angle of8degrees, engine andtransmission mounting forretention athigh decelera tions, alight aluminum engine, anover-the-rear-axle fueltank, and aunique evaporative emission fuelpipe routing. Acomprehensive testprogram wasplanned andfinal testing tovalidate contract specifications wasconducted. Downloaded from SAE International by North Carolina State Univ, Saturday, September 15, 2018TABLE OFCONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES LIST OF TABLES iii Downloaded from SAE International by North Carolina State Univ, Saturday, September 15, 2018INTRODUCTION Thepurpose ofthispaper istooutline thestudies which were required for the General Motors Experimental Safety Vehicle withrespect tofulfill ingthespecifications setforth inDepartment of Transportation Contract DOT-OS-00095. Some of thespecifications created powertrain problems as follows: 1.Ahood visibility down angle of8degrees. This introduced engine cooling problems. Italso required aspecial solution toengine accessory packaging which inturn affected serviceability. 2.High decelerations inbarrier andpole crashes. This required special engine and transmission mountings toretain thepowertrain. 3.Vehicle passing performance specification of12 seconds from 30to70mph. This indicated a high power toweight ratio, and analuminum powerplant was selected topermit meeting weight andstructural requirements. 4.The rear bumper specification fora9-inch stroke. This precluded conventional location of thefuel tank, andtheESV tank wasmounted over therear axle. 5.Zero fuel leakage inavehicle rollover. This required aunique evaporative emission stand pipe-type piperouting system andalsoaspecial fuelpipe routing.TheESV program inGeneral Motors wasastudy in meeting theDepartment ofTransportation perfor mance requirements. The sole objective wasto meet orexceed allofthecontract specifications. This vehicle wasnotmeant formanufacture; itwas asafety idea carwith many unique attributes. The lack ofserious consideration formarketability has produced adesign with realshortcomings inthe areas ofutility, such asroominess andcomfort. GENERAL DESCRIPTION Figure 1shows asideview oftheGeneral Motors Experimental Safety Vehicle powertrain installa tion. The powertrain includes the radiator, aluminum engine, Hydra-matic transmission, and transmission console-shifter. The engine islocated rearward toward the firewall toincrease front crush space and toclear thehood which hasa visibility down angle of8degrees. Theengine isan experimental Oldsmobile design with adisplace ment of362 cuinandaluminum cylinder block, heads andintake manifold. Figure 2shows asideview ofthefuelsystem. The tank ismounted over therear axle and under the rear shelf. Ithasacapacity of23gallons. Thespare tire islocated behind thefuel tank inthetrunk. This installation was the result ofthe need for space forstroking therearbumper. Table 1summarizes overall technical data forthe General Motors Experimental Safety