It can be done!
Thanks guys for finally talking about something that has interested me for quite some time!
In doing my research, one of the best sites I came across was:
About Gasifier Experimenters Kit
There is a ton of information on there and a big thanks to johnnypayphone for posting what he did.
Another site I ran across was this one:
Victory Gasworks- Gasifiers and Wood Gasification
Under the "learn" tab click on "Gasification 101" and enjoy. Ben breaks it down to simple easy to understand sessions on how gasification works and why it works as well as things to look out for, pros and cons, etc.
He actually converted an old dumptruck he had to run on wood gas and posted a video of it here:
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43c683YY18w[/media]
When I finally do actually get the chance to buy an M35A2, this is the route that I plan to experiment with.
I have done quite of bit of looking into the process of electrolyzing water too. When split into two separate gasses, hydrogen and oxygen (HHO), it is a very burnable fuel. While it is difficult (if not impossible) to run solely on HHO because of the energy it takes to make the actual split, it does supposedly work great as a supplemental fuel. There are of course those who say that's impossible too. But from a scientific standpoint it is completely possible! Hydrogen is flammable and so is Oxygen.
So . . . my thought is to make woodgas the primary with hydrogen and oxygen (sometime called Brown's gas) as the supplemental. This would give you an increase in mileage (miles per lb of wood) as well as make for a cleaner burning fuel combo than oil could ever be.
I agree, we probably will never run out of petroleum fuel. However, it will most assuredly get to the point where it is a financial issue for some people. We're getting close already!
Electric really is the way to go, but there is a lot of work to do in the available technology having to do with both generating and storing electricity. The lead acid battery is way too heavy and the new aluminum battery, that I've heard is on the horizon, is going to be way too expensive at first.
The Lithium Ion battery seems to be the best option at this point. Check out the Tesla car here:
Tesla Roadster Technology and Innovations | Tesla Motors
While I realize this may not be the best route for a very large, very heavy M35, it would work great for smaller, lighter MV's.
I hope some of this information helps.
Here's where we should be putting our resources (as opposed to occupying the Middle East):
http://www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news2.13s.html
http://www.hotstockmarket.com/forum/thread/69025/huge-oil-reserves-found-in-the-dakotas-and-montana
http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/u_s__has_massive_oil.html
This is not even to mention all the oil up in Alaska. Problem is the greenies don't want to drill into our precious soil. They'd rather the Middle East have us over a barrel (literally).
What we should do is petition our Reps to push for drilling on our own soil and tell the Middle East to take a hike! We are by far the largest oil consumer in the world. Whoever supplies our oil has us by the brass ones, so to speak. I personally don't like that idea one bit. We could easily produce our own petroleum and the consumer could buy it at the pump for prices that would resemble the '60's. Wouldn't that be nice!
That is all.