i think a steam powered ranger would be bad-ass, especially if done it in steam-punk styling.
Efficiency, good or bad, be damned!
Like making big horsepower numbers doesn't drop the fuel efficiency to nil either.. lol
I would be surprised to see it work out to have plenty of power.. they still use steam powered trains in some places don't they? more of a novelty thing than anything..
as would this be.
As for the crower 6 stroke... that is confusing.. i just spent the last 2 weeks @ collage learning engine stuff.. mainly 4 stroke with a bit of touching on 2.. god i hope i don't have to start learning 6 stroke stuff as well!!! lol
As for fueling the burners.. one thing i did learn that diesel has about the highest energy rating outta most common and semi common fuels used for powering vehicles..
I also did some research into making a still for *Ahem* fuel (Ethanol) which can be made literally for free if done right, or for very cheap if done lazy. (Also the distillers tend to look awfully steampunkish themselves with all their shiny copper n stainless.. lol)
as it is, you could have a virtually free to run ranger..
but i don't know if that part of things would be overly feasible. lol
just a thought