CHESTER COUNTY, S.C. -- A retired engineer in Chester County has converted his 1995 Honda Civic into a type of hybrid vehicle that gets much better gas mileage.

Willis Tarbucks, 77, of Lowrys said his car now gets more than two dozen more miles per gallon. That means it averages about 70 miles to the gallon.

Tarbucks said he added a hydrogen-infusion system, which can be bought as a kit on the Internet. It adds hydrogen to the air in the fuel injection system.

The hydrogen is created when water and baking soda are combined in a quart jug, and the hydrogen and water work together to enhance the vehicle’s gas mileage.

Tarbucks said the conversion can be done to any car, but whoever does it should know what they’re doing. If it’s installed improperly, you could do major damage to your engine.

The long-term impact on vehicles is not yet known.

The engineer said once the system is installed, it’s very cheap to keep up. He changes the water about every 400 miles, and the baking soda in the mix costs just dollars.

Tarbucks found the plans on the Internet and said anyone can copy them. He said the process is so old that it can’t be patented.

With some processes, cars can even be modified to run strictly on water.

To find out more, visit Water4Gas.com.