Running my Dodge on BBQ gas.

[71 Bee Man]

G'day guys,

for any of you over there that may be interested, they finally started to convert my car to run on Liquified Petroleum Gas ( L.P.G as it's called here in Australia).

For those that don't know, L.P.G is about 1/3 the cost of normal fuel and our Government is also giving a refund of $2000 for every conversion that's done.

Enter my 71 Superbee. 

I love my Bee, and I'll love it even more when it costs me stuff all to drive it. They installed the cylinder in the trunk last Wednesday, and are doing some more this week. Components are pretty scarce as heaps of people are jumping in to take advantage of the Government rebate.

Here's a pic of the trunk now it has the gas tank installed. The L.P.G filler will mount behind the rear number plate - out of sight. I'll post more pics as it gets done.

Peter  :icon_smile_wink:Sydney, Australia.

[Charger1973]

Now thats something you dont see everyday...

[Todd Wilson]

I hope you dont kill yourself or blow up your 71.


Todd

[71 Bee Man]

I hope you dont kill yourself or blow up your 71.


Todd

Mate, I'm actually a fireman and to be honest - whilst I've been to quite a few fires involving cars with L.P.G - I've never had one explode yet. That's not to say that they don't, just that they haven't when I've been around.

I might ad that all the ones I've been to that have been on fire have been stolen vehicles that have been torched. L.P.G is used widely down here. All Taxi's are on it, Government buses, tow trucks, and Ambulances too I think. They've even got a few Police cars on it these days.

Peter
Sydney, Australia.

[Todd Wilson]

I'm glad you are comfortable putting a tank in the trunk.  I just wouldnt put a tank like that in an enclosed space like your trunk. I hope it has a pop off valve vented outside the charger. Dont know how your summertime weather is but that trunks gonna get hot and LPG expands. Especially if the tank is full or overfilled. A slight leak in the trunk could be ignited by a brake light or turn signal. You wont know it until its too late.

I've seen pictures and heard stories of various welding cylinders and BBQ tanks in trunks that burn or blow up.


Todd

[Spike]

Awesome  Can't wait to hear how she runs after the full conversion.

[Back N Black]

We use to have 60% of our fleet at work converted in the late 80's and early 90's,but the problem in Canada the winters are cold and they did not want to start,so we switched back to regular gasoline.

[71 Bee Man]

We use to have 60% of our fleet at work converted in the late 80's and early 90's,but the problem in Canada the winters are cold and they did not want to start,so we switched back to regular gasoline.

I can understand that problem. If there's a coolant (water) leak in the system, the L.P.G convertor in the engine compartment can freeze up and you have to wait till it defrosts. Very rare though.

L.P.G is a mixture of Propane and butane specially blended for automotive use - not exactly the same stuff you cook with and has an octane rating of over 100.

As for concerns about it blowing up.....like I said, I'm a firey and I'm more than happy to use it. I've had first hand experience with these types of cars and I think you'll find cars only usually blow up in the movies. There are numerous shut-off emergency valves in the case of leaks etc.

There are a HUGE amount of cars driving on Australian roads without incident.

Peter

[694spdRT]

Interesting project.

My dad ran an LP conversion back in the late '70's on his pickups. The price of LP is around $1.60 right now and I think they get a little less MPG but I suppose there is some savings if you run it enough miles.

[Charger_Fan]

Well if you're more than happy to use it, I'm more than happy too.

At least the tank is relatively small, leaving plenty of room for dead bodies...I mean...other stuff.

[Lostsheep_01]

Does anyone else smell that?

[mikesbbody]

pete, all the best re: to your l.p.g conversion i was surprised to see the tank doesnt really take up much trunk space let us know how she drives once the conversion is completed     mike.

[dkn1997]

They've even got a few Police cars on it these days.

Peter
Sydney, Australia.

Can you run this one on LP?

[Chryco Psycho]

install stellite seats in the heads NOW

[Charger_Fan]

install stellite seats in the heads NOW

I got thinking about that last night, I knew there was something head related that needed to be done.

[FastbackJon]

One question.

How does it affect the performance?

[71 Bee Man]

One question.

How does it affect the performance?

Actually, I know guys down here that run purely on L.P.G and when they're tuned specifically for that fuel, they run fantastic. Mine will be dual fuel, meaning I can run either L.P.G or petrol (gasoline). You compromise the tuning a little.....from memory the timing needs to be advanced for the L.P.G.

As for the heads, I ran an old 318 on L.P.G for 5 years with no head problems at all. Usually they include an upper cylinder head lubricant for use in L.P.G cars which provides 1 drop of lubricant every 4 seconds  via an inline applicator to the carby.

I also ran a 302 Windsor for a couple of year with no problems at all. As I've said before......L.P.G is used in a HUGE way here in Australia. I know in the U.S you guys are a little sceptical, but I can't understand why. It must be the cost. It's absolutely dirt cheap here, as it should be......it's a bi-product of the refining process.

Peter
Peter.

[Challenger340]

By LPG do you mean "propane' ?

Propane per liquid volume of 1 Imperial gallon has approx 110,000 btu's of heat energy, compared to gasoline, or a benzene ring hydrocarbon, (no matter if it's C-12  high Octane race fuel or the cheapest crap in town), if it's gasoline, at the same liquid Imperial gallon Volume contains approx 124,000 btu's of heat energy.

Hence the power LOSS, associated in converting from gasoline to BBQ fuel. They run fine, but lose approx 15-20 % power, all things being equal.

[71 Bee Man]

By LPG do you mean "propane' ?

Propane per liquid volume of 1 Imperial gallon has approx 110,000 btu's of heat energy, compared to gasoline, or a benzene ring hydrocarbon, (no matter if it's C-12  high Octane race fuel or the cheapest crap in town), if it's gasoline, at the same liquid Imperial gallon Volume contains approx 124,000 btu's of heat energy.

Hence the power LOSS, associated in converting from gasoline to BBQ fuel. They run fine, but lose approx 15-20 % power, all things being equal.

It's a mixture of Propane and Butane, and no - it doesn't have the energy rating of standard fuel. You also use 15 - 20% more than you would of the equivalent gasoline product. It certainly isn't the same gas you're using to cook sausages though.

After talking to some guys from the States I can only assume that the reason it's not widely considered there is the price. I'll give you an example of price costs when I convert the Dodge.
Normal gasoline, to fill the tank....about $110 Australian.
L.P.G......about $40 Australian. Let's say $50 if you factor in the amount of gas for same kilometres.

Peter