Anyone have a Charger with alternate fuel or engine?

[nakita7]

Just wondering who has an alternate fuel in their Charger, or you've done a newer engine transplant?

[Dave22443]

You mean like this?   

http://jalopnik.com/cars/engine-swap/engine-swap-of-the-day-turbine+powered-charger-328322.php

[bull]

They're all hybrids, right 1hot68? They all burn gas and rubber.

[Hemidog]

i think one of the Aussies has  a 3rd gen that runs on alternate fuel, and there are plenty of 2nd gens around with newer hemis and v10s

[TruckDriver]

Just wondering who has an alternate fuel in their Charger, or you've done a newer engine transplant?

Nakita, Peter (71beeman) does on my site. He owns the blue and white Super Bee in Australia. Runs on Propane if I remember right.

[RD]

what do you have to do to the motor to get it to run on propane?

[Dave22443]

Actually, its not hard at all to do that.  I don't have all the specifics but I think its mainly just a fuel delivery problem.  I have a truck at work that runs on Propane or Gas with just the flip of a switch.

[RD]

i have been very interested in doing this since propane is 1.49 a gallon... i may have to do some research.

[ACUDANUT]

   What's the smallest engine you ever seen in a 66-74 Charger (not counting the slant 6)  I know someone out there has put in a 4 cylinder in one.

[nakita7]

Yes, Peter's 71 is cool. I've had 2 propane vehicles in the past. Love them. Would convert.

[RD]

here is a good informational site:

http://www.propanecouncil.org/trade/fleet/vehicle_conversions.htm

and a link to places that do conversions to propane in US and Canada:

http://cars.rasoenterprises.com/Propane-AmericanFacilities.htm

http://cars.rasoenterprises.com/Propane-CanadianFacilities.htm

[71 Bee Man]

what do you have to do to the motor to get it to run on propane?

G'day guys,

as mentioned my 71 Bee runs on what we call L.P.G. - Liquifield Petroleum Gas. It is made up mainly of Propane, but for automotive use they also blend it with a quantity of butane as well. Basically the conversion is very simple and requires pretty much no modifications to the engine other than tuning - in my case that wasn't even necessary.

Basically an L.P.G conversion consists of a gas cylinder in the trunk, a gas converter bolted to the inner front guard and a mixer on top of your carby. It's a completely seperate system and can be unbolted if that was so desired. L.P.G fuel is less than half the cost of petrol (what you guys call gasoline). As an example, the other day I ran my L.P.G tank empty, and with the flick of a switch was running on petrol (gasoline) again. I pulled into a service station to fill up. My tank takes 65 litres of L.P.G, but is an 80 litre tank - all to do with useable quantity......65 useable.

As I was filling it a 68 Chev Impala pulled up next to me to fill up as well. He still had 1/3 tank petrol, and was running a 327. He put roughly the same amount of litres in his car. Here's the difference though.......when we went to pay, mine cost $3960, and his cost $99.40. We worked out we got pretty much the same mileage, but he was paying more than twice as much.

Now....this is only because of the cost of L.P.G.....very cheap compared to petrol......out here at least.

Also, you do use slightly more L.P.G than petrol, but thanks to the cost of the fuel it's still quite worth it. Petrol does have a bit more kick, but honestly......for the driving I do I don't care. I can drive my car to shows that are 7 hours away and it's half the cost of petrol, and cruising the highway there is absolutely no difference.

The other thing is that quite a few people here are running "straight" gas. This means they don't run on petrol at all and in these cases it's possible to tune the car solely for L.P.G and in doing this it's actually possible to get far better performance than fron normal gasoline. Me....I like dual fuel, mainly because if I get lazy I can always run the L.P.G tank dry and switch over to gasoline.

I've got some pics somewhere....I'll see if i can find them.

Oh.....I almost forgot....here's the clincher. Here in Australia the federal government actually reimburses people for getting an L.P.G conversion on their cars. Let's say the average conversion costs $2,700 brand new....the Government gives you back a $2000 refund. How goodm is that....al because it's better for the environment.

Peter

[71 Bee Man]

Here's some more links :

http://www.lpgaustralia.com.au/displaycommon.cfm?an=6

http://ausindustry.gov.au/content/level3index.cfm?ObjectID=D47685C8-0B0B-459C-B07A2EFBDB3D4AF7

The first link gives a little info on L.P.G, the second tells about the Govt. refund.

Also, just read a link previously provided from the States (post above). There were no engine mods done to my car and I don't know of any that have had to be made to other vehicles belonging to friends. - that includes newer vehicles. Car companies here actually offer L.P.G as a factory option, and the only reason I could see for modifications if straight gas were being considered....even then i'd be surprised.

Peter

[RD]

thanks bee man... i am seriously looking into this conversion.  i just need to find out where I can get the materials and do it myself.

[Rolling_Thunder]

hmmmmm     me thinky I should run a propane system as well...     That way I can run Gasoline, E85, or propane       too bad there are no E85 stations here in CA...  the most "green" state (environmentalists, EPA laws, ect.) of all...   go figure.   

[RD]

hmmmmm     me thinky I should run a propane system as well...     That way I can run Gasoline, E85, or propane       too bad there are no E85 stations here in CA...  the most "green" state (environmentalists, EPA laws, ect.) of all...   go figure.   

no shit!  wow, we have them all over here in Kansas.  we are a corn state though LOL... not as bad as nebraska or iowa though... if that is any consolation.

[71 Bee Man]

thanks bee man... i am seriously looking into this conversion.  i just need to find out where I can get the materials and do it myself.

RD,

the main complaint I've heard from guys over there is that the cost of Propane is a lot more than here in Australia. I'm not sure if it varies from State to State over there.

The problem we have here is that gasoline is so expensive compared to you guys. It costs us about $5 - $6 per gallon. The other thing too is that our L.P.G isn't just straight Propane - I think it's the Butane that gives it some more kick.

Look....obviously there is the facility over there for such a conversion, and i think it's just a matter of talking to the right people. For me - with the cost of fuel as it is - is has been an extremely successful conversion. I'm so happy I did it. Would you believe there was a newspaper report here only last week stating that something like 1,500 cars were being converted each week since the Government announced it's $2000 refund.

All I know is I drive my Bee around a lot more, and it drives very nice. For you guys in the U.S.....fuels a bit cheaper there, and I'm not sure you have the level of L.P.G service we have here because you simply haven't had to consider it. You've always had reasonably cheap fuel. Check out those link I provided earlier though, then ask your local mechanics. out here L.P.G is extremely common....for your own piece of mind, get as much info as you can.

Peter

Peter

[ACUDANUT]

   I am thinking of riding my Horse more, but did you know the costs of feeding Livestock has doubled also. Thanks to the Government using corn for fuel it raises everything else...Like a domino effect. Sad thing is, Gas is still more expensive yet.

[mikesbbody]

At first i thought peter was crazy running his super bee on lpg. but after talking with him, i believe its not a bad idea at all.
Look at the money you can save and its economical as well I would consider doing it to my charger but if i did, i would probably dedicate it to lpg.
I also hear you can run more compression with a lpg/propane vechile? which means more h.p...not a bad thing.
I think pete's on to something good 

[BrianShaughnessy]

hmmmmm     me thinky I should run a propane system as well...     That way I can run Gasoline, E85, or propane       too bad there are no E85 stations here in CA...  the most "green" state (environmentalists, EPA laws, ect.) of all...   go figure.   

Ahnold is pushing hydrogen.  http://www.hydrogenhighway.ca.gov/

[Steve P.]

I looked in to using propane here in Florida a few years ago. I found out that many of our fire/resque and police companies are using propane now. When a cruiser is sitting for a while with the A/C on they switch over to propane. Or when sitting with radar set up they will run it. The chase car does not. The cop I spoke with about it said that regular gas gave them better pick up and was more dependable from stops. His partner told me he didn't like it due to the feeling that they were riding around in a bomb. Of course that may just have been because they were driving a FOMOCO police special. They did have a problem with rear end collision tank explosions. Propane on top of it would not make me feel very good either..

The next challenge was finding a place to refill the tank. I could not just pull up to the county parks div. and say, (Fill 'er up)... I asked around at some of the propane tank fill joints and they told me they cannot fill a car and didn't know who could. I was given a number to try, but gave up on it as I damn sure wasn't going to drive to Tampa every time I needed fuel.. 60 mile round trip sort of puts a bind on the idea of saving..

I have a buddy that wants me to help him set up a used cooking grease truck. It's around a 94' Dodge 250 with a Cummins.  I will do a thread on it if we ever get that project off the ground..

[RD]

when i was in the army, i had a GSA vehicle that ran on LPG and for what it was, I didnt notice a difference between gas or LPG when switching between the two.  back then though, gas was only 1.47 a gallon so the need was not as big as it is now.

luckily, there is a conversion shop within 25 miles from my house.  I will make a trip up there this friday to talk with them.

Peter, thanks for the info.

[wetfeetmi]

 I toyed with the idea of a M.B. 5 cylinder turbo diesel for my Daytona clone for 2 years. I went so far as to purchase a wrecked 1980 300 sdl last winter with good motor and trans. I decided against it and sold it on e-bay am I am using a turbo charged 318 smog motor instead. Diesel fuel is $.50 a gallon more than gasoline and it is much dirtier for the environment.  We did however buy a new Camry Hybrid last monday!  Rick

[twenty mike mike]

Ahnold is pushing hydrogen.  http://www.hydrogenhighway.ca.gov/

Ahnold is right (for once), at least for new cars. Most proof of concept H2 stations are still using too much energy to make fuel, but there are a few self contained H2 stations that use solar to make fuel from H2O, some others are using wind energy, some are using hydro energy; that's a helluvalot better than using food to make ethanol and ending up with an energy negative fuel in the bargain. GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota, BMW and Mercedes (and maybe others) all have proof of concept hydrogen fueled cars. BMW has been working on them for more than a decade and has at least 10 in the hands of the public for beta test. Once there's buy-in for hydrogen power (the BMWs can use either H2 or gasoline, not sure about the other cars) more self contained stations will be built to meet the need. Imagine not needing all that furrin oil...

Note that Shell is involved in providing fueling stations, so spring butts won't be able to claim a Big Oil conspiracy against the idea.

http://www.fuelcells.org/info/charts/h2fuelingstations.pdf

[gordo1968charger]

thanks bee man... i am seriously looking into this conversion.  i just need to find out where I can get the materials and do it myself.

RD,

the main complaint I've heard from guys over there is that the cost of Propane is a lot more than here in Australia. I'm not sure if it varies from State to State over there.

The problem we have here is that gasoline is so expensive compared to you guys. It costs us about $5 - $6 per gallon. The other thing too is that our L.P.G isn't just straight Propane - I think it's the Butane that gives it some more kick.
$10 US DOLLAR FOR A GALLON IN UK(£1.07 A LITRE)
ITS GOOD TO BE BRITISH
NOT!!

Look....obviously there is the facility over there for such a conversion, and i think it's just a matter of talking to the right people. For me - with the cost of fuel as it is - is has been an extremely successful conversion. I'm so happy I did it. Would you believe there was a newspaper report here only last week stating that something like 1,500 cars were being converted each week since the Government announced it's $2000 refund.

All I know is I drive my Bee around a lot more, and it drives very nice. For you guys in the U.S.....fuels a bit cheaper there, and I'm not sure you have the level of L.P.G service we have here because you simply haven't had to consider it. You've always had reasonably cheap fuel. Check out those link I provided earlier though, then ask your local mechanics. out here L.P.G is extremely common....for your own piece of mind, get as much info as you can.

Peter

Peter

[nakita7]

"Oh.....I almost forgot....here's the clincher. Here in Australia the federal government actually reimburses people for getting an L.P.G conversion on their cars. Let's say the average conversion costs $2,700 brand new....the Government gives you back a $2000 refund. How goodm is that....al because it's better for the environment."

Here in Canada, it's over $4000 to convert and we get nothing back from the gov't. It's takes a lot of driving to get the cost of the conversion back, but worth it if you keep the vehicle for a long time.

[Big Sugar]

"Oh.....I almost forgot....here's the clincher. Here in Australia the federal government actually reimburses people for getting an L.P.G conversion on their cars. Let's say the average conversion costs $2,700 brand new....the Government gives you back a $2000 refund. How goodm is that....al because it's better for the environment."

Here in Canada, it's over $4000 to convert and we get nothing back from the gov't. It's takes a lot of driving to get the cost of the conversion back, but worth it if you keep the vehicle for a long time.

Nakita7 ..Where are you in Canada.?


Ron

[nakita7]

BC?...why?....

[kylem4711]

this is a real car!

http://www.theaircar.com/

[plum500]

So is this: http://www.teslamotors.com/design/gallery-body.php
And this: http://www.lightningcarcompany.com/

There's also the far less practical in design, though no less cool by any means, Wrightspeed: http://www.wrightspeed.com/

I thought it would be a cool and simple conversion to go E85 - but there is no supply in my neck of the woods. Besides while E85 burns clean, it is not a solution for any large scale of the population as it is proclaimed to be. From what I have heard, at best, if people were growing corn in every corner of the ground accessible, 5% supply - tops. Not to mention the energy required for developing it in the first place.

All that said, here's an E85 Charger dyno: http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=3180066168762956366&q=e85+charger&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[Bandit72]

when i was in the army, i had a GSA vehicle that ran on LPG and for what it was, I didnt notice a difference between gas or LPG when switching between the two.  back then though, gas was only 1.47 a gallon so the need was not as big as it is now.

luckily, there is a conversion shop within 25 miles from my house.  I will make a trip up there this friday to talk with them.

Peter, thanks for the info.

RD, when you find something out let me know..i would seriously consider this also....

[Big Sugar]

BC?...why?....

Just wondering, Thought you might be in Ontario...


Ron

[Mefirst]

Im gonna do the E85 conversion. Starting point is a 1050cmf Holly Dominator, the parts needed are on the way.. Ill let you know how this project works out...

/Tom

[Steve P.]

Hey Tom, I think you should start an E85 thread with your build.  I for one don't know enough about it and would like good trusting info... 

[Mefirst]

Hey Tom, I think you should start an E85 thread with your build.  I for one don't know enough about it and would like good trusting info... 

Steve

I'm gonna try it and see how it works out... ... Im in no way an expert, this will be mostly done by trial and error... Ill let you know if it is a or if it turns out to be a total

/Tom