Propane Conversion

[Bloodfist]

Has anyone heard or seen or done a propane conversion to the Eagle?

I know they sell kits for the AMC Jeep 258...

For $0.50/L for propane here (ON, Canada) you'd think it'd be quite worth while no?

[IowaEagle]

I believe some of our European members have.

[83Eagle!]

I think that would be really cool.  propane burns cleaner than gasoline.  I wish propane was that cheap around here.  It is pretty compable to the gasoline prices.  I have seen a couple Ford Trucks locally that have been converted.  Metropolitan Utilities District has a Civic or two that run entirely on natural gas too.  always thought that that was interesting too. 

[SleepsUnderCars]

I have looked into this conversion for my Rambler.  Here is a link to a website where the guy has done it, lots of good info

http://wps.com/AMC/LPG/index.html

[milliard431]

How much for a kit?

[doneagle]

               HI My brother in law put it on hes ford 1500. A few years back he got the tank free and paid $ 125.00 fo rthe carb and valves. and he paid for the inetal. he ran longer on oil changes after 3000 mi the oil was stil clean .it was hard to believe .after 3000 with gas the oil black.I would like to try propane........Don

[mojobean]

theres a propane sx/4 up in western canada if i remember correctly. ran across it within the past year but don't know if i remember where.

[A-A EAGLE]

Hello,

Gas converversions are very common in Europe. I have some V8's running on it. Over here we use a mix of (mostly) propane and butane and we call it LPG (Liquified Petrol Gas).

Engines with carburetors are easy to convert and if well adjusted the will give no proplems at all. Fuel injected versions are more expensive and complex, but this is not the case with our mighty 258's.

Keep in mind that you will loose some power and mpg will increase a little.

As propane will burn on higher temperatures you will need suitable spark plugs and consider to advance your ingnition al bit 'cause propane burns a bit slower as petrol.

I do not know if AMC engines need harder valves and valve seats. To my opinion this will not be nessesary if you do not push your right feet to the carpet all the time. There are even valve lube systems that are cheap and will do the job.

Anjo
Holland

[eagleo]

I've just finished my propane conversion on my Eagle 1983. I can only run on propane, there are no gasoline parts left in the car. The gastank is removed and in this place I mounted a 76 ltr propane ringtank. Before that I welded a straight plate on the place of the bubble in the trunk bottom.
I used almost all Impco materials. The mixer Impco 225 with a throttle plate is directly mounted on the intake manifold in the place of the 2 barrel carter carburator. The Impco converter type E is placed beside the coolant overflow tank so it is nearby the mixer.
The engine runs like new, no single hesitation. The reaction on the throttle is very good and driving a real pleasure.
Becaus I have no cat in the exhaust, the gasoline emission was very bad and stinky, now on propane its very clean and almost no stink.
Till now I have no mileage information but as soon as there is reliable info I shall post it here.
I'm very satisfied with the job.

[rollguy]

Years ago (30+?), I ran all my cars on propane. I even had a 500 gallon tank with a pump and meter that I rented from the propane company.  They kept it full and sent me the bill.   It was nice to have a fueling station at home!  Unfortunately, that was before I got into Eagles, so none of my Eagles ran on propane.  I even had a corvair propane powered dune buggy! (I guess I was obsessed with propane power back then mostly because of the price). Now I am into Diesels, and use WVO as alternate fuel.  I guess the only available alternate fuel for gas vehicles nowadays is propane.  There are many off-roader's that use propane in their rock buggies.  Unlike carbureted engines, propane fueled engines can practically be run sideways without flooding.

[txjeeptx]

Since propane or LPG/CNG is a vapor when introduced into the airstream into the engine, the engine/vehicle can be run at any angle that still allows for oil to reach the pump. Use a dry sump oiling system, and who cares if the rig is upside-down, it'll still run.

Propane/LPG/CNG has a lower heating value than gasoline, so it has less power per unit volume, but it has a higher resistance to detonation, so it has a higher "octane" level than gasoline, allowing the ignition to be advanced further.

Propane is well known for close to complete combustion with low levels of NOx, so EGR is not necessary. Better combustion also means there is less unburnt fuel making it into the oil, so the oil remains clean longer.

I have personally seen a late 90's Dodge truck with a 5.9L 12-valve Cummins deisel engine that was converted to run on CNG. The engine had lower compression from either a set of shorter rods or a special head or gasket(I don't recall exactly what was done to it), and the head had the diesel injectors replaced by spark plugs. I think it was still turbocharged/intercooled. The guy claimed to go 10kmi between oil changes, and showed me the inside of the oil cap, and it was as clean as the day it was made, and the truck had hundreds of thousands of miles on it, so there shoulda been some sort of junk in there by then, even if it was a fresher than stock engine.

I have never fueled any of my vehicles with propane or LPG/CNG, but I want to.

[dkoug]

I met a guy out of Victoria,BC about 20 years ago who demonstrated his Semi.

He had a 300 Ford I6 mounted beside a 292 GM I6 in place of the Diesel and a Automatic (GM)

Power was awesome, Claimed much better MPG and when he needed a new engine, cheaper than borscht.

He was having problems convincing long distance truckers of the advantages. He was going to set it up in a city bus as it would be very quick between stops etc.

He was ahead of his time in that they now are selling 18 wheelers converted to Natural Gas.

Here in Alberta we have been burning off propane as waste since the early/mid 1900's.

dkoug

Question is why did he not use either twin 300 or 292??

[rollguy]

 

I have personally seen a late 90's Dodge truck with a 5.9L 12-valve Cummins deisel engine that was converted to run on propane. The engine had lower compression from either a set of shorter rods or a special head or gasket(I don't recall exactly what was done to it), and the head had the deisel injectors replaced by spark plugs. It was still turbocharged/intercooled. The guy claimed to go 10kmi between oil changes, and showed me the inside of the oil cap, and it was as clean as the day it was made, and the truck had hundreds of thousands of miles on it, so there shoulda been some sort of junk in there by then, even if it was a fresher than stock engine.

I have never fueled any of my vehicles with propane or LPG, but I want to.

Many city buses and trash trucks run Diesel engines converted (or manufactured specifically) to run on CNG (compressed natural gas), and have the same longevity as LPG fueled engines.  It is amazing how clean this type of fuel is for an internal combustion engine.   I can't really say that for WVO powered Diesel engines.  WVO is MUCH cleaner than pump Diesel, but nowhere as clean as LPG/CNG.

[eaglebeek]

I met a guy out of Victoria,BC about 20 years ago who demonstrated his Semi.

He had a 300 Ford I6 mounted beside a 292 GM I6 in place of the Diesel and a Automatic (GM)

Power was awesome, Claimed much better MPG and when he needed a new engine, cheaper than borscht.

He was having problems convincing long distance truckers of the advantages. He was going to set it up in a city bus as it would be very quick between stops etc.

He was ahead of his time in that they now are selling 18 wheelers converted to Natural Gas.

Here in Alberta we have been burning off propane as waste since the early/mid 1900's.

dkoug

Question is why did he not use either twin 300 or 292??

That's interesting...in the late 40s/early 50s GM used two stovebolt sixes driving through a common transmission in some of their intercity buses. And remember the Greyhound Scenicruiser? When it first hit the road in the mid-50s it was powered by two 4-71 diesels, again driving through a common transmission. This arrangement, however, did not last long as GM produced the 8V-71 diesel and the buses with two engines were quickly converted.

I'm surprised your acquaintance's idea didn't catch on.

[DaemonForce]

I'm experimenting with this and other forms of fuel. The Ford 300 accessories are a great starting point since numerous upgrades should be first considered before attempting propane as a serious and reliable fuel alternative. Since the American 258 was originally downdraft carb'd and I don't like the Motorcraft stuff or electronically assisted carbs, I'm planning on going back to the classic Carter first. I know this means removing a computer and altering a massively overcomplicated ignition system but it's worth eliminating all the stuff that can and frequently does go wrong before experimenting with the air and fuel delivery.

I remember earlier this year someone was selling an LP conversion kit at the Puyallup trade show but it didn't look like it was worth $200. I think Summit Racing sells an OTC Propane Enrichment Kit for half that. Maybe they still have it?