Propane Conversion: How to Make LPG Cars

Liquid propane can be a low-emissions alternative fuel for cars. With the right vehicle and know-how, you can have a natural gas car.

By the MOTHER EARTH NEWS editors

Liquid propane is a attempted and tested low-emission fuel.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS EDITORS

It works. Fresh York, Maine, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Utah, California . . . I’ve traveled miles and miles and miles in a VW bus converted to run on LP (liquid propane) and the easy-to-install system indeed does result in lower operating and maintenance costs, much longer engine life AND 70% less air pollution.

(Note from the editors: This conversion is for non-fuel-injected vehicles.)

Unlike gasoline, LP (and from here on, whenever I say LP you can take it to mean liquid propane, homemade methane or natural gas . . . the system will work on any of these) comes in your engine as a totally vaporized fuel that’s free from lead, carbon, gum, sulfur and most pollutants. LP won’t foul your car’s butt-plugs, ruin its valves, contaminate its oil, wash down its cylinder walls and rings, burn out its muffler . . . OR ruin the air we all breathe. And while mileage and spectacle are about the same as with gasoline, cost per gallon of LP generally runs about 15% less than you’ve very likely been paying for fuel.

So what are the disadvantages of this low-polluting system? Very first, it’ll cost you something over $100 (including everything) to do your conversion . . . a bit of money even when you consider that the equipment will transfer readily to your next vehicle. 2nd, packing up an LP tank simply isn’t as convenient as stopping at a gasoline station. However, only a few times in 15,000 miles have I found LP so inaccessible that I was compelled to use the other half of my dual system and switch over to gasoline for a while.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS EDITORS

There’s absolutely nothing fresh about LP conversion. Excellent equipment of the kind I’m using has been around for over forty years and more than 250,000 vehicles-mostly trucks, cabs and forklifts—are presently operating on LP. The hardware is well proven.

Equipment

You’ll need five major lumps of equipment to convert your car to LP. All are available from most any LP dealer (with a little help from a hardware store on fittings), albeit you might want to attempt getting a used tank from one of the large forklift users or any of the businesses listed under "Gas, Liquified Petroleum, Bulk". If necessary, write to National LP Gas Association, for help in locating equipment dealers near you. OK. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. A FUEL TANK. Use only a regulation motor vehicle LP tank made to ASME, ICC or DOT specifications. Such a container has all the safety features required by law and common sense, comes with a gauge, has terrific rupture resistance and is built to last forever.

Two. A CONVERTOR, or "request regulator" that switches the liquid propane to a gas (using engine warmth to prevent freezing) and supplies just as much of the fuel as the power plant requests through its carburetor vacuum. There are a number of good, time-tested convertors on the market (Century, Plank, Impco, etc.). I’ve been pleased with the Century in my bus but I’ve just done a conversion with an Impco that seems even better.

Three. A SPUD-IN JET for your engine’s carburetor (two if there are two carburetors).

Four. TWO HOSES. One (A) to take liquid propane from the fuel tank to the convertor and another (B) to carry vaporized fuel from the convertor to the carburetor. Hosepipe A must be super-duper aircraft quality and you’ll very likely have to order it to length and diameter specifications (in which case it’ll come with fittings on either end). Hose pipe B can be the ordinary rubber multitude since it’ll contain very little pressure. About 8′ of A and Two’ of B should do it.

Five. FITTINGS AND HARDWARE. This will sound complicated but don’t funk. To conduct engine fever into and out of your convertor you’ll need a foot or so of heater hose pipe and two Y fittings for a water-cooled engine . . . or some Three/8" O.D. (outside diameter) copper tubing and a flare adapter nip for a VW. A fitting to adapt hosepipe A to the convertor’s LP-in port. A brass reducer to step the convertor’s vapor output down to standard Five/16" O.D. fuel line size. A standard on-off valve (with suitable fittings) to insert in the gas line. Enough single-strand electrical wire (bell wire) to run from the convertor to the car’s dash. A doorbell-type switch for the primer. Water-hose clips and compression fittings, miscellaneous nuts and bolts and—if desired or needed—plastic fasteners for fastening the hoses to the car and steel braces for mounting the LP tank.

Costs – Harshly (1972)

Standard retail convertor costs average about $55 (the Century G85A) for a VW, $45 (Impco JO) for other engines under one hundred fifty HP and $70 (Impco EO) for larger power plants.

Hoses (hosepipe A is expensive, but it doesn’t pay to cut corners here) are about $16 and a jet will set you back $1.00, fittings and hardware $6.00 and shipping (if necessary) $Trio.00.

A fresh 14-gallon pressure tank costs around $70 but I got mine used for $35 at the very first place I asked. Figuring that as average for a do-it-yourself installation, the grand total for a VW conversion comes to $116, other engines under one hundred fifty HP add up to $106 and larger power plants tally out to $131.

Implements and Supplies

You’ll need a minimum of two adjustable wrenches or one adjustable wrench and a set of open or box end wrenches; a good screwdriver of the correct size; pliers; a hacksaw; electrified drill and bits up to 1/Two" (up to 9/16" for a VW); hammer and punch; 1/8" NPT (National Pipe Thread) tap (VW people will also need a Three/8" NPT tap and a chisel; a vise, if possible; puny tube of pipe-joint sealer; a tube of plastic rubber . . . and a friend or two to help lift the tank into place and lend moral support via.

Instructions

Detailed instructions should accompany your convertor. What goes after are simply my thoughts on doing the job without some of the normally recommended equipment. . . and adapting the conversion instructions (written mainly for water-cooled engines) to the VW.

Installing the Tank

Mounting a propane tank in standard cars is mostly a matter of common sense. With a VW, tho’, you may have to put the fuel container on rather than in the vehicle. My friendly welder charged me $Five.00 for my custom-built roof climb on (the bracket was decorated with canned burst paint to prevent rust) rigidly fastened the fuel tank base to my van’s roof with six Five/16" bolts that were secured with nuts and lock washers which were—in turn—sealed with little drops of plastic rubber

Installing the Convertor

If your car has a water-cooled engine, you’ll fever the convertor by running hot water through it from the power plant’s cooling system. This is enormously elementary if the system is the type that always circulates hot fluid through the automobile’s greater whether it’s in use or not) Just cut through the hose pipe that takes hot water to the heater and put the convertor directly into that line.

Other water-cooled systems are more complicated to tap but the process isn’t hard. See the set of instructions that come with your convertor and reminisce to use pipe-joint sealer on all connections.

If you have a VW or other air-cooled engine, you’re going to use harass fever to warm the convertor. Commence by drilling a 9/16" slot in your car’s muffler. Where? Scrooch down on your back underneath the VW with your feet behind the right rear wheel and your head behind the left rear tire. See where the muffler is fastened to the heater box by semi-circular forceps and long, skinny bolts? Just to the rear of those forceps is where you drill . . . horizontally.

Now tap threads into the crevice using a Three/8" NPT tap. I’ve found it lighter not to use a tap treat for this . . . instead, just apply pressure to the shank of the tap with your thumb while turning the tap with whatever wrench fits (usually Five/8"). If you have a socket set, it’ll work truly well for turning the tap in . . . use the ratchet and a Five/8" socket.

Next fasten the Trio/8" O.D. copper tubing to a nip screwy screwed into the slot you’ve just drilled and tapped. Drill a Trio/8" fuckhole up through the engine compartment floor (slightly to the left of the power plant for the VW bug. . . into the far left engine compartment space for the bus). Shove the other end of the copper tubing up through this slot and link it to one side of your convertor’s water tunnel with a ferrule-type compression fitting as the unit is lounging on its side with the primer button pointing at you.

Fasten a 2nd length (like one foot) of tubing to the other end of the convertor’s water tunnel, drill another Three/8" crevice in the engine compartment floor (about a foot away from the very first), run the tubing out of the engine compartment and arch it so that it finishes up horizontal and pointing straight back the fuckholes in the floor with plastic rubber and secure your convertor to the engine.

Now the VW and the non-VW folks are back together again for the next step of bushing down the convertor’s LP-vapor-port to a Five/16" O.D. nip so that hosepipe B may be linked. Secure the hose pipe with puny forceps and leave it dangling till law.

Just how hose pipe A will run from the LP tank to the convert will be determined by the design of your particular auto. In U.S. vehicles the path is pretty direct . . . from the tank on the trunk shelf, through the trunk floor, under the car and up into the engine compartment. In VWs you’ll have to cut a suitable slot to let hose pipe A into your engine compartment. The higher up the slot the better (right over the taillight is best in the bus) to keep hosepipe A out of harm’s way in case your car gets bumped. Drill a 1/Two" crevice and widen it with your chisel until hosepipe A passes through.

Fasten one end of the "A" hosepipe to the LP-in port of your convertor (using an adequate fitting) and the other end to the LP-liquid-out port of the fuel tank. If you’ve drilled a crevice, use slew of plastic rubber to seal it once hose pipe A is in place and secure the hosepipe to the outside of the car with a few plastic-coated forceps wherever it seems to need it.

Installing the Jet

You can install the necessary conversion jet without removing your car’s carburetor, but you’re likely to get petite metal shavings in the engine while doing it . . . and that’s not healthy. So get the carb out. The air cleaner comes off very first, then the two or four bolts that fasten the carburetor to the intake manifold and then whatever other linkages and whatnots are still holding the thing in place.

On a VW, loosen the pinch that holds the air cleaner to the top of the carburetor and liquidate the cleaner. Then pull off any wires (none, one or two) that you see going to the right side of the carb and don’t worry about mixing them up . . . it doesn’t matter in what order you put the wires back on.

Take off the two cloth-covered tubes on the left side of the carb and unscrew the two thirteen mm bolts that hold the carburetor to the manifold (a 1/Two" wrench will work if you don’t have a thirteen mm one). As you lift the carb off, you’ll find that it’s still held by a connection to the accelerator cable, the end of which passes through a little cylinder tweak which has a puny setscrew in its side. Loosen the setscrew and slip the cable out . . . but be careful you don’t lose the cylinder clip, which is now free to drop out. Note where it goes and store it in a safe place.

Now with the carb on the workbench, preferably in a vise, drill a Five/16" crevice into where the up-down passageway (mouth is narrowest . . . the exact spot is not at all critical, but you don’t want to pick a place where you’re going to drill through the float cup or something. Check out a VW carb while it’s still on the engine and note that right at the midpoint (up-down) and slightly to the right there’s a raised round place with a smaller round depression in the middle . . . a ideal place to drill.

The carburetor is aluminum, so cutting will be effortless, with some sticking near the end and lots of flying shavings all along. Don’t let the shavings bother you . . . just attempt to drill straight and don’t worry if things begin to seem mighty fragile. As you finish, look down into the carb and go effortless to make sure the bit doesn’t strike through forcefully enough to harm something inwards the carburetor mouth.

Now get out that 1/8" NPT tap and a tap treat if you have one (a wrench if you don’t). Tap threads into the fuckhole as far as you can, watching down through the carb to be sure you stop the tap just before it strikes anything inwards the mouth. Then screw the jet into the crevice as far as it will go without striking anything (but no further than halfway through the mouth). Finish with the jet’s bevel pointing down. If you have two carburetors, simply repeat the procedure on the 2nd one.

Apply some pipe-joint sealer, pour gasoline over the carburetor—inside and out—to get all the shavings and grime off and substitute the carb. On a VW, put the cylinder pin back in place after the carb’s in and the two thirteen mm bolts are secured . . . then have a friend climb into the car and depress the accelerator pedal. This will help you line up the accelerator cable with the cylinder tweak and then you can gently ease the cable end into the tweak as your friend lets up on the pedal. With the pedal all the way up and the lever holding the cylinder tweak as straight up and down as it’ll go, tighten the setscrew on the cylinder. Then substitute wires, tubes and air cleaner.

For the final step, connect the dangling end of hosepipe B—already affixed to the convertor’s LP-vapor-out nipple—to the jet and secure it with a puny water-hose clip. For a two-carburetor system, get a ordinary Y fitting and install it into hosepipe B (bottom toward convertor) and then run lengths of hosepipe B off the two Y arms to each carb.

You’re done with the only substantial switch you’ll make in your car’s engine.

Completing the Installation

Locate the hose pipe or metal tube that runs down from the top of your carburetor to the fuel pump, cut it right in the middle, install the on-off valve where you made the cut and put things together with compression fittings. Don’t install the valve anywhere in the fuel system except inbetween the fuel pump and the carb . . . no harm whatsoever can result from the fuel pump working against a stopped line, but much harm can come from the pump sucking on an empty line. If you have a hose-type line, you’ll need to link a petite length of copper tubing (1/Four" O.D.) to each end of the valve for the hose pipe to fit over.

Ultimately (wow, we’re almost through), connect one end of that single-strand electrical wire to the adequate terminal on your convertor (see the diagram that comes with the unit), run the wire under the car and into the passenger compartment—through one of the grommets in the fire wall or floorboard—and fasten it to a elementary push-button, doorbell-type switch.

Run a brief length of the same kind of wire from the other terminal of the switch to your car’s fusebox. Holding the switch in the "on" position, take out one fuse and touch the naked end of the wire very first to one and then to the other end of the fuse holder. Repeat the process on down the line of fuses until you find a fuse holder where one side sparks and the other doesn’t. Fasten your wire to the side that doesn’t. Substitute the fuse and affix the switch inwards the car wherever you’d like . . . you’ll use it to operate the convertor’s primer, which gives your engine a shot of LP vapor just before you commence it up.

And you’re ready to commence it up just as soon as you get your LP tank packed.

There’ll still be gasoline in the car’s carburetor so, before you take that very first LP drive, turn the gasoline on-off valve to "off" (perpendicular to the line), commence your car as usual (what used to be usual, anyway) and let it run for a few minutes until it uses up the gasoline in the carburetor and conks out. Now open the liquid-out valve of your LP tank, turn on the key, hit the primer button for two seconds and embark ‘er up. Hurray! You’re driving on LP gas!

When you run out of LP, just turn on your gasoline valve and crank the engine (you’ll need a battery that’s in good form) until sufficient gasoline gets up into the carb (pumping the accelerator pedal may help). After you’ve packed up with LP again, turn the gasoline valve off and begin the car a 2nd time. For a few minutes the air-fuel combination will be too rich and the engine will sputter, but the car will comeback to its usual purr once the gasoline in the carb is burned off.

Adjusting the Air-Fuel Combination

If the engine idles just about the same as it did on gasoline you’ve hit things just right. If it’s a tad slower, turn the idle screw up a bit and smile . . . you’re still in good form. Chances are, however, the engine will tend to conk out when you let it idle because your LP-air combination isn’t yet fairly ideal.

In the latter case, drill a puny slot (say 1/8") perpendicularly into the copper tube sticking out from the jet and into the carburetor (best to liquidate the jet before drilling). Insert any ordinary, puny screw that you can just squeeze in, put the jet back and then get a friend to apply a slight but stable pressure to the accelerator pedal (to keep the engine going) while you fucktoy with the screw. Turn it in and out and see what happens. If you can get maximum rpm without removing the screw entirely, you’re all set.

But you might find that the highest rpm comes with the crevice left open. If so, drill another slot, insert the screw and fucktoy around until you get optimal rpm that you can lower by moving that screw in and out.

On the other forearm, maybe your best results come when you put your finger over the fuckhole . . . that’s OK, too, because you can just gauze up the crevice and be done with it.

In the unlikely circumstance that a finger over the crevice gives you the best idle—but one that’s still nowhere near what you had with gasoline (even when you turn the idle screw up a bit)—then you need a larger jet. Before you buy one, attempt reaming out the opening of the jet you have, using a drill bit that almost—but not quite—makes it into the opening (maybe 7/32"). If that still doesn’t do the trick, you’ll just have to get a larger spud-in jet from your LP-equipment dealer .

Other Things Worth Doing

Nothing else is absolutely necessary to make your car run slickly on LP, albeit there are lots of goodies you can buy and things you can do to make your conversion more elegant, convenient, efficient, etc. Things like regapping the spark ass-plugs to .008-.010" (.018" for a VW), removing the automobile’s warmth riser, taking off the automatic gasp, adding a filter-fuel lock, putting more sophisticated jets in the carburetor or mounting an electrified solenoid switch on the car’s dash so you can spin back and forward from LP to gasoline while driving.

None of these modifications will hurt the vehicle during it, brief sprints on gasoline and they can all be readily undone—in fact, they must be—if your car’s ever to run exclusively on : gasoline again . . . but I won’t go into them here because these switches are covered in the manuals that come with LP convertors.

Here’s a special tidbit for VW bus owners, however . . . turn the air cleaner around so that its snout points toward the engine compartment’s side vents. That way you’ll draw the coolest possible air into the power plant.

Buying Liquid Propane

Once you’re off and running on LP the only trouble you’re likely to have is in finding a source of fuel. You can minimize this problem by writing to Woodall Publishing Company, for a list of more than 8,000 LF dealers across the country. As LP use for campers and motor vehicles becomes more common, LP depots are proliferating and Woodall treats a fairly up-to-date guide. I Truck stops sooty also commonly sell LP.

By the way, if you’re going to be in an unacquainted unacquainted area for a while, check (anonymously by phone) on whether LP is cheaper as a motor fuel or as a non-motor fuel. It’s often possible to save fairly a bit by purchasing LP for heating/cooking rather than for driving. In Vancouver, for example, LP is 20¢ a gallon for use off the road and 40¢ a gallon for use as a motor fuel, most of the difference being in road tax. Oddly enough, in some states things are the other way around . . . so check very first.

If anyone attempts to charge you more for LP than for gasoline, they’re not providing you the bulk rate and you should protest. There’s no need to pay the high prices charged for bottled gas. Recall that people aren’t much used to watching private cars run on LP yet . . . so there’s lots of room for hard talking on your part and well-I-guess-it-must-be-so thinking on theirs.

Maybe it won’t always be so. Maybe someday LP-powered vehicles will be the rule rather than the exception . . . and maybe then we can all begin loving the cleaner air that results from the use of LP gas as a fuel for motor vehicles.

I was indeed on the edge of providing up on determining about using propane conversions but I think somehow I found the response. I am a new-comer here but I would just like to share my practice since some people might feel the same way. At very first I was a bit doubtful if converting gas to propane would truly fit my expectations but I’ve come to realized that yes, it is the response for my longing prayers. It’s very affordable, convenient and is truly a lifesaver. I don’t need to spend too much on gasoline and I love the perks of saving my precious time and energy. Just to share, attempt visiting this website that I found,http://gomowpropane.com/conversion-plans/. It’s a good reference for your concerns about propane conversions. I hope it will help you like it did for me. 🙂

Has anyone ever thought of running their car with water? I have a post on some tips and information you might be interested in. www.mark4bestreviews.com/gasconversion/

does anyone know where I can get info on converting an injection car to LP

hope the thread is still read. It runs under water too, its crazy. Now insight on the spud-in jet. are there pics of the one used? how long does it need to be, and a good brand to use. having trouble finding a right one to use.

wow now two in one week: want to convert an eighty seven jeep. it will also run at any angle while off road

wow no-ones read this since oh.. umm..2008..(its now 2012/jan 24th.wow)..smilz from the beach on the s.e coast

I converted a one thousand nine hundred seventy Chevy pickup to propane twenty years ago and loved it. I kept the orig. fuel system so I could use either. I sold it because they switched the rules in Florida so that road taxes had to be paid a year in advance. It is no longer a DIY project here either, legally. Sad, no?

"Unlike gasoline, LP .. comes in your engine as a fully vaporized fuel that’s free from lead, carbon, gum, sulfur and most pollutants. LP won’t foul your car’s buttplugs, ruin its valves, contaminate its oil, wash down its cylinder walls and rings, burn out its muffler . . . OR demolish the air we all breathe. And while mileage and spectacle are about the same as with gasoline, cost per gallon of LP generally runs about 15% less than you’ve very likely been paying for fuel." wow i never knew the hydro carbon propane didnt have carbon.. yes its cleaner but.. look at emissions per BTU or mile and cost per mile i have looked at all this many times before and electric current is best imo because of the inefficiency of ICE the electrified is more efficient and and violet wand is out there now cost two cent a mile vs fourteen cent on gasoline locally for 1-3 cent more a KWh you can select a ‘green’ electrified supply if you are of the mind to i know alot of aussies and dutch use LPG or CNG but they have pack stations. what came very first the pack station or the request?

Hi everyone, never having been to the US I’m truly suprised that you dont use LPG to fuel your cars. I’m in Australia where it’s been used for many years and with todays petrol prices it does makes a difference. Any car can be converted here, an 800cc suzuki through to a high spectacle V8, but they have to be professionally fitted and certified. We now have a $2000 government rebate to convert our cars with the consumer sometimes paying an excess of up to $400 depending on what model of car and size tank etc. Petrol today is selling at my local gas station for $1.52c a litre, I’m not too sure on the conversion but I think its somewhere close to $6 something a gallon and LPG is 0.62c a litre give or take a few cents. So are there no regulations on modifying your car with LPG over there? Can one just do this themselves willy nilly? Do you have places to have cars professionally fitted? I think its a excellent idea if you can do it yourself but I hope you trust your own skill because leaking tanks here from people who have attempted modifying themselves have just gone BOOOOMM!! In response to someone who asked how the car would run, spectacle wise the car is a little slower but the only time you indeed notice this is at take off or if youre attempting to overtake another car. I have a ’64 beetle Im planning to oneday restore I was considering converting to LPG. They make donut shaped tanks that fit in where the spare wheel goes for cars with limited boot space if any other "buggers" were considering to also convert. Safe driving! Tiara

I too would like to get a kit for an aircooled VW, guess I’ll have to snail-mail Jerry to see if they’re still available.

I have a one thousand nine hundred seventy nine Ford F-100 with a three hundred straight six single barrel carb that I’m just dying to convert to propane. I live right down the street from a propane supplier. I want the entire thing, even the solenoid to exchange back and forward. I allready have a ten gallon forklift tank and clips/brackets.

Can this system be mounted and used on fuel enjection. What is the WC pressuse at the outlet at the reg. thank you Harry Peeples

Are these kits still available? I am interested in one for an aircooled VW engine. Thanks, BobC

Has anyone attempted to convert one of the more modern engines? Like a fuel injected Toyota? They do not have carburetors. So,how do you work around the fuel injectors? Bob

So how does one measure available fuel levels in an LP vehicle? I don’t recall any mention of how to keep an eye out for low fuel levels in any of the LP vehicle articles, including the above. If my grill runs out of LP I can drive up the road and get a fresh bottle. If my vehicle runs out of LP out in the boonies, I’m not going anywhere.

I own a ford econoline van that was converted to propane from the begin a think. It is a accomplish conversion without a dual setup and it sat for awhile because I needed transmission work on it. When I went to commence it I couldn’t get it to embark. Somebody said that there are diaphrams that very likely dried up. Is there anyplace where I can find repair manuals and parts lists for this? Thank you.

Looks to be possible for fuel injected engines. This was already linked above http://www.cars.rasoenterprises.com/Propane-Conversions.htm There are several (working?) links and/or telephone numbers to businesses that can perform this conversion service for you.

I have a one thousand nine hundred fifty two International Pickup Truck, looking to convert to LPG. It looks pretty straightforward but where can I order a conversion kit specific for this type of truck? thanks!

I presently own a one thousand nine hundred ninety eight volvo S90 that has fuel injection. Do you have information for fuel injection? Years ago in the fresno calif. area, I had a dual fuel l958 chevy and went well over 100,000 miles with it. mileage was comparable with gasoline. Propane gives better low speed torque. Propane cleans any built up carbon already in the engine, so you have to switch the oil often until the carbon is cleaned out,(2000 or three thousand miles), after that the oil stays clean. Back in the 50’s there was a chrysler with over 300,000 miles that just switched the filter once in a while. I am a believer.

Looking to convert a late model Chevy or Doge four door 1?Two ton pickup , while they are cheap.. rk

I have a one thousand nine hundred eighty four Toyota crown six cylinder! Does this article and parts apply to a for Propane conversion on this vehicle?

I drive an eighty three Honda Civic Wagon and would like some tips on converting to LP. I’m an ex Suburban Propane employee and have a good understanding of LP but don’t know where to get a conversion kit and am wondering where to climb on the tank.

About ten or twelve years ago I inquired my local LP supplier about this conversion. I asked about the MPG difference and he said his delivery trucks, which were converted, ran an average of about one MPG less than if they were not. At the time gas was less than $1 a gallon and the expense didn’t seem practical. I wonder if this could be done with a motorcycle? I know LP forklifts also run on five gallon upright tanks, which are effortless to purchase! (HMMM) Any comments??

I have not seen anything in reference to MPH after converting to LP gas. If MPG is comparable to gasoline and the price of LP is forty cents. WOW!! what savings.

a few things Canada has used propane for years. pull up at a regular gas station pack it up and drive on. They use normal space for a tank as a normal car so why is everyone having a hard timne with this?? One more thing I have more than two 1/Two million miles of driving when I commenced in85 normal fuel and gas was used (for the most part) the trees and shrubs were very healthy. Now that all these fresh confinements have gone into place things along the hwy. are dieing. Lets see trees and things live on what the motors put out and switch it into what we breathe. Now that motors put out less and trees and shrubs are dieing where are we left.

I would like to learn more about the comversion , I have a one thousand nine hundred ninety seven grandam six cylindrs ad I would like to know more about it.

I am presently building a brand fresh engine for my one thousand nine hundred seventy two Super Beetle and would like to build it as a dual fuel engine. This was good information. A little dated (1972), but nevertheless, fairly practical.

please contact me with more info about l-p converters thank you will

I have a one thousand nine hundred ninety six ford tarus (fuel injected) do you have any information on conv? What are the costs today?

Hello I am interested in converting my one thousand nine hundred eighty five Mazda RX seven rotary motor to LP or LP and gas mix. I was wondering if you have any information on doing so and could recommend the supplies I would need for the conversion. Is there a web link to purchase supplies? Thanks

I have a one thousand nine hundred ninety nine Mercury Grand Marquis. I am incapable to do a conversion to Propane or Natural gas myself. Can you put me in touch with someone in the Phoenix Arizona area that does this kind of work? Can you give me a ballpark figure of the cost of converting to LPG or NG? Shelly

Hi I am a pastor of a puny church in southern IL. and would like to set a better example in the area of auto polution. I have a one thousand nine hundred eighty one Jeep that I would like to convert to LP Gas and am having trouple getting it together. Can you help? I can be reached at 618-458-7100 or [email protected] Sincerly Patrick Poole

Have a one thousand nine hundred seventy eight Three/Four ton P/U I want to convert to propane I also will be towing a 35.Five ft 5th wheel, plan on running on vapid parts of hiway with propane, any place around San Jose to have the kit installed,or that does this anywhere else on the peninsula around Palo Alto? thanks

I have a turbocharged car with a force fed carb, incased in a pressure bo. Will this work watching how there is positive pressure being introduced to the carb?

need a jerry kit for a vw rail buggy

Mark, You can convert fuel injected vehicles to run on propane. www.nexgas.us

THANKS MOM. Most likely read my very first issue of MOTHER EARTH about thirty years ago, I’ve been an advocate ever since. I DO BELIEVE THAT AN UPDATE IS URGENTLY CALLED FOR!

Also the Fittings needs to be NPTF (National Pipe Thread Fuel) This will prevent leaks the the ordinary NPT fittings would permit!

Where can i find installation instructions for an Impco three hundred mixer on s ninety seven Dodge three hundred eighteen pickup?

My plan is to convert a 1980, three hundred fifty CID, Chev. car to operate on propane or gasoline. Does the JERRY KIT for approx. $70.00 still exist?

What about converting a fuel injected vehicle toLP?

I also have a Ford van with fuel injection that I would like to covert over to LP. Where can I find out about it?

It seems to me the BTU content of propane vs gasolene is considerably lower so petite vessels installed in vehicles (to leave room for luggage) would not give you the range that gasolene has. Propane is also a stronger than air gas so more maintenance is needed to keep fittings and pipe from wiggling liberate and permitting leaks to occur in restrained spaces(garages) and low earth catches sight of. Leaks in the vicenity of air intakes can also make the engine proceed to run and accelerate regardless of driver releasing the accelerator. There are several more potential safety problems to be solved before using propane. In Hobbs fresh Mexico a farmer had a lit cigarette suck up and kill him because of a limber propane hosepipe leak. Solve the problems very first!

It seems to me the BTU content of propane vs gasolene is considerably lower so petite vessels installed in vehicles (to leave room for luggage) would not give you the range that gasolene has. Propane is also a stronger than air gas so more maintenance is needed to keep fittings and pipe from jiggling liberate and permitting leaks to occur in restrained spaces(garages) and low earth catches sight of. Leaks in the vicenity of air intakes can also make the engine proceed to run and accelerate regardless of driver releasing the accelerator. There are several more potential safety problems to be solved before using propane. In Hobbs fresh Mexico a farmer had a lit cigarette suck up and kill him because of a nimble propane hose pipe leak. Solve the problems very first!

Thanks for the article. I’m wanting to convert as one phase in getting off of oil. I’m researching electrical vehicles versus gaseous driven. Also looking at Iceland’s Hydrogen economy as a possibility; so may consider a third system of H and believe the LP solution as a way to take a puny step forward towards that objective. Eventually, my question is about timing. The H proponents say to set the timing forward as H burns quicker than petrol but does timing need to be reset for LP as well?

I have that same question I would like to know about fuel injection vehicles i have a two thousand seven Toyota Yaris and would like to convert it, I also have a Ford Freestyle 2005, how can I convert these.

When I read this it was talking about carburetor engines. What about fuel injection vehicles?

I have looked erywhere to find a frofessional installer to have my two thousand six Checy Aveo converted to Propane gas. Can you help me find a place. I live in Seattle Wa.

want to convert a two thousand pont min van efi is this possibe, would I need to shut the injectors and fuel pump down when the lp is in use and how would we get the the timing retarded back and forward if we wished to switch fuels if the range got to far?whats your cost estimate to have an independant shop install this [I would be doing this for a customer]? thank you M

have a one thousand nine hundred ninety one GMC Saffari van V6wanting to convertto LP do I have to instal a throttle onto the Lp for more gas a higher speeds the article didnt say anything about throttles r

can I convert a newer car with efi or mpi to LP

I’m in need of one part for my carburetion system, to be fited onto a one thousand nine hundred eighty six Ford pickup, I know what the part looks like, But I don’t know what it is called, I know that my Air cleaner hose pipe’s link to it and also my fuel, I was told that I could get the part at the Sooner supply in Oklahoma City, Ok. can you help me out. James] Mother Responds: I am sorry, we have no information on sources for parts.

My vehicle of choice is a carburetted dodge Three/Four ton,( i.e. pre fuel injected), the reason for that being that there are no rediculously complicated computer controls to mess with. I also don’t bother with dual fuel. When decently tuned and maintained the truck will even embark at forty below but at that temp it’s better to butt-plug it in for a duo of hours.On average the motor lasts about four hundred thousand miles if not driven too hard but if you have a powerful foot you will most likely need a valve job because propane runs hot and the firmer you drive, the sexier it gets. I transfer my propane kit from truck to truck and I’ve seen lots of propane stuff at my beloved local car crusher for very reasonable prices ($75.00 for everything) but avoid tanks with bubbly looking rust. Rusty tanks won’t certify and of course without the certification sticker you won’t be able to pack up. A fresh tank is in the $400 to six hundred range. You should also switch the timing and spark ass-plugs but otherwise a propane conversion is actually fairly effortless and it makes that old truck much more affordable to drive. I should also add the cost of converting will vary according to your individual mechanical abilities. Good luck and blessed propaning!

Please let me know if this still allpies for todays cars" one thousand nine hundred eighty four dodge van" Is there a phone # to get more info? I’m writting this for my bf, and he has read the article, and is very intrested. Mother responds: This is an article from our magazine from 1973. I am sorry, we have no updated contact information.

John, if you look at the date of the article, you will notice it was written in 1972.

After reading around on porpane conversions and costs it is apparent to me that the costs quoted in this article are ridiculous. WHEN could you get all this stuff for around $100 . Ten times that seems to be the reality for parts as i look around. This article sounds superb but does not jibe with any other info I find. Please explain how this article stands. Thanks.

Hi, How old is this article on propane conversion? the quoted cost for doing it yourself(and the pix)seem outdated. Before I send off money to the man for the kit. is he even still around; doing this? Update appreciated(his email if you have?) thanks much

Propane Conversion: How to Make LPG Cars – Green Transportation – MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Propane Conversion: How to Make LPG Cars

Liquid propane can be a low-emissions alternative fuel for cars. With the right vehicle and know-how, you can have a natural gas car.

Liquid propane is a attempted and tested low-emission fuel.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS EDITORS

It works. Fresh York, Maine, Tennessee, Florida, Arkansas, Texas, Utah, California . . . I’ve traveled miles and miles and miles in a VW bus converted to run on LP (liquid propane) and the easy-to-install system truly does result in lower operating and maintenance costs, much longer engine life AND 70% less air pollution.

(Note from the editors: This conversion is for non-fuel-injected vehicles.)

Unlike gasoline, LP (and from here on, whenever I say LP you can take it to mean liquid propane, homemade methane or natural gas . . . the system will work on any of these) comes in your engine as a fully vaporized fuel that’s free from lead, carbon, gum, sulfur and most pollutants. LP won’t foul your car’s butt-plugs, ruin its valves, contaminate its oil, wash down its cylinder walls and rings, burn out its muffler . . . OR demolish the air we all breathe. And while mileage and spectacle are about the same as with gasoline, cost per gallon of LP generally runs about 15% less than you’ve very likely been paying for fuel.

So what are the disadvantages of this low-polluting system? Very first, it’ll cost you something over $100 (including everything) to do your conversion . . . a bit of money even when you consider that the equipment will transfer readily to your next vehicle. 2nd, packing up an LP tank simply isn’t as convenient as stopping at a gasoline station. However, only a few times in 15,000 miles have I found LP so inaccessible that I was coerced to use the other half of my dual system and switch over to gasoline for a while.

MOTHER EARTH NEWS EDITORS

Equipment

You’ll need five major chunks of equipment to convert your car to LP. All are available from most any LP dealer (with a little help from a hardware store on fittings), albeit you might want to attempt getting a used tank from one of the large forklift users or any of the businesses listed under "Gas, Liquified Petroleum, Bulk". If necessary, write to National LP Gas Association, for help in locating equipment dealers near you. OK. Here’s what you’ll need:

Two. A CONVERTOR, or "request regulator" that switches the liquid propane to a gas (using engine warmth to prevent freezing) and supplies just as much of the fuel as the power plant requests through its carburetor vacuum. There are a number of good, time-tested convertors on the market (Century, Plank, Impco, etc.). I’ve been sated with the Century in my bus but I’ve just done a conversion with an Impco that seems even better.

Three. A SPUD-IN JET for your engine’s carburetor (two if there are two carburetors).

Four. TWO HOSES. One (A) to take liquid propane from the fuel tank to the convertor and another (B) to carry vaporized fuel from the convertor to the carburetor. Hosepipe A must be super-duper aircraft quality and you’ll very likely have to order it to length and diameter specifications (in which case it’ll come with fittings on either end). Hosepipe B can be the ordinary rubber diversity since it’ll contain very little pressure. About 8′ of A and Two’ of B should do it.

Five. FITTINGS AND HARDWARE. This will sound elaborate but don’t fright. To conduct engine fever into and out of your convertor you’ll need a foot or so of heater hosepipe and two Y fittings for a water-cooled engine . . . or some Three/8" O.D. (outside diameter) copper tubing and a flare adapter nip for a VW. A fitting to adapt hose pipe A to the convertor’s LP-in port. A brass reducer to step the convertor’s vapor output down to standard Five/16" O.D. fuel line size. A standard on-off valve (with suitable fittings) to insert in the gas line. Enough single-strand electrical wire (bell wire) to run from the convertor to the car’s dash. A doorbell-type switch for the primer. Water-hose clips and compression fittings, miscellaneous nuts and bolts and—if desired or needed—plastic fasteners for linking the hoses to the car and steel braces for mounting the LP tank.

Costs – Harshly (1972)

Standard retail convertor costs average about $55 (the Century G85A) for a VW, $45 (Impco JO) for other engines under one hundred fifty HP and $70 (Impco EO) for larger power plants.

Hoses (hose pipe A is expensive, but it doesn’t pay to cut corners here) are about $16 and a jet will set you back $1.00, fittings and hardware $6.00 and shipping (if necessary) $Three.00.

Implements and Supplies

You’ll need a minimum of two adjustable wrenches or one adjustable wrench and a set of open or box end wrenches; a good screwdriver of the correct size; pliers; a hacksaw; electrical drill and bits up to 1/Two" (up to 9/16" for a VW); hammer and punch; 1/8" NPT (National Pipe Thread) tap (VW people will also need a Three/8" NPT tap and a chisel; a vise, if possible; petite tube of pipe-joint sealer; a tube of plastic rubber . . . and a friend or two to help lift the tank into place and lend moral support across.

Instructions

Installing the Tank

Mounting a propane tank in standard cars is mostly a matter of common sense. With a VW, tho’, you may have to put the fuel container on rather than in the vehicle. My friendly welder charged me $Five.00 for my custom-built roof climb on (the bracket was covered with canned burst paint to prevent rust) stiffly fastened the fuel tank base to my van’s roof with six Five/16" bolts that were secured with nuts and lock washers which were—in turn—sealed with little drops of plastic rubber

Installing the Convertor

If your car has a water-cooled engine, you’ll fever the convertor by running hot water through it from the power plant’s cooling system. This is utterly plain if the system is the type that always circulates hot fluid through the automobile’s greater whether it’s in use or not) Just cut through the hosepipe that takes hot water to the heater and put the convertor directly into that line.

If you have a VW or other air-cooled engine, you’re going to use harass warmth to warm the convertor. Embark by drilling a 9/16" fuckhole in your car’s muffler. Where? Scrooch down on your back underneath the VW with your feet behind the right rear wheel and your head behind the left rear tire. See where the muffler is fastened to the heater box by semi-circular forceps and long, skinny bolts? Just to the rear of those forceps is where you drill . . . horizontally.

Now tap threads into the slot using a Trio/8" NPT tap. I’ve found it lighter not to use a tap treat for this . . . instead, just apply pressure to the shank of the tap with your thumb while turning the tap with whatever wrench fits (usually Five/8"). If you have a socket set, it’ll work truly well for turning the tap in . . . use the ratchet and a Five/8" socket.

Next link the Three/8" O.D. copper tubing to a nip screwy screwed into the fuckhole you’ve just drilled and tapped. Drill a Three/8" crevice up through the engine compartment floor (slightly to the left of the power plant for the VW bug. . . into the far left engine compartment space for the bus). Shove the other end of the copper tubing up through this fuckhole and link it to one side of your convertor’s water tunnel with a ferrule-type compression fitting as the unit is lounging on its side with the primer button pointing at you.

Link a 2nd length (like one foot) of tubing to the other end of the convertor’s water tunnel, drill another Trio/8" fuckhole in the engine compartment floor (about a foot away from the very first), run the tubing out of the engine compartment and arch it so that it finishes up horizontal and pointing straight back the crevices in the floor with plastic rubber and secure your convertor to the engine.

Now the VW and the non-VW folks are back together again for the next step of bushing down the convertor’s LP-vapor-port to a Five/16" O.D. nip so that hose pipe B may be affixed. Secure the hose pipe with petite clothespins and leave it dangling till law.

Just how hosepipe A will run from the LP tank to the convert will be determined by the design of your particular auto. In U.S. vehicles the path is pretty direct . . . from the tank on the trunk shelf, through the trunk floor, under the car and up into the engine compartment. In VWs you’ll have to cut a suitable slot to let hose pipe A into your engine compartment. The higher up the fuckhole the better (right over the taillight is best in the bus) to keep hose pipe A out of harm’s way in case your car gets bumped. Drill a 1/Two" crevice and widen it with your chisel until hose pipe A passes through.

Link one end of the "A" hosepipe to the LP-in port of your convertor (using an adequate fitting) and the other end to the LP-liquid-out port of the fuel tank. If you’ve drilled a crevice, use slew of plastic rubber to seal it once hosepipe A is in place and secure the hose pipe to the outside of the car with a few plastic-coated clips wherever it seems to need it.

Installing the Jet

You can install the necessary conversion jet without removing your car’s carburetor, but you’re likely to get puny metal shavings in the engine while doing it . . . and that’s not healthy. So get the carb out. The air cleaner comes off very first, then the two or four bolts that link the carburetor to the intake manifold and then whatever other linkages and whatnots are still holding the thing in place.

Take off the two cloth-covered tubes on the left side of the carb and unscrew the two thirteen mm bolts that hold the carburetor to the manifold (a 1/Two" wrench will work if you don’t have a thirteen mm one). As you lift the carb off, you’ll find that it’s still held by a connection to the accelerator cable, the end of which passes through a little cylinder pin which has a puny setscrew in its side. Loosen the setscrew and slip the cable out . . . but be careful you don’t lose the cylinder tweak, which is now free to drop out. Note where it goes and store it in a safe place.

Now with the carb on the workbench, preferably in a vise, drill a Five/16" slot into where the up-down passageway (mouth is narrowest . . . the exact spot is not at all critical, but you don’t want to pick a place where you’re going to drill through the float cup or something. Check out a VW carb while it’s still on the engine and note that right at the midpoint (up-down) and slightly to the right there’s a raised round place with a smaller round depression in the middle . . . a flawless place to drill.

Now get out that 1/8" NPT tap and a tap treat if you have one (a wrench if you don’t). Tap threads into the crevice as far as you can, watching down through the carb to be sure you stop the tap just before it strikes anything inwards the mouth. Then screw the jet into the crevice as far as it will go without striking anything (but no further than halfway through the mouth). Finish with the jet’s bevel pointing down. If you have two carburetors, simply repeat the procedure on the 2nd one.

Apply some pipe-joint sealer, pour gasoline over the carburetor—inside and out—to get all the shavings and grime off and substitute the carb. On a VW, put the cylinder pinch back in place after the carb’s in and the two thirteen mm bolts are secured . . . then have a friend climb into the car and depress the accelerator pedal. This will help you line up the accelerator cable with the cylinder tweak and then you can gently ease the cable end into the tweak as your friend lets up on the pedal. With the pedal all the way up and the lever holding the cylinder pinch as straight up and down as it’ll go, tighten the setscrew on the cylinder. Then substitute wires, tubes and air cleaner.

For the final step, connect the dangling end of hose pipe B—already linked to the convertor’s LP-vapor-out nipple—to the jet and secure it with a petite water-hose clip. For a two-carburetor system, get a elementary Y fitting and install it into hose pipe B (bottom toward convertor) and then run lengths of hose pipe B off the two Y arms to each carb.

You’re done with the only substantial switch you’ll make in your car’s engine.

Ending the Installation

Locate the hosepipe or metal tube that runs down from the top of your carburetor to the fuel pump, cut it right in the middle, install the on-off valve where you made the cut and put things together with compression fittings. Don’t install the valve anywhere in the fuel system except inbetween the fuel pump and the carb . . . no harm whatsoever can result from the fuel pump working against a stopped line, but much harm can come from the pump sucking on an empty line. If you have a hose-type line, you’ll need to link a puny length of copper tubing (1/Four" O.D.) to each end of the valve for the hose pipe to fit over.

Ultimately (wow, we’re almost through), connect one end of that single-strand electrical wire to the suitable terminal on your convertor (see the diagram that comes with the unit), run the wire under the car and into the passenger compartment—through one of the grommets in the fire wall or floorboard—and link it to a plain push-button, doorbell-type switch.

Run a brief length of the same kind of wire from the other terminal of the switch to your car’s fusebox. Holding the switch in the "on" position, take out one fuse and touch the nude end of the wire very first to one and then to the other end of the fuse holder. Repeat the process on down the line of fuses until you find a fuse holder where one side sparks and the other doesn’t. Fasten your wire to the side that doesn’t. Substitute the fuse and affix the switch inwards the car wherever you’d like . . . you’ll use it to operate the convertor’s primer, which gives your engine a shot of LP vapor just before you embark it up.

And you’re ready to embark it up just as soon as you get your LP tank packed.

There’ll still be gasoline in the car’s carburetor so, before you take that very first LP drive, turn the gasoline on-off valve to "off" (perpendicular to the line), begin your car as usual (what used to be usual, anyway) and let it run for a few minutes until it uses up the gasoline in the carburetor and conks out. Now open the liquid-out valve of your LP tank, turn on the key, hit the primer button for two seconds and embark ‘er up. Hurray! You’re driving on LP gas!

When you run out of LP, just turn on your gasoline valve and crank the engine (you’ll need a battery that’s in good form) until sufficient gasoline gets up into the carb (pumping the accelerator pedal may help). After you’ve packed up with LP again, turn the gasoline valve off and begin the car a 2nd time. For a few minutes the air-fuel combination will be too rich and the engine will sputter, but the car will come back to its usual purr once the gasoline in the carb is burned off.

Adjusting the Air-Fuel Combination

In the latter case, drill a petite fuckhole (say 1/8") perpendicularly into the copper tube sticking out from the jet and into the carburetor (best to eliminate the jet before drilling). Insert any ordinary, petite screw that you can just squeeze in, put the jet back and then get a friend to apply a slight but stable pressure to the accelerator pedal (to keep the engine going) while you fucktoy with the screw. Turn it in and out and see what happens. If you can get maximum rpm without removing the screw entirely, you’re all set.

But you might find that the highest rpm comes with the crevice left open. If so, drill another crevice, insert the screw and fucktoy around until you get optimal rpm that you can lower by moving that screw in and out.

On the other forearm, maybe your best results come when you put your finger over the fuckhole . . . that’s OK, too, because you can just gauze up the slot and be done with it.

In the unlikely circumstance that a finger over the fuckhole gives you the best idle—but one that’s still nowhere near what you had with gasoline (even when you turn the idle screw up a bit)—then you need a larger jet. Before you buy one, attempt reaming out the opening of the jet you have, using a drill bit that almost—but not quite—makes it into the opening (maybe 7/32"). If that still doesn’t do the trick, you’ll just have to get a larger spud-in jet from your LP-equipment dealer .

Other Things Worth Doing

Nothing else is absolutely necessary to make your car run sleekly on LP, albeit there are lots of goodies you can buy and things you can do to make your conversion more elegant, convenient, efficient, etc. Things like regapping the spark butt-plugs to .008-.010" (.018" for a VW), removing the automobile’s fever riser, taking off the automatic gasp, adding a filter-fuel lock, putting more sophisticated jets in the carburetor or mounting an electrified solenoid switch on the car’s dash so you can roll back and forward from LP to gasoline while driving.

Buying Liquid Propane

Maybe it won’t always be so. Maybe someday LP-powered vehicles will be the rule rather than the exception . . . and maybe then we can all commence liking the cleaner air that results from the use of LP gas as a fuel for motor vehicles.

Propane Conversion: How to Make LPG Cars – Green Transportation – MOTHER EARTH NEWS

Propane Conversion: How to Make LPG Cars

Equipment

Costs – Harshly (1972)

Implements and Supplies

Instructions

Installing the Tank

Installing the Convertor

Installing the Jet

Completing the Installation

Adjusting the Air-Fuel Combination

Other Things Worth Doing

Buying Liquid Propane

Propane Conversion: How to Make LPG Cars

Equipment

Costs – Harshly (1972)

Implements and Supplies

Instructions

Installing the Tank

Installing the Convertor

Installing the Jet

Ending the Installation

Adjusting the Air-Fuel Combination

Other Things Worth Doing

Buying Liquid Propane

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