I have had two propane-powered trucks -- a '77 Ch**y 350 and a Toyota SR5, I think it was a '78. I converted both of them to straight propane, no dual fuel. Power and mileage dropped maybe 10 percent on both. Spark plugs last forever. Oil turns a deep honey color after maybe a year. They can be hard to start in real cold weather. The fuel used to run about 2/3 the cost of gasoline, but in the mid-80s there was a federal tax put on it, and nowadays there's really no cost advantage. Sometimes propane is more expensive. In my state, there's also an added annual vehicle license fee for propane. It used to be $50.

On my 350, I ran dual 30 gallon tanks in place of the dual saddle tanks. There's no loss of bed space, and the addition of low weight makes the truck ride like a limo. There are also long, slender tanks that will fit in the bed on each side over the wheel wells. In the Toyota, I put a single tank at the front of the bed, and lost a lot of bed length, but somewhat made up for it with a rack on the box, so long material could go over the cab. At the time I was running the SR5, a friend also had a propane-powered SR5, but turbocharged. It was a screamer.

The couple guys I knew who ran dual fuel (another Chebby and a Dodge) said they had to run the gasoline every couple weeks just to keep carburetor parts from drying out and cracking. With just propane, there's no carb.

The loss of power and mileage in a propane conversion can be mitigated by installing a cam designed for propane. If I recall correctly, the propane cam leaves the valves closed a bit longer on the power stroke. This is because propane burns evenly across the cylinder in kind of a wave, whereas gasoline just goes bang. So, to capture all the power in propane, the burn shouldn't be released too soon.

When I did my conversions, the lower price of propane would make it possible to gain back the installation costs in maybe 3-4 years. These days, the cost would never be recovered. Other major drawbacks are the relative lack of fueling places, and spending quite a bit of $$ to create a vehicle with a limited resale value.

 

It all depends where you are. Up here in BC, propane is very plentiful and its just over half the price of gas so it still pays to do aa conversion.

 

Truly, BC is host to many good things. We always have a good experience when visiting.

Don

 

i'm too poor for this right now but round march next year i plan to be getting an F250 5.8L ambo supercharged with dedicated LPG. Has anyone looked at blown propane much or are we all still just getting used to the idea of running on "gas", i mean a gas, not gasoline, that was so poor it doesnt even qualify as a joke.

 

sorry bout that last post, had only read page one of this thread

 

Btw, i think roger d may have meant the donut on the neighbour's lawn, not under the hood. How'd that come along?

 

yea, you can add air to propane- some draggers use it- not sure wht the lik is but visited a site once- I would go blower not turbo due to the heat that turbos make in conjunction with increased heat from 109 octane propane.

 

Just a thought but there is a guy on ebay selling blue prints for setting up a car to run propane for only 10.00.

 

Hi Guys

Im from germany and my grammar is not the best and please forgive me i have no Truck

I Googled Ford 390 propan conversion and landed here....sorry for that !
I have an 1963 Ford Galaxie Fastback with a 390 FE 4bbl Engine and i have bought me this conversion Kit on Ebay.us

INCLUDES: Impco style model. E Regulator & 425 Mixer, Edelbrock Air Filter along with all Hosings, Fittings etc. to complete the installation.
I have a Holley 4bbl Throttle Body and a LPG tank likewise.

Should i consider anything on the engine side ?

The engine has some modifications like: a new Edelbrock Performer Camshaft incl. Valve Springs, Intake Manifold, Timing Chain, new Rocker Studs and Lifters, Sanderson Shorty Headers.
Crankshaft and Camshaft bearings and Oilpump are new.
Block and Pistons are 0,30 over.

I dont know, perhabs these informations are importend, if not ignore them

I hope you have some informations or tipps and tricks for me...

Cheers
da Kraut aka Heiko

 

You need harder valve seats, a after market coil (hot spark to burn), fuel pump block off plate, block off intake manifold cross over (propane boils at -43c) good cooling system and advance your timing. You will need to get your install checked over in order to get a "ok to fill sticker on you window" or at least you do in Canada.

Good luck works great on my 428 with very low maintenace

 

The reason it works so well with a 428 is because normally 428s have more compression than stock 390s or 360s. To get the best results with propane, you need to have the compression from 14-15 to one. 13:1 would be the minimum for good power. Yes you can run less compression, but at a power loss. As others have said, a cam change, hardened valves etc. will help with longevity. Propane does not have the thermal value of gasoline, so you need to make up for it with higher compression.

 

I know about the need of harder Valve Seats...must wait a little Time, do you know good Valves and Seats for the FE ?

A Fuelpump Block off Plate is already installed because i have a elect.Carter Fuel Pump !

I did not know what you mean with Block off intake manifold Cross over???

The compression is a about 10:1, a little higher than stock because the Heads are "milled" (is the word right ? - Surface cleaned with a CNC machine)

The Coil is a Accel Super Stock... because the higher Octane i can set the Ignitionpoint a little earlyer but a compression ration from 13-15:1 is not possible ....perhabs with other Pistons and Heads.

I dont want to race the Galaxie ...only a good Street Car with respectable Torque and Fun, perhabs to Race a VW Golf (Rabbit) or some Ricers @ the traffic lights

Thanks for helping me!
Cheers

 

Everything that everyone has said is great. Ran 2 dodge pickups on propane only and ran great. One was 360 other 69 440'. Hardened seats were a must only felt slight loss when switching from gas to propane but only thing that sucked was finding propane when you worked overtime!! Trips need to be thought out in advance cause i only got about 10 miles to the gallon on gas or propane but on propane i had the fittings to BBQ anywhere i wanted to so steaks in the back of my bed were no problem. 12 to 1 compression seems to be the upper limit to propane from what i have gathered plus if you ever switch back to gas be prepared to run on aviation fuel to keep your motor happy when running that high of a compression. Longevity and clean burning is why most forklifts run propane cause it doesn't make the employees sick from the fumes. Bed space is a commidity that you have to sacrifice when running propane but the saddle tanks will do you just fine just won't do any cross country trips. Just don't start it up and go down the road in the winter time.. have to warm those things up or the vaporizer will freeze about 5 miles from your house (happened when i overslept). Where i am at i will cost $3000 to do the conversion cause everything has to be certified and installed by pros so money and price of vehicle is a concern. $3000 conversion on a $500 vehicle is something you have to decide for yourself. My 82 gallon bed tank lasted me about 3 to 3 1/2 weeks before fill up but cost me almost a $100 to fill it so the gas mileage is not that great. You can get almost 500,000 miles on a strictly propane engine if you take good care of it. I would rather smell propane than gas any day, propane only smells like rotten eggs sometimes so filling a gang bangers car full of egg smell is something that i love to do. Just my .02

 

I have been interested in this for years, I am not sure why.......

When I was growing up, I remember an old friend of my grandpa's had a propane powered Ranchero. For some reason that has stuck with me. The clean emissions would be nice, how will that work with the new-fangled "carbon-emissions" that the liberals are all up-set about. Still burns carbon right?