Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - 79 Ford Courier 2.3 Running on LPG

http://home.comcast.net/~Mercurial76/Courier/

Take a look at some initial pix. The truck is a 1979 Courier powered by a 2.3L engine mated to a 5-speed stock tranny. Truck had 40k showing on odometer when it was bought. Previous life as a partial use fleet vehicle in Arizona. Sat for a little while in Oregon before I picked it up.

It runs on Propane. You might notice the lack of emissions components in the engine bay. It sports a 50 gallon tank in the bed to give an average range in the 900 mile range. It was a conversion, as the stock fuel tank and lines were intact. For simplicity, I removed these.

The Propane system is from Impco. I rebuilt the VFF-30 Lockoff and Model "J" Convertor/regulator myself. The Carb (or more properly "Mixer") is an Impco CA125.

I was getting 18mpg average (22 gas equivalent) when I started restoration. Now I'm expecting at least 22mpg (29 gas equiv) with the latest mod.

I installed a Safe Controls 5958 Fuel controller more commonly found in FORKLIFTS :-D. This entailed installing a 4-wire oxygen sensor in the exhaust pipe just behind the header. The fuel contoller analyses the mixture to manipulate a solenoid air valve which attaches to the convertor. The solenoid allows a small amount of vacuum to be applied to the convertor, which tricks the convertor into sensing an increase in relative air pressure, essentially leaning out a rich mixture. Because of this, a rich (feedback) diaphragm had to be installed in the CA125 Mixer. The rich mix gives the Fuel controller a rich-bias mixture to lean out on the fly, keeping the fuel-air mixture consistently near the 15.7:1 stiochiometric ideal ratio.

As originally designed the fuel controller is marketed for forklifts and other LPG-powered vehicles that have to live indoors and operate around people. Needless to say this mod increased HP, torque, economy, and emissions. Anyone converting or thinking of converting should consider this mod NON-OPTIONAL. Otherwise the stock gas-calibrated engineering of the engine will most likely push lots of propane out the tailpipe.

:confused: The problem I'm attempting to work out now is a "loping" idle. The system will run rich, and then the computer will lean it out, over and over, representing a 100 rpm cycle unless the idle is set ridiculously high, like over 1000. Very annoying. I am en route to eliminating all other possibilites (rather quickly with such a simple system) and will be talking to the folks at Safe Controls (part of the "MSD" ignition umbrella).

Other than that its a "POS" ford courier. I don't know if the engine has 40 or 140 or 240k on it, all I know is that it pushes a rock-steady 22 inches Hg of vacuum and after 2000 miles of driving the syntec 5w-50 is still clear!

List of work done:
All hoses, Plugs, wires, Rad soldering, added overflow tank, Accel Supercoil, 55/60W Halogen conversion (stock wiring corroded- went with inline blade fuses and Hella relays) Fabricated turn signal housings and wiring (disintigrating), Removed fuel tank and associated equipment, Retopped dashcap, replaced leaking windshield gasket, door seals, refurb and swap in better stock bench seat, radio, installed soundproofing, realigned hood and replaced hood hinge, fixed hood stay, removed stock towing mirrors, patched holes and resurfaced, installed smaller OEM mirrors, M+S radials.....