Hello folk my uncle has a 66 with a flat bed and I recently asked him if he would be interested in selling it.
He said maybe he would sell it one day,but then he hit me with the fact that it is powered by propane.
I had seen the 2 tanks on the truck but I never thought it would be the fuel tanks.
the engine is a v8 but dont know more than that.
Is this conversion popular????
thanks for the info.
Seth

 

Depends on what you mean by popular. There are a lot of this type of conversion out there on pickups. Some say because the motor runs so much cleaner that they do it for fleet trucks as they last longer. Some do for the cost of fuel difference. Some do it just to be more green.

As with anything there are pros and cons. Goggle propane conversions and I am sure you will find alot. Also be aware that the conversion is not cheap.

jim

 

Does its popularity really matter? I think that something unique would be a lot more interesting at car shows and cruises. Running a low cost, clean burning, high octane (104) fuel has got to be another benefit.

As for being expensive, depending upon how much you drive, fuel can be the most expensive cost of driving a vehicle. Gasoline is already over $4/gallon many places in the US, premium is even more. If your truck gets 20 mpg, your driving cost is $0.20/mile with $4/gallon gasoline. If you drive 20,000 miles/year, gasoline will cost you $4000.

If you were to convert to propane, you can expect your propane mileage to be 75-80% of your gasoline mileage. With the more conservative 75% estimate, your propane economy will be around 15 mpg. Without too much trouble, you should be able to find $2.50/gallon propane. For 20,000 miles/year, you can expect to buy 1333 gallons of propane at a cost of $3333. If you had locked in your price last summer in Buffalo, NY with a propane supplier (Ferrell Gas), you could be paying $2.2135/gallon right now at a cost of $2951/year. With the higher (and more likely) estimate of 80%, you would instead require 1250 gallons of propane at a cost of $2767.

With a propane account, your fuel savings work out to $1233/year with 20 mpg and 20,000 miles per year. If you drive more and/or your truck is less fuel efficient, your savings are even greater. If you do the math, converting to propane could easily be much cheaper than sticking with gasoline.

 

I knew a guy some 20 years ago who had a beat up Oldsmobile that ran on propane. There was a switch to change from propane to gas in the engine bay. The engine had over 250,000 miles, and purred like a kitten. Presumeably, the propane burns so much cleaner that you don't have the carbon buildup that you would with gas. I don't know if this makes them cost effective. It's been a long time since I've seen a conversion, so I suspect your uncle converted his slick in the distant past.

Kurt

 

I just thought it was neat that it ran on propane it would be neat to have it for sure

 

Absolutely. Would love to see pictures. It sounds cool.

 

You can also expect your power to be 75% of gas But the good news is when you flip the switch to real gas it feels like you just injected it with nitrous!

I managed a lawncare company that ran 3 converted trucks, they're not terribly underpowered just cruising around but if you have a load on it's really noticeable. Also check on the tank size, fraso is right about the mileage and if your tanks aren't very big you won't get very far. We filled those trucks every single morning and they were nearly empty in the evening. And one more thing, there's a number of things with a converted truck that a normal mechanic won't touch, so it takes a special mechanic. In Tulsa, OK where we were at the time there was one guy in town that worked on them and there was a long waiting list and he charged whatever he wanted to. I don't mean to be Debbie Downer but my experience turned me off of the whole idea.

 

I used to do propane conversions for Cal Gas which later became Amerigas. As for Mileage differences, they were negligable, there is a very slight power loss, but the engine does run much smoother. I would not recommend it if you live in a cold climate as the propane is hard to get to vaporize in colder temps, making for hard starts... the upside is you can do oil changes about every 15,000 miles as the oil stays very clean. if it is set up as a dual fuel, using both Propane and gasoline... pass on that! the dual fuel will never run well on either fuel as it is a compromise... if you get it dialed in on Propane then it will run poorly on gasoline, and vice versa! Replacement parts are hard to come by now for the Impco Propane carb/fuel injection units. If it is a working system, it should last a long time, and they are pretty easy to fix! the big advantage is the cost of the fuel. Some states do not charge highway fuel tax surcharges on propane making it a very desirable fuel choice. yes it is very clean burning, hence the reason it is used in warehouse vehicles. It is a personal choice, if I had access to a conversion kit, i would do it in a heartbeat, but California does not allow propane conversions anymore, only dual fuel or LNG. LPG is much cleaner then LNG, and easier to use as a fuel.

 

Wow thanks for the excellent information I will post pictures tomorrow.
The truck was very complete til a-holes broke windows and started taking parts from the engine.my father in law has a 66 that was his dads and he is thinking of selling it too.
and he has a 66 maybe a 55 big truck.

 

The reason that propane has slightly lower power (more like 10%) than gasoline is because propane is supplied to the engine as a gas rather than as an atomized liquid. The gas displaces air from the combustion chamber and reduces the engine's volumetric efficiency. Air is what's required to make power and that's why there's no replacement for displacement. Air-Fuel ratios are based on MASS of fuel required for MASS of air. Propane actually has more energy than gasoline (20,038 vs 18,211 BTU/lb) on this basis and burns slightly hotter (3614°F vs 3591°F Peak Flame Temperature).

If your power output is noticeably lower on propane, it could be because:

• the carburetor is undersized
• the fuel mixture is incorrect
• the advance curve is incorrect

You can easily increase the compression ratio (10:1 is good) to take advantage of propane's 104 octane rating, which will help to make up for the loss in VE.

 

Sorry guys It is not a 66 it is a 62.i took pics but i have to load them to the copmuter

 

pictures.............

 

That is an old Impco 300 series propane system (really reliable), and judging from the truck, it was at one time a propane company tank setting service truck, we used to call them Boom trucks! I would figure that it is not dual fuel, strictly Propane, which makes it run much better. Judging from the truck colors it was probably either a Petrolane Gas truck at one time or Suburban gas. That Y block looks real tired but a quick overhaul and you could be good to go. That propane system, is easy to get parts for, but you would need to get the fuel tanks re-certified aka Hydro-tested! My guess is that it probably has 4-5 hundred thousand on it, as that is how long we used to run our trucks before selling them. Even with that kind of mileage they were usually running pretty well. The boom looks like an autocrane 3005 or 4005 or their abouts, those are not to hard to find parts for too. That could be a really cool restore! but it would be a lot of work. let us know what you decide to do!

 

here is a link to a modern boom truck. The suspension on most of them is set up to handle up to 5000 lbs. the approximate weight of one 500gal tank at 87 percent full, which is considered a full tank.

Google Image Result for http://www.cranenetwork.com/watermark.php?src=equipment-pics%2Fcranes%2FAuto+Crane%2FvGMTfTkcMEqLrTDMW8447--4.JPG

 

Now that is great information the tag on the passanger side says that the conversion was made in Lenwood Ca.I think here are more pics