Has anyone been running E85 in there 351m/400? what needs to be done to do so? Has anyone done it successfully? How about has anybody in Montana used it or found it yet? Or would methanol be an alternative(but how expensive)?

 

as far as i know it's only readily available in Helena but could be mistaken. For my $ propane is better. where about in montana are you?

 

I am in Great Falls, You have propane? what kind of combo and mileage are you getting? Do you have any problems with cold weather?

 

E 85 is a great deal if you build a motor to burn it and take advantages of it. It has lower btu's but is basical race gas in the fact that the octane ratie is about 102 to 103. If you put a set of aussie heads on it you would bump the compression up and it would be a good setup. You would also need a carb from quickfuel desinged to run on e85 as well as replacing a few fuel lines, but it isn't as hard as it seems. I know a guy in our town that has a mustang with a 351w stroked out to a 427 and has 11.5 to 1 compression. He runs it on e85 and you would never tell. He says he doesn't have any problems with it and says it is a way better bang for the buck than anything else.

 

my 400 build would about perfect for alcohol as it was built with propane in mind which is 105+octane... you would want a dynamic compression ratio of about 8.3-8.5 for an application like that. Propane is similar in that you use the ability to increase compression to compensate for lower btu. Theres quite a bit of info available in the alt fuel forum..some good...some not so good. The oz heads are good for the application and you can also run higher compression ratio's on pump using them.

If you are anywhere around missoula let me know.

 

Maybe that would be the way to go( propane) until E85 becomes more readily availble. What kind of cam are you using? Some time this winter would like to get over there. I have a sister going to college and an aunt and uncle in Potomac. Same goes here if you get to Great falls let me know.

 

I did time ( ) in great falls from '93-'99. miss the bird hunting for sure.

I used a retro roller cam from comp - special grind 212,218 @.050. between their XE256, 262...but steeper since it's a roller...520 lift on both...breaking it in on pump before going propane...should on propane by end of month I hope.

For propane or e85 I'd use stock heads and tim's 9.3:1 pistons designed for them. I found some research that shows the open chamber heads are better for propane due to flame propagation...not sure how reliable that is but the quench of the 2v heads is far less important and negligable with propane and gas.

So that makes a much cheaper build. If you want power under 4k go with stock heads, tims pistons, xe256 cam. That would would be a great combo.

or if you want power higher up you would want to shave the heads a bit...and use a bigger cam...maybe port the heads (exhaust) a bit.

 

If I were you I would bump the compression up more unless it also has to be able to run on pump gas, otherwise you arn't getting the full benifite of the higher octane of propane.

 

Edelbrock makes a 600cfm carb for E85. not sure on the part # but i saw it in the 07 catalog

 

rogerdowty what kind of propane system are you using ( manufacturing). Might get the shot gun cleaned up, pheasant starts this coming weekend. Dan

 

well...i got a hold of a carb from carbtech(?) name is on tip of tongue but it's an older style propane carb on a quadrapuke base...so I have to get a kit and replace the shaft etc. Then a typical evaporator. Got ahold of a 120gal dot tank. Might try a ohv 450 for a while. They flow over 500+cfm and apparently propane engines like it lean and 390, 460,454 etc have used impco 425's. I'll have to make my own kickdown I think. The ohv either needs to be on a holley or quad plate i think.

If this engine does well on petrol..premium...I'll probaby build my other 400 using flattops and stock heads with a higher cr for propane and put this 400 in my daughters 70.5 falcon. that would be a real nice ride for her...being 16 and all. i want her to race scca and the 1/8 mile circuit. Anyay i have a new propane build in my head that won't cost as much as this one and might even be better on the lpg than the one i finished...plus, with all of the additional goodies this one will really kick some hiney burning petrol.

Increasing compression might be a good recommendation...depends. I spent a lot of time researching my build and wanted longevity as much or more than power. So I decided on 8.5 or so dynamic or operating compression...once i chose the cam (i got to call comp and make my own grind) I set out to get the right compression to make the 8.5 dynamic. The most i would go is 9:1 dynamic due to heat. Propane will easily take 10:1 dynamic which would be 11.3:1 static cr in my case....thats a lot of compression and a lot of wear and tear and heat. The best case scenario imo is to get the extra juice to make up for the btu but keep it to where the parts can be cooled on long trips pulling a camper to scobie on a bird hunt.

I'm hearing you about the bird hunting. I have some land up in the ronan area and hope to get to it later this month. I have a gsp ready to go...just time and $. I hear it's awesome up above Conrad...will probably head over there some day. If all works out maybe we can meet up someday and "jump em and pump em" (i'm a wingmaster kind of guy)

 

Hi Roger. How much would your conversion run as far as parts? what do you mean by ohv 450? What kind of mileage do you expect from your combo? Do you have a web site that sells kits like this? I have only found sites for race only and off road only. Boy I sure appreciate your input. Dan Johnston