LPG KIT WANTED - NOT GIVING THE GOV'T ANY MORE!!

Pilkie

Pilkie

Active Member
HI ALL
What with fuel prices the way they are and the fact I use my Rover P6 V8 as my daily driver,I have decided the time has come to stop giving Gordon Brown all my hard earned ££'s on extortionate fuel taxes!
So I am going to fit an LPG system!!
Has anybody got a suitable V8 LPG system for a SU carbed car??
or
Know who/where does the best deals on supplying/fitting a unit?
I am in the Southwest "Bristol" so localish would be good!!
HELP!!!!!!!!!!
Dave
 
Not sure who'd be the cheapest/best in your area..but you might try one of these for a benchmark price?


LPG Conversions - South West

There's a link to Bristol possibilities.

Be interesting to know what sort of cash they're talking!

Cheers, Stan
 
I hope you are going to make a flash double filler neck decker panel like the one I`ll be fitting! I have seen new kits on ebay for around £400 but then you`ll have to get it signed off to get insurance. I found Autogas as mentioned in the above link helpful when I spoke to them on the phone. My Lpg conversion is some way off at the moment but I got it almost free by breaking a range rover. plenty out there...

By the way you`ll be pleased to know my car is all shiny Monza red paint now it was a cold winter in the garage. I say car, what I mean is panels. the car is undergoing a weld-athon. still 8 weeks till the wedding! better fix the brakes then..
 
hi Dave

I think it's a great way to go - down here in Australia, the Federal government give people who convert to LPG a $2000 rebate and if you live in Western Australia, the State Government give you an additional $1000 for the grand total of a $3000 rebate (which is near enough to 1400 UK pounds).

So convert to LPG here and it costs you nothing ... does the UK have a similar scheme and what will the conversion cost you?

cheers Franklin
 
Dave, you must have seen the recent P.C. article on this. It suggests staying away from fitting a system yourself, as if something goes wrong with it, you`ll have a nightmare of a time getting any specialist place to even look at it. When I was looking at buying an XJ6 and getting a system fitted, not much change from 2 grand mate!!
 
UK may follow soon. But where I am LPG has to be installed professionally and has to have all the paerwork for it correct. The installation and paperwork has to be inspected within 14 days of install by the controle technique centre. Insurance company informed and registration amended.

Its worth it in the end as LPG is around 35p a litre!. We run the family runabout on LPG (a 1.2 Fiat Punto) and it makes a massive difference to our budget. The install cost was covered in the first 12,000 kms. After that pure ecnomy!

When we crossed the channel we had a UK reg Citroen BX on LPG installed in the UK by a previous owner. We were going to register the car here. BUT discovered the LPG system was illegal here ( ie no paperwork for it and would have to be ripped out and replaced. The cost v value of the car wasnt worth it.

I suspect the UK will get stricter and its best to have system professionally instaled to cover yourself against your insurance company and any regulation changes.
 
Hi Dave

You may know that both my cars are having LPG. As I understand it there are three basic options for the V8. First is a strap on system to the existing carbs. This is inellegant cos there are two carbs and therefore two gas mixer points and it seems to me that the chances of getting everything properly balanced are small. Next is the Weber 500 route where you finish up with only one gas mixer point. This must be better and I have it on my English car. Finally I know it is possible to get a multi point injection system to use in conjunction with a petrol injection system. This is rumoured to be by far the most satisfactory in service but as yet I haven't done enough research to comment further. I may well use this on the Thailand car if the pennies to benefits stack up - it's got the Weber and single mixer at the moment.

The other major hazard in the engine bay is that you need to have some sort of dual ignition system as the gas runs at a completely different timing setting to the petrol (7 degrees by memory).

By implication then, you are looking at renewing the full carburation set up and the full ignition set up.

Final hazard is at the rear. The P6 boot won't take a decent sized gas tank (which you'd want for daily driver funtionality - the only way it makes sense financially), without a huge compromise on boot space (like nearly none at all!). To deal with this we dropped the boot floor on both cars by around 2" which allows a flat floor from side to side of the boot at the side ledges level. This with a 65 litre tank. As far as I can see this doesn't compromise rear ground clearance except in very exceptional circumstances and it takes a real expert observant eye to spot from the rear. Needless to say you finish up with a permanent boot mount spare or none at all! The where to put the filler issue is really down to personal taste. On both mine we've cut a second petrol filler section from a scrap decker into the offside of the panel. But it needs some significant mods to the base unit underneath to mount the actual filler. You do finish up with what looks like a twin tank P6 a la Jag which looks very neat.

I would say the chances of transplanting all this from another vehicle are small, irrespective of the chances of getting it signed off properly.

But if you're doing enough miles it's definitely worth it!

Chris
 
In the 800 world, quite a lot of people have fitted their own systems, they then go back to the supplier who tests and certifies it. Cost on an 827 usually around £500. I did get a quote for a twin mixer setup for a v8 a couple of years back and that was £450, again as a self install.
I've been considering it as an option on one of my 800's, with LPG almost 1/3 the price of petrol, and since the price of diesel went up so much that it virtually eliminates any extra efficiency benefits, it's pretty much the only cheap fuel left.... unless you want to collect waste veg oil from the chip shop ! :D
 
webmaster said:
and since the price of diesel went up so much that it virtually eliminates any extra efficiency benefits, it's pretty much the only cheap fuel left.... unless you want to collect waste veg oil from the chip shop ! :D
Click to expand...
I know of someone in Athens that runs his Discovery 300 TDi (ex Camel Trophy car) on cheap vegetable oil. Its cheaper than diesel when you buy large quantities, and the engine runs smoother with less smoke! As an added bonus the exhaust smells fried potatoes, but i guess this is a love it or hate it feature :D

On the other hand i have never heard of anyone trying it on modern diesels with electronic pump. ???
 
Over here in sunny Blighty a few insurance companies require nothing, a lot will only need an LPGA approved company to inspect it and supply a certificate (between £50-£100), And a few require that the whole instalation be carried out by an LPGA approved company.

Twin mixers are fairly simple to set up. Twin Vapourizers can be a little difficult to set up if your using an open loop system. But if your using a Closed loop (lambda control) set up then most of the ECU's can handle two vapourisers quite happily.

Sequential injection systems are way to over the top for Rover V8's they are only really needed for applications where back fires are unexceptable such as modern plastic inlet manifolds. Or where maximum powere is wanted.

Cheers
Chris_
 
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