If you really want to run a Bristol with Chrysler V8 on LPG I would recommend the following :
1) Rebuild the engine with a high compression ratio, this gets back some of the torque and fuel economy otherwise lost. LPG is a very 'high octane' fuel, so it stands a lot more compression, and high compression improves thermodynamic effeciency.
2) Run the gas as a stand-alone injection system, using a wide-band lambda sensor in the exhaust, investing a reasonable time on calibration. The gas injector pipe design can improve combustion considerably (but this is proprietory knowledge, sorry).
3) Use two gas regulators (gas evaporation/pressure regulation) to achieve enough fuel flow capacity.
4) Either learn how to do the switch over to and from petrol manually, or remove the petrol system altogether, keeping the carburettor only as a throttling device (Alternatively buy a 4-barrel replacement throttle body of the fuel injection type.). Don't worry about cold start except in the deepest depths of winter, I can tell you how to deal with this down to about -15°C.
5) Plan long journeys to allow for the need to re-fuel at known LPG outlets.
6) Carefully think through the tank options, such as under-wing tanks, etc. to optimise the car for your personal requirements. If the petrrol system is removed, a good size LPG tank can go where the petrol tank used to be.
"Simples."
Total cost including the engine re-build : about £9,000 + VAT. SO probably not actually worth it in pure economic terms, but delightful when you get that feeling of enjoying all that performance without thinking of all the £s being ejected from your exhaust pipe.
As a complete alternative, I know somwhere which could fit a Land-Rover/Jaguar V6 turbo-charged diesel engine with about 400 lbf.ft and over 200 bhp.
|