MGB run on gas? Anyone done it?

While I was talking to my engine guy, he happened to mention that with the valve seat inserts the motor would be good for 'unleaded or gas'.
Well, that started me thinking. Right now in Aus gas conversions attract a $2000 subsidy and considering my petrol tank is pretty well shot and the carby's need a major overhaul, maybe a gas conversion might be an option.
I know these are usually for larger vehicles and I'm considering doing it to my 4.2 ltre petrol Nissan Patrol, but I'm thinking!

Anyone have any experience with this for a MGB. I'd be going full conversion not a duel fuel.

Chris

In USA,
"Gas" = gasoline (petrol)
"Unleaded" is a type of gasoline (petrol) and the only type now sold in the U.S. (or at least in California)

So, not sure what a "gas conversion" means. Diesel? Natural gas? Butane? Propane?
Kerosene?

Sorry, I thought this might cause some confusion.
LPG.
This sort of stuff: http://lpg-gas-conversions.com.au/?gclid=CIzCi8aZ6I4CFRI9YAodbDAWLQ

Chris

Don't see why that wouldn't work, but it would require some serious re-plumbing . . . and then there's the problem of where to "fill 'er up" when you run low on fuel. There's really no easily available sources to refill such vehicles in the USA. If you had a local place to refuel and only used the car locally that might be different. Lots of gas-electric hybrids here, though, like the Toyota Prius (at least in California). Not sure how LPG would affect performance? Or reliability, servicing, and resale.

I would go for it, but I would go for a single down draught carb this would make easier installation. Use a big LPG tank and a small, 10 L tank for petrol. Im sure there are US imports that have been converted to twin SUs. Room for the tank is going to be the biggest problem. Here in the UK kits use a donut tank that replaces the spare tyre.
Cheers Pete

Pete-Bolse Wrote:

Plumbing LPG is not hard IMHO, tank placement, regulators and carb changes sound like the tricky part. Anybody got any info on LPG carbs?

LPG will almost create a carbon free motor, it burns so clean, however I just had a buddy with a Morgan made the switch to gasoline from LPG, because it was such a pain to refill, you will be very limited on where you can refill, making trips out of town quite an adventure to find and locate places to refill along the way.

It's the cleanest running stuff you can use and the oil when starting with a clean enginenever gets dirty. It looks as new at drain time as it did going in. It doesn't take a lot of mechanical ability to install a conversion if you can read and follow instructions and like someone said, it's much easier with a single carburetor. You'll notice a drop in performance with LPG but will seldom miss the hooch you lost in daily driving.

I just got a "new" LPG powered work truck. Reminds me of my BBQ.
Everytime I start it I feel the need for a beer and a steak.

For those worrying abt filling up on LPG, most Aussie petrol stations have LPHG facilities as most taxis and council cars are confiugred to run on LPG. One way were Australia maybe ahead of teh US..

Many gas (ie: petrol) stations around here have LPG. That's how I get it for my BBQ.

There's also natural gas, which we have plumbed right to our home. It's less expensive that LPG, and..... http://www.myphill.com/

50 years ago we had an early El Camino 283 that was rigged to run on either propane or gasoline. flipped a switch on the dash and it switched over. They called it a "Beam" conversion

You will get fewer mpg with propane...even less with natural gas.

don't know how you'd rig SUs to work on it, though.

Mac identified the real problem. Because you get much less gas mileage with LPG, your driving range is going to be reduced. Additionally, the LPG tank is going to be heavier than your gas tank. If it's just a weekend driver, you don't need to worry about range.

But I think you're also going to get less power which could be a problem. LPG is a mixture of propane (a 3 carbon molecule) and butane (a 4 carbon molecule.) Gasoline is a mixture of hexane (6 carbons) Heptane (7 carbons) and Octane (8 carbons) (with a few longer molecules tossed in too.) The average enthalpy [heat potential] of combustion for propane and butane is about 2550 kj mol. The average enthalpy of combustion for the three major components of gasoline is about 4850 kj mol. (That's kilojoules per mole which means that in the comparison, you have exactly the same number of molecules producing more energy because the gasoline molecules are longer and have more carbon/hydrogen bonds to release energy.) I'm not sure if you can cram twice as much LPG into the chamber to get the same energy output because LPG goes in as a gas and displaces some of the intake air - gasoline goes in as a liquid aerosol and displaces almost nothing. LPG does take less air to fully combust but without boring you guys with the stoichiometry, you can't fit enough air/LPG gas into the chamber to make as much power as you can with gasoline. If you're so inclined, give it a try but I don't think it'll save you any real money.

As for running on natural gas (methane) forget it. It makes even less power but it the cleanest burning fuel that's readily available. And no, you couldn't fill it from your home gas meter - far too low of a pressure in the pipes that feed your home.