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Going to GAS

bucks77ford

We will Rise Again
Well, after some long hard thinking over the past couple years, I've decided to convert my engine to Gas. This winter has been pretty nice so far without the snow and salt on the roads and I would have liked to have used my truck a little bit and also would like to be able to use it "just in case" during the cold months, but Ethanol doesn't do well in the cold climate. I can barely get it started in the cold and don't want to mess with it anymore. Also, Ethanol can be a little more difficult to tune when it's 50 degrees one week and then 80 the next during the spring. Maybe it's just me and my inexperience in tuning carbs, but time for a change. I need to lower the compression a bit, so I've decided to get some Edelbrock Heads (I already have someone lined up to buy my Trickflows) and still undecided on whether to get a Holley or Edelbrock Carb. I leaning toward Holley, but not sure yet. So, the truck will be down for a bit, but it's down anyway during the winter.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
Keep us posted on the progress Buck.
 
Keep us posted on the progress Buck.

X2 on that - i've been looking at that myself as lpg is $1.50/litre here as opposed to $2.20/litre for regular petrol.

Would't you want to increase your compression ratio though so as to take advantage of lpg (sorry guys i mean propane) having a higher octane level?
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
I think he is talking going to gasoline over ethanol Mark
 
Aaaahhh - fooled by terminology yet again ...... i'll learn the lingo eventually.

I did buy a book called "ethanol can be a gas" written by a chap called David Blume and i found it interesting enough that i brought a "charles 803" ethanol still kit that i must get around to finishing one day as i am very interested in alternative fuels - at the moment i'm trialing an HHO system which i've had installed for nearly 6 months and so far i've noticed a small increase in power but beggar all improvement in fuel economy but i need to sit down and retune the O2 sensor and pwm properly before i can conclusively say if its worthwhile or not.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
A few places here sold the hydrogen kits (including the place I bought my Espars from) they didn't seem to last long on the market.
 
I would imagine that when the ethanol is cold , its thick like honey.

I checked on the "Natural Gas" conversion with the pump or compressor to mount at my house, that fills the tank on the truck,,,,,,,,$:shocked:$ :shocked:$
and the fill stations that are available are scarce.
 
I think the concept's ok its just the execution of the setup that catches most of us out plus the bad rap (mostly deserved) that some of the promoters got certainly didn't help either.

Despite all the youtube things showing engines running on hydrogen which is certainly achievable (there is a good book called hydrogen economy by Roy McAllister) although not by onboard generation as is promised by certain "snake oil" promotion agents i think it can help.
Some years ago i had an old datsun 720 diesel ute that was absolutely knackered and would probably have been useful to your navy as a smoke generator - it failed a safety inspection due to too much exhaust smoke so i cobbled together a crude hho generator and insantly cut the exhaust smoke down by at least two thirds - this lead me to believe that hho really could be used to help fuel combust more efficiently and producing more power which will hopefully lead to more economy .
 

bucks77ford

We will Rise Again
I should have reworded the title to Fuel rather than "gas". But anyway, I'll keep everyone posted on the progress. I made some today, I'm ready to pull the intake and then start unbolting the heads. I really hate taking things apart since I've spent so many months putting things together, but in the long run I think this is the best thing. I should have done more research on Ethanol before I wanted to run it, but at the time it really was my only choice since my compression was high enough to make me unable to run pump gas. Sucks, because it wasn't my intention to have a higher compression. The stroker kit I bought contained the wrong pistons, but I never knew that until I have it all together. Figured, I'd just go with it and see what happens. Oh well, I'm not taking too much of a loss on the heads and hopefully I can sell my E85 Carb for a decent price. Would be good for people that have a racer with a high compression and would run ethanol. Just not good for cold weather.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
What heads are on it?...can you change them to a closed chamber style and maybe change the cam to get the dynamic cr lowered?
 

bucks77ford

We will Rise Again
I have aluminum Trickflows on it now with a smaller combustion chamber. I'll have to look at the specs to be sure. I'm running a smaller cam to give me more snap from the start and didn't really want to run a larger one. A bigger cam would be an option though. I wasn't too motivated right now to do the switch, but my brother is building a performance engine for a a guy and mentioned my heads and the guy wanted them. So, long story short I'm going to make the change now while the truck is sitting.

The other thing that I'm contemplating is going with a Holley or Edelbrock. I've heard so many different opinions about the two. Not much of a price difference between the two. I just want something that when it's tuned, I don't have to worry about it. So I'll take any info I can get on what you all are running.
 

Jolly Green

I Salt My Ketchup
Most carb guys I know say Edelbrock is more 'set it and forget it' than Holley. A Holley will perform very well, but requires more frequent tweaking, where the Eddie stays put once it's tuned. I know I ran a Holley on a 302 Bronco years ago that needed regular attention.

As for ethanol: I hate it mixed in with our gas. The mileage goes down, and the stuff eat all the rubber parts in your truck. With yours being set up to run it from the start, though, you probably didn't have all the trouble it causes for older trucks running gas.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
I've run both brands Buck and didn't have issues with either one, this was a few years back though (25+).
 

bucks77ford

We will Rise Again
I've run both brands Buck and didn't have issues with either one, this was a few years back though (25+).

I'm torn. I keep hearing that an Eddy will work great with daily drivers and you bolt on and go, but a Holley will bring out more performance in an engine once you get it tuned and they are more cold blooded than an Eddy.
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
Just go get a Powerjection III...problem solved :D
 

bucks77ford

We will Rise Again
Just go get a Powerjection III...problem solved :D

I actually had thought about fuel injection, but I told myself I wanted a gear vendors OD unit for fuel injection, so once I get the change over complete, I'll save up for an OD unit and once that's complete, I'll save up for a fuel injection system. Might take me another 10 years, but oh well. Gives me something to look forward too and these trucks are never complete anyway. smilieFordlogo
 

DNFXDLI

The Token Canadian
Staff member
Those FI systems aren't cheap.
 

bucks77ford

We will Rise Again
Well no changing my mind now. Made some progress tonight after the wifey and kids went to bed. Was able to get the intake and one head off. Boy, working under the hood is much different than working on the motor on a nice engine stand. And I need bigger tools. With the big A/C box I could only get a 1/2 rachet on the back half of the lower head bolts and using a cheater bar I was able to get things broke loose. I thought a had a breaker bar, but I never. I felt like the back yard mechanic that's for sure. But, no broken tools or broken knuckles so I think that's a plus. Now to the local tool shop tomorrow to get me a bigger rachet and breaker bar so I have them. Also, I'm damn glad aluminum heads are so light lifting them out. I'll try and make more progress tomorrow so then all I have is cleaning and waiting until I get the new stuff.
 

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