alternative fuels

[Gary Derian]

If there is a propane supplier handy, propane is a great fuel.  A conversion
using a propane carb is super easy.  Hydrogen is OK but it burns so fast the
engine will run rough.  Lots of EGR (50%) will help.  Also, you can't put
much hydrogen in a tank.  It can be adsorbed onto metal hydride but this
stuff is not readily available.  I would stick to gasoline if cost a
concern.  Just keep your engine well tuned.  Lean out the carb some and add
a cat to the exhaust.  The EFI 5.0 with old Mustang mounts, etc would make a
great sleeper but you should change the entire drivetrain and front
suspension.

Gary Derian <gderian at oh.verio.com>


> Hi,
> I'm fairly new to the list and most of the postings are over my head.
> With all the talk about propane lately, I figure it's a good time to try
> posting about alternative fuels. I'm especially interested in hydrogen,
> but that's probably not practical right now, may never be.  I have a '60
> Ford Falcon that I'd like to run on a cleaner fuel, with cost as a
> serious consideration.  If I could convert the original i6 engine to run
> on an alternative fuel I'd love to go that route.  I'm looking into
> swapping in an EFI 2.3L or 5.0L so at least it'll run a lot cleaner on
> gasoline.  I'm considering converting to compressed natural gas or
> propane.  I've started reading "Ford Fuel Injection & Electronic Engine
> Control" by Charles Probst and it says,"NG[natural gas]-dedicated
> vehicles need no gasoline fuel injection system, and much simpler control
> for spark and bypass air-idle"(p62).  I'm not sure what this means.  Has
> anyone out there ever converted an older carb. eng. to run on CNG or
> propane?  How about an EFI eng.?  Any other thoughts about anything I've
> posted?
> Thanks,
> Kurt
> **** e-mail address: k.l.anderson at juno.com
> **** web site: http://home.att.net/~falconpage
>
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