Drag racing fun on propane

Imperial73 · Post by **Imperial73** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:33 pm

I found two vintage articles on propane-powered drag-racing cars, and best of all, both Mopar powered

Imperial73 · Post by **Imperial73** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 6:33 pm

franz · Post by **franz** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 8:27 am

Those are some real memory stretchers! I have known Don Bass for many years. In the 70's, he and Parnelli Jones raced the Baja 500 in a worn out Ford F-150 converted to propane and either won or came in pretty high in their class.

Don was one of the 5 core Impco tech guys. Dick Baverstock and Herb Hills were considered the two responsible for all of what Impco developed in the early days, later joined by Don Bass, Ak Miller, and then Bob Rude. Those were the gents that were turned loose by Impco in the 80's to form the OHG company (Over the Hill Gang). Don Bass is the only one left now and he is a wealth of knowledge. At last count, he is in Southern California building Baja trucks and is in his late 70's or early 80's.

Look carefully at the 66 Charger, those are very early OHG X-450 mixers with some modifications and X-1 vaporizers.

When I did some training for Impco about 15 years ago, I visited the engine dyno room at Gridley Place and I think I may have seen the Hemi engine there but Impco's upper level brass was not that keen on performance.

Thanks for the memories, and where did you find these articles?

Franz

sleepybu · Post by **sleepybu** » Sat Sep 01, 2007 11:18 pm

franz wrote:
Impco's upper level brass was not that keen on performance.

Franz

I think impco shot them self's in the foot with that mentality

LPG383 · Post by **LPG383** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 5:40 am

Great articles, although I can't say that I've had very good experiences with twin OHG 450 mixers.

Steptoe · Post by **Steptoe** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 4:08 pm

In one of the articules it meantions
"Aluminim gas bottles"
I have never heard of these???
We did used to have light weight Stainless in NZ, but this where fond to be failing the specs required in NZ, so got banned a few yrs back.

franz · Post by **franz** » Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:19 pm

They used aluminum forklift cylinders. These are generally not approved for over the road use.

Franz

Steptoe · Post by **Steptoe** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 12:12 am

All tanks over here have to meet the same regs....Al is not approved even on fork trucks

BigBlockMopar · Post by **BigBlockMopar** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 5:27 pm

Hi folks.
I actually scanned these articles. I can't remember where I scanned the top article from but it has to be from a book with various roadtests and such.
The 2nd article is from a back-issue of a Mopar Collectors Guide-magazine I specially ordered for the article.
Since I also own such a Dodge Charger I was especially interested in the story. I even exchanged a few emails with Bill Bagley about his engine setup once.

DirtyMJ · Post by **DirtyMJ** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:36 am

franz wrote:They used aluminum forklift cylinders. These are generally not approved for over the road use.

Franz

Oddly enough, I've seen a certain company that caters towards 4x4s recommending the aluminum forklift tanks. Their fine print does say something about none of their conversions being meant for street use, but I find it odd that they'd not mention their lack of street legality. I'd always assumed they were legal, just that they had to be removed from the vehicle for filling (filled by weight anyways).

I was going to run an aluminum tank myself, and still might. The weight savings are definitely there. And weight is very important in my sport, perhaps more-so than drag racing. I'm not street legal (not even close), so that's never been an issue for me.

Mattelderca · Post by **Mattelderca** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 1:47 pm

I like the idea of the lift truck cylinders for off road myself I would just be certain to enclose it in a VERY sturdy roll cage of it's own. Even a steel tank and the associated lines should be well protected even in a mild 4x4. You never know when you might be upside down and there is danger not just from fire but also from frostbite! A broken liquid line squirting minus 40 LPG on your arm or foot or even face can leave allot of physical damage.
Have fun but play safe!

Steptoe · Post by **Steptoe** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:20 pm

U guys are scarry!!
Do these tanks have access flow valves...that at least would take care of the lines to some degree...
But a leaking tank??? caused by an accident...u may not be to concerned about your own safety, but what about that of the energency guys who come charging up to help, then get hit with a fire ball.

Mattelderca · Post by **Mattelderca** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:37 pm

Well, we started with drag racing old Mopars on LPG. You want to talk scary, watch some of those guys going down the 1/4 mile and losing control, fire is just one of your worries at 250 mph! And for some real fun, watch some of the Xtreme rock crawlers going straight up a rock face 20 feet high! VERY cool stuff!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYWWZG1Z3bM

OH yes, fork tanks do have flow control valves and all the other safety stuff.

mopar1 · Post by **mopar1** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:27 am

Thank you for posting those articles. I thought the part " Who knows, perhaps this excellent gas may replace gasoline in high performance vehicles someday" was funny.

sleepybu · Post by **sleepybu** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:54 pm

In that last pic, why is there a hose connecting the carbs

Alternative Fuels

Drag racing fun on propane

Drag racing fun on propane

Neat old stuff

Re: Neat old stuff

Cylinders