worth the buy?

Propane, Butane, LPG, GPL, C3H8, C4H10
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The_Stuff
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:03 pm

worth the buy?

Post by The_Stuff »

Looking at a 89 dual fuel setup van. parked due to tranny going.

look like a good setup or walk away? 3 liter v-6 1989 plymouth grand voyager.

propane fuel and gauge switch under the dash.
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Under hood
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propane filler
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Greg J
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:03 pm
Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Re: worth the buy?

Post by Greg J »

Hi,
I'm not sure if it is just my computer but I can only see the top part of the last three pictures.

A dual-fuel system is a good idea, that's for sure. The switches look to be in an okay place. I can only see the top bit of the underhood pictures but the Model E vapourizer looks a little high compared to the engine and radiator. While it may work, it might work better if it was a bit lower than the radiator. It looks like they are using real propane hoses which is good. I can't see the filler in the last picture, only the tailight and bumper. It looks like the filler might be under the bumper. While they do that for a lot of installations, I personally don't think it is a great idea. It could be prone to accidents, and the fittings and hoses would rust like crazy from road salt. Where is the propane tank? If it is underneath and rusty, that will be a big problem, and should drive the price way down. You would either need to take it off and very thoroughly de-rust it or get a new tank. De-rusting a tank is a lot of work. If the tank's welded-on metal data plate is missing or rusted beyond recognition, you might as well figure on buying a new tank. If the tank is thoroughly rusted, it might as well be missing the tank. You would have to go through all the work of undoing all the rusty bolts for the old tank, dispose of the old tank, and then spend a lot of money on a new tank. If the tank is in the cargo area of the vehicle, it really should have a vapour-seal box on the valves. If the vapour-seal box cover is missing, that's a big problem. If the tank never had a vapour-seal box from the manufacturer, you might as well figure on buying a new tank that has one. The hoses should all be ran properly and the tank relief valve has to be vented to outside the vehicle with a real genuine certified propane hose, the same kind as the filler and liquid hose.

How expensive is this vehicle and how many kilometers? Have you seen and heard it running on both propane and gasoline? Do both fuel systems actually work?

Do you have a picture of the throttle body, mixer, and air filter area?

The_Stuff
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:03 pm

Re: worth the buy?

Post by The_Stuff »

http://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a379/ ... %20-%2089/ goes to all the photos.

i wondered to about the vaporizer being that high up but it seems to work.

No, i havent heard it run on either nor have i gotten a look underneath. It is 1000km away from me in Edmonton Alberta. The van has 208426km 129510 miles

the van looks rust free. I know there will be some rust. mine has it to.

as for the tank, not too worried. if its truly bad, then it will need replaced regardless.

the whole unit he is asking $500 so if worse comes to worse i got a van with a good interior and a 3L v-6 and a mixer, vaporizer and the switchovers and everything else for my other vans. (kinda a horder of the gen 1 and 2 vans..)
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Greg J
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:03 pm
Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Re: worth the buy?

Post by Greg J »

If you are a hoarder then by all means go for it ! $500 seems reasonable as long as there are lots of other parts you need on the van, just in case it ends up having a bunch of unforseen problems. Are the '89 vans getting scarce out there? They are in Ontario, but we have a lot of road salt which ruins most vehicles. Then repairs get expensive due to rust (body, and brake lines, fuel lines, gas tanks, etc.) and since most people can't do any of their own repairs they then easily give up and buy a newer vehicle. I don't think they use much road salt "out west" so you might just have normal rust which would be really good.

I am a hoarder of 1989 "Dodge 2000 GTX" cars, and my main one is dual-fuel.

1000km's seems kind of far to drag a vehicle home, do you have some economical way to do that?

I saw all of the photos on photobucket if I use the slideshow, if I just click on them I just see the top parts of them as in the posting. I saw the filler location, and in my opinion it is really lousy. It might just be the camera angle, but it almost looks like it sticks out as far as the bumper. I don't think that would be very good if something pushed against the bumper. Sure, it might not break anything, but who wants a filler that could be pushed or bent to the point of almost breaking, but not quite? In my opinion it could get seriously weakened and be a crack waiting to happen in the future. There probably aren't too many options as to where to put the filler elsewhere, but if it was mine, I would find a better place.

The mixer looks pretty new, or else it is just aging very well. The vapourizer and lockoff look to be in good shape from outside appearances too. Besides possibly being too high, the vapourizer and especially the lockoff look like they are very well mounted.

I also forgot to mention, if the propane tank is located underneath, make sure it is mounted high enough like it should be. It could be improperly mounted and if it is installed too low from the frame that will be a big problem.

I am not sure how the dual-fuel is switched, but if it is some sort of add-on timing processor or add-on computer module, these could be either very scarce or obsolete and could be troublesome to find if you needed to replace one.

The_Stuff
Posts: 58
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:03 pm

Re: worth the buy?

Post by The_Stuff »

yup i think it will be worth the $500. as for getting home there is a guy thats going up to red deer to get a couple cars as is, and this is in the south end of edmonton so it shouldnt be bad.

I dont think we use salt out here if we can help it. its more of just sand. (still piles up under the frames and paint chips mind you!)
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Steptoe
Posts: 1504
Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:32 pm
Location: JAFA , New Zealand

Re: worth the buy?

Post by Steptoe »

I can only see the top bit of the underhood pictures but the Model E vapourizer looks a little high compared to the engine and radiator. While it may work, it might work better if it was a bit lower than the radiator.
I agree, on the other hand my vapourizer has sat about an inch above my radiator for 25 yrs...and considering the radiator level cold is about 4" down inside the radiator....
I have had a freeze up 3 times in 25 yrs.
All after draining and refilling the system way back then...the rest of the times since, I either face the car up hill when replacing radiator fliud, or if too lazy to turn the car around. When I fire up just put my hand on the vapourizer a feel if it gets cold and wait for the heat to flow thru...something that should be done regardless after a coolant service.
If it starts to get cold, crack the top vapourinser (water goes in the bottom out the top) bleed for a sec then put back.
Only had to do that maybe 3 times in 20 yrs.

If someone is awhere of the potentual issue, it is not major....9 times out of 10 not an issue.
My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'

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