Inliners International Forums General Discussion Hi Performance Anyone want to see a hair-drier installation?

How about a huffed 165hp OMC boat motor in a 1981 Chevy El Camino....on Propane. Nah... no one would want to see that...


But if you are sick like me you might just want to know anyway. :-)
www.geocities.com/grand_admrl_thrawn

Nice install. Good to be different. Just curious, any trouble mounting the motor and trans in that body style of car? Which trans did you use? I was going to install a 250/700R4 in our '81 Malibu Wagon but thought I would have trouble with lengths on the rad. Yours looks like it went in pretty easy. Guess I shouldn't have listenend to the family but gone ahead and done it. Make a real nice daily driver.

Dear Phule;

I think you did a great job and should be proud as hell!

Those W/O vision are blind to the truth.

I've often thought about using Propane for a Hot Rod. Now that I know it 'can be done', perhaps I'll do something about it.

Thanks for the info.

John M., #3370...

cool install. how is the turbo attached to the motor? are you using a boat, car manifold or a custom header. tom

don't know how anyone could refer to neat work like that as ugly!

Thanks for the nice words... should anyone need ot know about a lpg conversion, let me know. I have extensively researched the subject.
The exhaust is run through a stock automotive manifold then into a "U" made of stainless "milker-pipe"....Freebie :-)
As to the cosmetics of it all, I am not going to delude myself about any awards with this one, but it's good enough for a driver.

ive got a couple of questions for you?
would you reccomend that size mixer if i were going to use a 250 with a larger cam and high boost, 15lbs+, or should i go with the Impco 425(the reason i ask is because i already have a 425 from a previous car)?
also, what size tank do you use and what kind of distance are you going before a refill?
where did you get your tank?
finally, was there any special tuning you had to do with it being blow-thru?
thank you.

A 425 would be fine.... it actually flows 460-500 cfm naturally aspirated. I used the CA100 on recommendation from an expert. also I didn't have to build a carb box. :-) Remember that turboed cars don't like a whole bunch of overlap in the cam. From what I've been told, a cam doesn't make as much difference on forced-induction car as it would N/A. Same with headwork. I am running the "stock" cam in my El Camino, but that was already an RV cam on account of it was a boat motor.
Tank size is 42.5 gallons effective size, I "liberated" that from a truck I already had.
As far as tuning goes, so far I just adjusted the idle, then set the power all the way rich, the started backing it down lean. I still have some work to do with the timing. It's a little slow of the bottom, I want to see if I can get some more go off the line.

thank you for your help..you mentioned not having a carb box, is that something i would have to use if i were to use the 425? also, would a propane setup work well in a draw thru setup or would having a gas flow through the turbo be a bad idea?

I don't think you would, I was reffering to constructing the ductwork into the carb....a carb hat. At 15 psi I don't think you would want to draw-thru, too much temp increase, but at 7-8 psi it can be done, I have seen several setups like that.
The regulator ("E" impco) I am using is rated for 360 hp, so if you need more than that you are goning to have to double them up.