Flame away...

my friend has a 87YJ with a 4.2L that he intends to propane inject but he is already lacking power... his solution is to graft a small Turbocharger into the system... i cant think of any reason that this wont work but im not a motorhead...he is a Mechanic by trade.

does anyone see any potiental problems with propane and a turbo on the same engine?

I think that is a great idea. Propane is 100+ octane (right?) so that should gain back the power he lost from switching to propane.

Good Combo.

Propane has a higher octane rating than gasoline - however, it also has a lower BTU rating. Propane by itself will make less power, but, the good news is turboing more than makes up for the loss - and you can run LOTS of boost on propane.

My dad has run propane and a turbo (at 12psi boost) on his AC WD45 tractor since 1958. Used almost daily for over 20 years and still now need for rebuild.

Ak Miller is legendary for his use of propane and turbos. He used to sell turbo kits. Don't know if he's still in business or not. He had at least two books out on the subject.

Yep propane is great for turbos because of the high octane and most importantly it's cooling effect, it helps keep the intake charge cool and lets you go higher on the boost than you could with 100 octane gas.

Anyone know what turbo would be good to run on a propane powered SBC?

your best bet would be to run two turbos. you run a small one for quick spooling and a larger one for continued power throughout the high end. I would tend to think the turbos off a car with comparable hp would be perfect. A 300zx comes to my mind. Good luck find cheap turbo's. They are very expensive new and still very expensive used (and there is a reason people replace their turbos rater often). Good luck and show us pics

what other mods would be necessary this sounds interesting

I know this sounds hack, but what about a 12 volt electric motor running a supercharger?
would that work?

This link might help out some of your questions...except maybe that electric motor supercharger thing :rolleyes:

http://www.truckworld.com/4x4-OffRoad/96-1957TurboWillys/1957TurboWillys.html


I actually think I got that link from you Lance a while back....

Ak Miller's Turbocharging (9236 Bermudez, Dept. TW, Pico Rivera, CA 906603, 562-949-2548)

Ak Miller is supposed to be "the shiznit" when it comes to turbocharging SBCs...just what I've heard


:usa:

Originally posted by Lance
Anyone know what turbo would be good to run on a propane powered SBC?

all depends on your budget. you could probably get a Garrett T-5 (i think that's it) from a junkyard off a 90's-ish thunderbird and make it work without too much effort. this place has good info for the do-it-yourselfer.

http://www.turbocity.com/TurboAddOnMain.htm

- jack

I read the link Yellowsub1962 attached a while back and was toying with the idea of converting the SBC in my FJ55 to propane. Several things came to mind that weren't really discussed.

1) How much extra heat will turbo charging produce, even with propane?

2) Fuel capacity, you can only utilize about 80% of the total capacity in a propane tank and unless you're willing to sacrifice your bed you'd be hard pressed to fit a tank large enough to equal the range you're use to. Which leads me to point number...

3) Tank construction. If you're not willing to sacrifice your bed you're left with few options, one of which is to siamese tanks so they fit in the stock location. Sounds simple enough, I made it through about 2 phone calls before I realized I was barking up the wrong tree. More than doubled the cost of the conversion.

Not saying that I'm not still thinking of it, so if anyone has some insight into these questions fire away.

Originally posted by morpheus


all depends on your budget. you could probably get a Garrett T-5 (i think that's it) from a junkyard off a 90's-ish thunderbird and make it work without too much effort. this place has good info for the do-it-yourselfer.

http://www.turbocity.com/TurboAddOnMain.htm

- jack

More like a T3 in those.