I'm looking at one of two options for the 4.3 in my 1983 toyota. The 470 Truck avenger which goes for just under $400, or GotPropane.com's 4- barrel propane only kit at around $1000. Thoughts? Do the propane kits work as well as they say? any downsides there? and what about the truck avengers? they're built for offroad, but i tend to dislike carburetors :flipoff2:I'm not afraid to spend a little more on something if i'm getting my moneys worth...Anybody running these on 4.3's? ....

What does the gotpropane kit included? $1000 is steep for 'pane, IMHO. But, I do have the advantage of being able to source used parts that can be rebuilt.

I'd run propane over a carb. It won't flood out or starve, and most of the components are pretty much bullet-proof. You'll never have contaminated fuel either. Oh, and it's cheap...

What is it going into?

My gripes with propane are fairly short.

The first being that cold starting is a PITA. When you get to about -40~ things are pretty much impossible. A carb isn't going to be happy at that temperature either, and one should be preheating their engine regardless, but a good EFI setup will laugh at starting in that without heat. If this doesn't apply to you, disregard, but it is worth mentioning.

Secondly, the space required for the tanks VS capacity is poor. Propane tanks only come in a couple basic shapes, almost always being a cylinder... Also, the tanks are normally quite heavy compared with a gas tank. Aluminum cylinders from forklift applications are popular for that reason, but I dislike forklift cylinders as they are a PITA and offer very limited capacity (I have an aluminum tank that holds 32L, which is about 8.5 US gal).


I'm planning to convert my 'utility' truck to propane in a bit here, and converted one of my jeeps to it (4.0L).

The kit includes everthing you need to install propane only on your motor.... It's the Square bore 4-barrel kit.....It doesn't get to cold here.... Rarely under 20 Degrees.... Propane use in trucks isn't as common in my area as other place's but i do have easy access to propane filling stations..... Is the dual fuel better than propane only?

Dual fuel using older style components is a PITA. Propane needs a lot more advance on the timing to make good power as the 'relative octane' level is so high on it (read that as the flame propagation rate is really low). With dual fuel the timing curve on the distributor is normally left alone, and one has to manually change the base timing for when they switch fuel types. Or, they just leave the timing retarded enough that it runs okay on gas, and it will make noooooo power on propane. The better option is to recurve the distributor, but you'll not able to run it on gas then.

So, really, dual fuel blows unless you're willing to make changes every time you want to switch. With EFI and newer propane components, the timing and curve can easily be switched automatically when the fuel type is changed.

what year truck did the 4.3 come from? you could easily just do fuel injection.
now if you dont have the wiring and everything then i would consider propane.

I run the gotpropane setup on my 4.3 and I would never change back. My motor was a 92 CPI setup and it was a nightmare. When I swapped it into my Toyota, I got a custom Howell harness, reflashed chip, aeromotive fuel system, etc. I had a lot of money in it and never could get it to run right. I ended up going to propane, using an edelbrock intake, hardend valves, 3.8 heads, hei dist. Basically there weren't many parts needed to make the switch. It is a pain to start when cold, but for crawling its awesome. I use forklift tanks and the truck is a trailer queen too. Check my profile for my build thread. I think its the way to go.

You have a rough idea on your compression ratio with the 3.8 heads?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showpost.php?p=7827520&postcount=26

58 cc's puts me at around 10.09:1

i use to work at a fork lift shop and a lot of older hysters had chevy4.3 with propane you should be able to find a local forklifft shop or parts place local that will sell you all that you need for way less then your other option