[Checker-l] Re: Checker LPG Conversion Parts

[john_weinhoeft]

Tom,

Short answer: Yes, but ...

Long answer:

Checker used two different LPG systems, IMPCO and Century. 
Complete repair parts or component sets of either brand can 
be obtained from Alternative Fuel Systems in Arlington 
Heights, IL. (plus other locations) ... [not to be confused 
with another company by the same name].

Their web site is more a web page http://www.altfuel.com/ 
but they have a real nice 120 page printed catalog (mine is 
about 6 years old).

However ... what is NOT available from them are the original 
Checker fuel tanks or fuel tank gauge sending unit. So you 
would have to cobble up a storage tank system. There are 
some original tanks floating around at ridiculous asking 
prices; you can probably buy a running Checker LPG parts car 
cheaper than what I've seen for Checker NOS tanks.

AFS has lots of experience (45+ years) in doing alternative 
fuel conversions and supporting alternate fuel systems. 
They're a major source of parts and ship world-wide.

Oh yeah, they are "car people" (or at least the guy I dealt 
with).

AFS can do pure LPG, pure CNG, digester (think methane) and 
various bi-mode and tri-mode combinations that also include 
gasoline.

The various fuels have different attributes and 
requirements. I can knowledgeably talk about the LPG trade-offs.

With LPG, you have roughly 10% less fuel density (BTU/gal.). 
As a result, you generate roughly 10% less horsepower and 
have 10% less MPG ... your results will vary.

Also, LPG has some specific changes required for the motor, 
primarily the distributor advance curve. Due to the slower 
burn rate of propane, you will need a distributor with about 
10 degrees more initial advance and with maximum advance 
limited to about 10 degrees less than the same engine 
running on gasoline. The other change is the thermostat; LPG 
likes to run cool, the "ideal" car engine operating 
temperature is 160 degrees. Going from 160 to 180 drops 
horsepower by 10%; going from 180 to 190 is another 10% drop 
and the drop off curve accelerates beyond 190.

Range will depend on a number of factors. The factory 
Checker setup had a 33 gallon tank which at 90% fill 
(standard for LPG but not always achieved) is roughly 29 
gallons times about 13 MPG (mixed driving) yields a range of 
377 miles. Most owners don't have working gas gauges (bad 
sending units, never were worth a darn even when new) and 
just fill up every 225 - 250 miles which is about right if 
you've been running the car in town only with partial cold 
operation plus start / stop driving resulting in about 10 MPG.

Note: the Century system got about 1 MPG better than the 
IMPCO system but neither were great. Averages were between 
12 city (IMPCO) and 15 highway (Century).

If you want to know more about the LPG, email me off list. 
I've got the entire Checker LPG engineering / test file plus 
various IMPCO documents including some generic LPG 
documentation that I've scanned in and put in PDF format. 
The IMPCO doc is 37 MB and the Checker doc is 47 MB. I can 
always send you the index to all the documents I have or 
pull out specific pages for you, such as the power drop off 
curve.

John W

Thomas Mcintyre wrote:
> Are parts to do the LPG conversion available?
> Here in CA "alternate fuel" cars can get a sticker to use car pool  
> lanes when only the driver is on board.
> A Fueling station is available to allow one to refill at home with  city 
> gas at lower cost, I understand.
> Does this kill performance?
> What is the aproximate range?
> Thanks