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Interesting looking K5

DK5

1/2 ton status
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The city that rhymes with fun, Saskatchewan
I kinda like that roof rack. Wouldn't be safe for a roll cage, but it would be excellent for hauling a canoe or whatever. Nicest one I've seen. Too far away though and I doubt they'd part it out.

2300fe2_20.jpeg


http://alberta.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-Jimmy-Custom-Wagon-W0QQAdIdZ280058261#
 
I'm also curious about the propane tanks, and the conversion. I wonder if its worth-while to do. Seems like it was to them, since its installed on a new crate motor.

You can see the tanks and the filler caps in this pic just below the bumper:

0276ihi_20.jpeg
 
I'm also curious about the propane tanks, and the conversion. I wonder if its worth-while to do. Seems like it was to them, since its installed on a new crate motor.

You can see the tanks and the filler caps in this pic just below the bumper:

0276ihi_20.jpeg

Many people heat their houses on propane and he may have a tap into that to fill up his truck (though that's probably not legal in the states, I believe they want to tax you on the fuel if it's used on the road).

Propane is awesome because it keeps the oil super clean and will completely vaporize at basically any temperature we come across. Unlike a carburetor or even fuel injection, there is really no chance of raw fuel contacting the rings at start-up/cold temps which is the biggest wear factor on a motor.

Propane also has the advantage of being ridiculously simple, more so than even a carbureted engine.

Downfalls are that fuel is a bit tougher to come by, not really tough to come by but not as easy. It doesn't contain as much energy per volume as gasoline, though on many motors it will make as much or more power. Theory says that propane has less energy per volume (which it does) but it's also a vapor under almost every condition, which gasoline is not.

One thing that has chapped my ass about filling up propane is that "only certain people can fill it". Often that means that after five, on weekends or when they are on vacation the people that are actually there working can't fill your propane tank.

At midnight, you can drive up and fill up your tank with gas with a credit card. If you need propane, you need to wait until someone "qualified" is there, which is definitely going to be 9 to 5 if you're lucky.

I know at Blazer Bash last year I was told the only guy qualified to fill propane tanks at Slickrock Campground (where a lot of the Blazer Bash people camp) was on vacation for two weeks and they couldn't fill any propane tanks until he got back. They probably had 1000 gallons sitting there.
 
Why anyone would want to run propane is beyond me, propane requires a higher compression ratio, it produces less power, uses more and isn't as easy to get. On the other hand it is a simple system, and it does burn clean.
 
Why anyone would want to run propane is beyond me, propane requires a higher compression ratio, it produces less power, uses more and isn't as easy to get. On the other hand it is a simple system, and it does burn clean.

It is high on the octane scale which is more ideal with a higher compression ratio.

It has less energy per volume but that can be a bit of a wash, especially compared to carbed motor that hasn't been professionally tuned.

My propane setup has been stupid efficient, WAY better than my Q-jet which was also pretty damn good. I averaged 12-14 with the Q-jet on the highway. The propane setup hasn't seen the highway miles (it's trailered now) but on the trail it uses MUCH less fuel. Stupid good, 15-20 trail hours on an 11 gallon tank.

As for why, I built my motor early on and didn't do the TBI swap because the motor wouldn't work with it. I bought my propane setup brand new from someone that didn't need it for $300, add in a couple $100 fuel tanks and that's it. SBC block, .030, vortec heads, Edelbrock Performer RPM manifold, Crane roller cam 214/222 @ .050

My Q-jet was always good but in the really hairy (vertical) stuff left a bit to be desired. The fix was either $$$$ fuel injection or propane and I went propane and wouldn't look back.
 
the rack is pretty cool...

my thoughts on propane from a mechanical viewpoint, not the logistic side of things..

I'm a little leary of it's longterm effect on a converted gas engine.... there are lots of subtle differences that a motor "likes" with propane.. a purpose-built propane motor will generally have slightly different cams specs, timing, rings, valve sealing, etc......

valve seats being the aspect that concerns me on longterm use the most, propane can be very demanding on a run of the mill valve seat.... it does have some excellent benefits over gas tho, cleaner oil being the one I like a lot..
 
That rack is indeed cool... but...

Is it just me, or is the top raised up so that the rack can mount underneath it? I wonder what that does to the window seal?

Just curious... wondering if anyone else noticed that.
 
That rack is indeed cool... but...

Is it just me, or is the top raised up so that the rack can mount underneath it? I wonder what that does to the window seal?

Just curious... wondering if anyone else noticed that.

I was thinking the same thing... easy fix would be to run two sets of weatherstripping. (between hardtop and roof rack, then another between roof rack and rails). Longer bolts would be needed... overall pretty easy setup, just cost a few extra bucks.
 
BC plates on that truck.

Here we have thousands on cars and trucks running propane, in fact for many years the Fed's were subsidizing the conversion cost and the fuel cost itself trying to get as many people as possible to run it.

I drove my Dad's F250 with a 400M and 4 speed on propane for a few years. The whole higher octane and other stuff doesn't translate well unless you purpose build the engine for it. That truck got 10-11 mpg on gasoline, but never managed better than 7 on propane. Power was off by a good bit too...very noticeable.

we have fill stations everywhere here, and it's about half the cost of gas so the higher consumption isn't the end of the world. You cannot fill it yourself though. Some systems back in the day had a T somewhere so if you ran out you could attach a BBQ bottle and get to a fill station. Those were outlawed for safety reasons.

I've never heard any horror stories about explosions in accidents or anything like that, but the tanks always made me nervous. In a pick-up you could run a 100 litre or larger tank in the bed up near the cab, but in a K5 you pretty much gotta run a pair right where this guy does. I don't want to imagine smacking those on a big rock.

The oil does stay very clean. EGT's can be higher than gas though...we burnt an exhaust valve on the old Ford.

Overall for me, the con's outweigh the pro's. That has been the general trend throughout the country too as newer cars and trucks are so much more efficient now. The only ones still running it are all on older trucks mostly.

Trail...fine with forklift bottles
Forklift...awesome
BBQ...duh
Daily driver...not

Rene
 
I see a lot of that up here, but it seems the farther north you go the worse it gets. Dawson creek is pretty far north, and so is his pricing.

Rene
 
I grew up there in Dawson Creek (10 years of my life). I know where they had it installed (Joy Propane, Dawson Creek).

My dad ran propane for years, on his 1991 crewcab dually 454/sm465 since he bought the truck new. The dealer installed the system.

It was worth it for him because back then propane was 15 cents per litre! It was less expensive to drive the dually than the S10!!! :yikes:

He had a dual tank system where he could switch between propane and gasolene.

We travelled all over in that thing. Camped all over BC. Dad drove that truck for 16 years since it was new. We still have the truck and I hope to restore it some day. It rusted out some when we lived on the east coast (for 6 years).

Only 170K kms on the truck.

I'm not sure what propane costs per litre now. I usually only have the BBQ tank filled and I think it is measured differently.
 

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