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Re: Propane Reconversions

To: "Lorne M. Goldman" <gomog@angelfire.com>
Subject: Re: Propane Reconversions
From: Phil Fisher <pcfisher@ibm.net>
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 10:42:47 -0800
Lorne,

I fully concur with your observations that the propane powered Plus 
8's are definitely more potent than the stock SU or injected petrol 
versions.  One of my biggest Morgan ?thrills? was in the late 70's 
when Bill Fink took me for a spin on the streets of San Francisco in 
one of his propane 8's that had been turbocharged.  Talk about 
Bullitt revisited!  The closest I've been to that level of thrill in 
a petrol 8 was with Jim Robinson last May in Altrincham (Manchester, 
UK) in his current Plus 8 which has been very nicely built including 
quad Weber downdrafts.

My personal thing with propane has mainly to do with MOA type trips. 
We've done both MOA's so far, and as I recall the only propane 
powered Morgan that has done both trips in full is a Fiat powered +4 
that lives in Idaho.  The trials and tribulations of locating propane 
sources in totally unfamiliar territory leaves a bit to be desired in 
my mind.  In our part of California, most heating is done either by 
electricity or natural gas.  Thus, propane tends to be regularly 
available only at those locations that cater to the recreational 
vehicle crowd.  On the other hand, my in-laws live just outside 
Yosemite in the Sierras where most heating is either electric, fuel 
oil or propane.  I've always thought it would be great to be able to 
drive one's Plus 8 alongside the family propane tank and give it a 
shot at heating fuel prices rather than street prices.  Of course 
this might be termed tax evasion - don't know if heating propane 
smells different from street propane; wouldn't do too much good to 
add a colorant like diesel in some farming areas.

One of the original purposes (at least technically??) for getting the 
Plus 8 was to be able to keep up with our Brit friends on the 
upcoming 2000 MOA trip.  Again, this focused our attention on looking 
for a petrol version (very nearly bought a new one from Bill).  But, 
after living with and loving Sally for the past two plus years we've 
decided the trusty 4/4 will be making the trip to New Orleans with us 
in September to start MOA III.  It's really hard to give up the 
storage space available in a 4-seater!

Phil Fisher
1970 4/4 4-seater
1992 Plus 8
>---
>LMG
>webmaster@gomog.com
>http://www.gomog.com
>
>Hi Phil and Rich,
>
>There is a discussion called "Made in the USA" of US propane models 
>off the GoMoG Plus 8 section that might help a bit.


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