Rover 200 VVC BRM - DIY LPG Conversion - ESGI 2

[JimmieJ]

Hi all,

I thought I'd show you my 1999 Rover BRM after my first DIY LPG conversion.

I bought the car in Jan 2011 with 133k miles on the clock, at 149k the head gasket failed but it's passed 150k this week and is still going strong.



Sadly, the body of the car is showing it's age, with rust on every panel including the roof, bad corrosion around boot hinges etc. (better ones have been broken for spares ) Ideally it probably needs reshelling to be mint!

I had begun collecting parts for the LPG conversion when the head gasket went, which was unfortunate but allowed me to modify the inlet manifold whilst the head was being skimmed.

The Kit:
The LPG kit is a sequential system; ESGI 2 (Polish). - £165
55litre spare wheel well mounted tank and valve - £150
LPG filler - £35
Various piping and fixings. - £50

I knew very little about LPG and didn't even know anyone with a gas powered car, but there's a lot of information on the net.

There's plenty of Rover KV6 engines running LPG, less 4 cylinder k-series and virtually no VVC k series engines. The major difference important to a LPG conversion is the inlet manifold.
The KV6 and normal 4 cylinder engines have plastic inlet manifolds, the VVC is metal.

First up was drilling and tapping holes in the manifold for the LPG nozzles:



Ideally these should be mounted at 45 degrees*, pointing in the same direction as the petrol injectors but it just isn't possible with the VVC manifold. *EDIT - not necessarily correct, 45-90 is fine, thanks rossko.

Nozzles fitted:



Hoses connected to nozzles:



Then it's time to wire the LPG loom into the petrol injector wiring, lots of cutting and soldering later:



The gas injectors are mounted remotely, I fitted them on the rocker cover:



Next was to fit the vaporiser, this changes the LPG from a liquid into a gas using the heat of the engine's coolant system:



It's plumbed into the coolant pipes just before the cabin heater control:



Vapouriser mounted on the o/s inner wing and plumbed in. Space is at a premium in the Rover 200 engine bay when it's got every available extra!



I modified the ECU bracket so that it would also house the LPG ECU:



The front end of the conversion finished, just needs some tidying up:



Briefly turned my attention to the interior to mount the switch with built in tank level gauge:



Next the drastic bit, cutting a large hole to fit the LPG filler:



I'll colour code it:



Now to fit the tank, this 55 litre tank fits in the spare wheel well:



Tank in place and plumbed in:



Unfortunately I didn't get photos of the pipe work under the car, there’s a 6mm flexi pipe connecting the tank to the vaporiser.

So, one week on I’m averaging 36mph and paying 65.9p/litre of LPG.
That works out at just over 9p a mile, a diesel has to do 70mpg to match that. And my emissions are down.

Next I need to take it to a friendly certified LPG installer who will check the system over and give me a certificate for around £100.
Anyone in West Yorkshire?

Not bad for a 13 year old Rover.

Comments & criticism welcome.

Thanks for reading,
James

[rossko]

First up was drilling and tapping holes in the manifold for the LPG nozzles: ...
Ideally these should be mounted at 45 degrees

Who told you that? Across the airflow i.e. 90 degrees, is good for mixing. We're not injecting the fuel in liquid form, so need not slavishly follow the original injection strategy. In practice anywhere between 90 and 45 usually works, and yes pointing 'downstream' if anywhere.

The gas injectors are mounted remotely, I fitted them on the rocker cover:

The wisdom is that they last longer and give less cold-running problems if mounted more upright, so any goop can drain into the engine when warm.

[JimmieJ]

Thanks for the feedback rossko.

I will pack one side of the injector block's mounting screw with washers so that it's angled.

[john hempshall]

Hi,

Congratulations on your conversion and the excellent images. I have a BRM LE VVC which has been in storage for 4 years and only done 55000 miles. Bringing it out of storage and converting to LPG sounds attractive! At , say 6000 miles per year it looks like you can save some 200 gallons, or 900 litres? If thats right thats a saving of some £1200 a year? Are my sums ok?
We are only some 30 miles away. Would you be interested in the challenge of "doing it again"? (For a fee of course!). If not could you advise your materials sources?

My direct e mail is johnhempshall@btinternet.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

ps was the performance impaired in any way?