LPG Discussion Forum

I was always under the impression that there is no such thing as a true factory fitted LPG system, They are little more than a dealer fit option in the case of Vaxhall (I could be wrong, that's why I', asking). However I see more and more on ebay, the internet and this forum about Factory fitted lpg system.
So does anyone know the whole story?

They were sold via the dealers originally pre converted, would have been fitted by Millbrook in the case of Vauxhall, Tickford in the case of Ford, no idea who Volvo got to fit theirs. Necam or Koltec are generally brands used in the systems in question. They differ in the way they operate (independent fuel map rather than the way current multipoints work by applying the petrol map and adjusting it to suit).

No current models are produced in the uk by anyone as far as i know.

Not really factory- or dealer-fit, these are/were generally outsourced to specialist contractor before arriving at the dealer. In the case of say Vauxhall or Volvo, these conversions really are "factory supported" and a normal part of the manufacturer's offered range, But in the case of say Mitsibushi or Proton, conversions were arranged, type approved and supported by the national importer. Such details wold be invisible to the original buyer - they bought a brand new car fully warrantied from the official dealer, end of.

I think people just call it 'factory fitted' because it was offered as a standard vehicle specification by the manufacturer. So although the conversion wasn't actually done at the factory where the car was assembled, it uses the same parts (which may even have official manufacturer part numbers) on all models just like any other factory engine option. As Rossko said - it's a brand new car fully supported by the dealer and manufacturer just like any other.

Its also seen differently by insurance companies - mine doesn't class it as a modification if its factory fit, although they are aware of it.

What would a car look like that was designed and built with LPG in mind? Probably direct injection, fuel gauge and switch would be part of the dash, tank hidden away, start on Gas. What do you think?

allante wrote:What would a car look like that was designed and built with LPG in mind? Probably direct injection, fuel gauge and switch would be part of the dash, tank hidden away, start on Gas. What do you think?

Look at the ford focus lpg circa yr 2000, the install completed by tickford although they no longer support the installs. The dash did have a built in lpg fuel level gauge, I forget how it worked. It was a liquid injection system (didn't need heat from a vapouriser so switches over straight away) and has a pressure pump in the lpg tank which costs a fortune to replace!

e301988325i wrote:has a pressure pump in the lpg tank which costs a fortune to replace!

Unless you buy it in Poland http://www.cardo-parts.pl/index.php?p19,erj173-lpg, 178 Polish Zloty is about £32. It's the same pump as used in the Transit and LDV conversions.

Gilbertd wrote:

e301988325i wrote:has a pressure pump in the lpg tank which costs a fortune to replace!

Unless you buy it in Poland http://www.cardo-parts.pl/index.php?p19,erj173-lpg, 178 Polish Zloty is about £32. It's the same pump as used in the Transit and LDV conversions.

The info about the pump on the site doesn't seem right though.. Translated it reads: Electric fuel pump. Operating pressure 294 kPa, the minimum yield of 65 l / h. I'm thinking the 294kPa (just under 3 bar) must be wrong.. It's not the petrol pump that is fitted on LPG Fords is it?

Simon

No, the LPG pump fitted on a Transit or LDV van is an ERJ173 which is what that is. Over the years a few people have bought them and found the biggest problem is that Kardo don't use Paypal and can't process non-Polish credit cards but once they've managed to pay for them they have worked perfectly. There's a couple of suppliers on eBay that sell them for around £100 a pop and advertise that this is a massive saving over the usual price (even though they are probably buying them from Kardo). I have a feeling that through the LPG channels you would have to buy a complete tank and not just the pump.

Are most OEM installs liquid injection now? I noticed Fiat do a few (not for the UK market) along with several Korean manufacturers.