Consolidating my Disco 2 research

[ahorton]

First a big thanks for all the info on here! I signed up a while ago and then read back into the archives until there was no more info to be found about Disco 2 LPG conversions.

I've been trying for a while to get the LPG conversion without losing boot space. Here in WA it's pretty hard here to find a fitter interested in giving me anything other than a boot manifold or cylinder. I have however, managed to talk some into it on the condition that I handle the petrol tank swap and give the car to them with a nice big space ready for the LPG tank(s)


Every petrol tank supplier I tried in WA has turned me away (including all the LR / RR specialists) but it seems that Brown Davis (55L -$680) and Ritter (45L - $490) can still supply their tanks for the rear right quarter. So I'll probably go with one of these and pay the postage.

Ritter also have a cradle ($275) for 2 H66 tanks and a tow bar adjustment ($99) to allow both H66 cylinders to fit.

I know a few guys on here have these setups (that's how I found them), so I was wondering if I could get any pictures or advice about them?

Do you suggest I get the cradle and towbar adjustment or are they easy enough to sort out myself?

Do the Brown Davis or Ritter petrol tank kits come with everything needed for an easy install? I couldn't get much info or pictures from them.

The cradle and towbar fitting from ritter sound like they'll make life a lot easier. Do you guys suggest getting them?

Are there other places to get the towbar and cradle?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

I have no idea how'd you'd fit them without a cradle,,,

make sure you get maximum seperation at the fuel fillers,, can be very tricky to get the fuel cap off;)

my pulp tank has a tendancy to leak when full,, not much, but enough to drip,, mind you a full pulp tank would be 6 months worth of fuel;):D

[bee utey]

First a big thanks for all the info on here! I signed up a while ago and then read back into the archives until there was no more info to be found about Disco 2 LPG conversions.

I've been trying for a while to get the LPG conversion without losing boot space. Here in WA it's pretty hard here to find a fitter interested in giving me anything other than a boot manifold or cylinder. I have however, managed to talk some into it on the condition that I handle the petrol tank swap and give the car to them with a nice big space ready for the LPG tank(s)


Every petrol tank supplier I tried in WA has turned me away (including all the LR / RR specialists) but it seems that Brown Davis (55L -$680) and Ritter (45L - $490) can still supply their tanks for the rear right quarter. So I'll probably go with one of these and pay the postage.

Ritter also have a cradle ($275) for 2 H66 tanks and a tow bar adjustment ($99) to allow both H66 cylinders to fit.

I know a few guys on here have these setups (that's how I found them), so I was wondering if I could get any pictures or advice about them?

Do you suggest I get the cradle and towbar adjustment or are they easy enough to sort out myself?

Do the Brown Davis or Ritter petrol tank kits come with everything needed for an easy install? I couldn't get much info or pictures from them.

The cradle and towbar fitting from ritter sound like they'll make life a lot easier. Do you guys suggest getting them?

Are there other places to get the towbar and cradle?

The brown davis tank I believe is supplied as a kit and should be an easy fitment. I haven't installed one but I told a guy to fit one himself and let me just do the gas. It looked a good fit.

The cradle is not a hard thing to build if you know what it should look like, but $275 is probably cheaper. It takes quite a while.

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=35612&stc=1&d=1304497906


http://www.aulro.com/afvb/attachment.php?attachmentid=35613&stc=1&d=1304498159

The towbar mod involves bending the stays that connect the towbar to the side rails. They come off without the whole bar and are fairly easy to modify. Whether they pass a picky engineer when modded is a question, but I was happy to do it.

Sorry no pics of the bar mod and B-D petrol tank.

The AMR dual filler kit for LPG in the petrol hatch is neat and comes with a compact petrol cap that slides under the gas connector. Easily fitted.

[ahorton]

Thanks for that info guys.

Sounds like the cradle is worth buying. Years ago I would've said "That looks easy. I can make that and save some money." but I suspect it would take a whole weekend in the shed before it was just right. Longer because I always try to make things out of what I already have.

Did you guys make your own (as pictured) or buy the Ritter one?

I might leave the tow bar adjustment since it sounds simple enough to tinker with the standard frame. In some of the pictures it doesn't even look like you've bent it at all.

Ritter also offered a dual filler assembly for $75. Sounds like it might be worthwhile.


All seems very manageable now thanks.

The only pity is that the BD tank is 10L bigger than Ritter's. So if I bought their tank separately it'd cost me about $300 more (including the postage).

[bee utey]

I might leave the tow bar adjustment since it sounds simple enough to tinker with the standard frame. In some of the pictures it doesn't even look like you've bent it at all.

Brackets off vehicle, sledge hammer (or a hydraulic press for the fussy ones, yes you *****), angle grinder and a bit of adjustment at the chassis end mounting. They need to be off to remove the petrol tank and fit the cradle anyway.

[ahorton]

Well for all my high hopes, none of the fitters I've contacted want to do a dual tank (twin 310 x 660) even if I have the cradle ready for them. Looks like it'll cost an extra $1000 over a 50L toroidal.

Even though I'd prefer the extra 18L, I don't think I can justify the price.

I may still try to get a slightly bigger single-cylinder in. A 432 x 625 may fit and give 61L.

[bee utey]

Well for all my high hopes, none of the fitters I've contacted want to do a dual tank (twin 310 x 660) even if I have the cradle ready for them. Looks like it'll cost an extra $1000 over a 50L toroidal.

Even though I'd prefer the extra 18L, I don't think I can justify the price.

I may still try to get a slightly bigger single-cylinder in. A 432 x 625 may fit and give 61L.

Good grief, tell them to stop being ninnies and get the twins fitted. The trick with the twin tanks is to plumb and wire them with flexible hoses before they are lifted into position. The "T" connector valve on the engine supply hose and the filler get connected after the assembly is lifted into place. The tanks are left loose in the cradle and as they are raised with a trolley jack/trans hoist they are rotated into their final position. Dead easy really.

BTW the twin tanks pop up on ebay regularly as they have been in fashion for decades on the D1 and RRC. Try some Landy wreckers too. Retesting isn't that dear. Just check that anything you buy is returnable if it fails its test.

Don't go for a single tank as the ground clearance will suffer badly.

[ahorton]

Yeah I thought it would be easy too.

What's a fair price for an installation like this?

I'm being offered around $4400 to install a single toroidal tank. This is assuming that I remove the standard PULP tank and fit the small one myself before giving them the car. So I have to add the price of the PULP tank ($590-780)

$5500 if I want the twin tanks installed.

I feel like these prices are a bit high but I can't seem to find any cheaper.

Worse still, none of them have done many (if any) Discos.

[bee utey]

The only problem with a toroidal is your chassis rails are 630mm apart, so a common 650 won't fit unless they use a BIG hammer. The 600 x 240 from Blue LPG is 50WC or 40 usable. Twin H66's are really the only sensible solution so I suggest you keep trying to find a sane gas fitter over your way. And keep looking for used tanks. If you find a set with cradle it should be possible to mod the cradle to fit the D2, it's not that different to a D1 in the petrol tank area.

[Bradtot]

Hello Have you tried AAA autogas in Carlisle? I have an 89 Rangie
They did mine many years ago...however I actually fitted the tanks and they checked my work and hooked up the gas pipes and electricks.See Mark
or if you want to know how and what I did... arrange a time to call me and I can show you its not hard.
You are gunna kill me but I just threw out a cradle for an early rangie for the twin tanks as the efi rangie one is different to a early model but I am sure it could have been moddified to suit the D2. I did try and sell it and then give it away but no takers..:(
Pm me for more info
Brad
Woodvale:)

[ahorton]

No worries about the cradle. I'm new on here so I didn't see it.

AAA's number wasn't working when I called them. Maybe I'll look them up again. I have been working through a list of all the LPG fitters in Perth/Mandurah but some of the details are a little old.

I'd be happy enough to do whatever work I can on it. The petrol tank is an obvious job to do myself I just don't want to give them any excuse to send me away so I was planning to let them do all the LPG gear.

I'll be in touch if it looks like I can fit them myself.

[ahorton]

Just thought I'd add my final decision since it may be useful to the next West Australian who finds the thread and is going through the same process:

After contacting about 30 LPG fitters (who were willing to do a D2) around Perth/Mandurah and spending too many hours on the phone, the best prices I found were:

$4000-$4500 VSI with a tank of some sort in the boot.
$5000-$5500 VSI with twin 308x660 tanks where the original fuel tank is. This was assuming I buy and fit a rear-right-wing tank myself (add $500-800 and a few hours of work for me) and deliver them the vehicle with the original tank missing.


There were some cheaper and some dearer but for various reasons I didn't consider them to be real options.


I eventually chose a 375x900 (usable 72L) which will live in the boot, running north-south on the passenger side. $4000 total from Steen's Automotive in Balcatta.

The loss of boot space is unfortunate, but I decided that $1500-$2000 savings was worth it. At least it'll have a great range. I did try to get a 432 or similar tank because it would have an excellent range but the prices were $300-500 higher because nobody wanted to order the less-common sized tank. Not that it matters, I think I'll enjoy the extra 6cm of boot width and height anyway.


I get it back tomorrow so I'll give you my impressions. The plan is to build a box over it and maybe a removable shelf. The 432 tank would have made this an ideal height in the back (to match the side storage-compartments).

Thanks again for advice given earlier.

[ahorton]

Well I got it back from Steens.

All of my experience with them was really positive. Normally you find the price going up as you go to collect the car but they didn't try anything funny like that.

So far it works much like everyone claims. You don't notice the swap between PULP and LPG whether idling or under load. Plenty of power.

I'd recommend Steens to anyone interested. While I was in there they had 2 other Discoveries on the go as well as mine.

My only complaint, is that the hose from the tank takes up a bit more space than I would have liked. It goes into the floor about 200 or 250mm from the edge of the tank and eats into the luggage space. I'll learn to live with it.

[brougham]

Cheers for the info. Been tossing up over getting a late model D2 as a play car and thinking of v8 vs td5. My D1 was a 3.9 on gas (scuba tanks) and loved it, however i only want to get a D2 v8 if I can do the small petrol tank and twin underside LPG tanks.

I'm in Perth too, and this thread has proven super handy. Might be easier buying a D2 over east, getting conversion done there and then shipped over.

[brougham]

After contacting about 30 LPG fitters (who were willing to do a D2) around Perth/Mandurah and spending too many hours on the phone, the best prices I found were:

$5000-$5500 VSI with twin 308x660 tanks where the original fuel tank is. This was assuming I buy and fit a rear-right-wing tank myself (add $500-800 and a few hours of work for me) and deliver them the vehicle with the original tank missing.

are you able to inform me which installers in perth were amicable to doing this setup? just that it'll save me ringing every place as well!! :)