Thread: P38a on gas or keep the Disco 300TDI?

Originally Posted by wozzlegummich

Ron,

If I may, I'd like to pick your brains about the P38a lpg.

• Is it injected or just the normal sort with a mixer in the intake tube?
• How much was the conversion?
• Where are the LPG & fuel tanks mounted?
• What capacities are the Fuel & LPG tanks?
• Who did the conversion?
• How much power loss on LPG?

Mine is the mixer type. You can get away with it on a GEMS engine but not a Bosch engine owing to the way the igntion system operates. Backfires are more of a problem with the Bosch (later P38A and the D2).

Sequential gas injection is the preferred method for both. If I keep mine, I'll convert it to SGI.

The conversion cost the previous owner $3000 in Sept 2001. He was ripped off. Also he had problems with it and wasn't using it when I bought the car in May 2002. I had a lot of problems with backfiring. It destroyed two expensive airboxes (which I repaired many times).

The toroidal (doughnut) LPG tank is in the wheel well. The spare is on a wheel carrier but I'd be happy to strap it down on the floor in the rear or get a mount to carry it like is done in a RR Classic. I fitted that tank. The original install had a large cylindrical tank crossways behind the seat which prevented the use of the rear compartment for anything. I couldn't even fit my wife's wheelchair in the back (when she was in the chair).

The usable capacity of the LPG tank is 54 litres which gives me 300km range on a trip. I still have the 100 litre petrol tank (but I have a 155 litre long range tank yet to be fitted).

Conversion done by Andy Francis in western Sydney. I wouldn't recommend him.

Power loss? Dunno. Not noticeable.

Ron

I had a P38 for some 300k km on LPG. Had a toroidal tank in the spare wheel well & another 50l tank in the boot running north/south on the LHS behind the wheel arch. all up 100l usable gas or 400 to 500 km. Originally the system was the mixer type. I destroyed the airbox & dented the inside of the bonnet in the process. When sequential injection became available, I changed. Never had a backfire or any sort of hassel as the system I had relied on the vehicle ECU to control the gas system - no a separate gas ECU as was the case with the mixer type system. The perfect vehicle...or so I thought.

I now have a TD5 Discovery & would not go back to a P38 on gas for all the tea in china.