My 760T get HORRIBLE gas mileage, and at prices ranging from 75 to 95 cents per litre (CAN - say 2.60/Gal US depending on exchange) The cost of filling this car is killing me. Propane is alot cheaper! I remember my dad had an old van that ran on propane, i think the only engine difference was the carb and the plugs, and obviously the fuel tank. Anybody ever seen such a conversion on a volvo?

Frybox

Propane conversions are pretty universal, and one from a similarly sizes engine will work with mild alterations to fit your plumbing. You will also be able to retain the gasoline system for redundancy in case of a breakdown. Propane can offer good economy, or good power if you turn up the regulator screw. Works especialy well on a turbo, and has excelent antiknock(octane) properties. The conversion is basicaly a heated regulator, and a nozzle in the intake tube.

Hydrogen though good luck finding anyone who will sell you the engine or conversion. I drove a few hydrogen car's last year pretty bitchen car's couldnt tell the difference from gas. cant wait till they actually hit the market though by that time ill probly be 80 year's old and we will already have flying spaceships/

Propane conversions, aside from the tank and piping, require an alteration to the carburetion or fuel injection system. They get much WORSE mileage because the energy content of propane is so much less. You have to compute the cost-per-btu to compare.

So does anybody have any suggestions on improving the gas mileageat all then?
I figure i'm getting at best 22mpg right now, which is a serious downgrade from the 44 or so I was getting in my 88 camry, however, the interior is much nicer :)

22mpg is not all that bad for a turbo brick with an auto box. With a full tune up, you might gain a mile or two... but that's about it. If you want to get into some major mechanicals, you can swap the tranny for an automatic with locking torque converter (from a non-turbo car) or go with a manual tranny with OD. You could also swap the rearend with one from a non-turbo car -- that would give you taller gearing. I would think that these two modifications would be worth at 4-5 mpg. Add that to the two mpg you might get from a full tune up, and you're approaching 30 mpg -- not too bad.

BTW, I assume the Camry fuel economy was a typo, or an arithmatic error. You stated 44mpg.. I've had 2 Camry's (both 5 speed 2.0 ltr) and they would run consistantly at 30-35 mpg.

Jeff Pierce
--
'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow

I would LOVE to get a donor car with a manual trany. I dislike driving automatic, but hey, when buying used you cant really be too choosy.

Ok, if i'm gona start looking for this stuff, what exactly am I looking for? Are there any easy ways to identify what i'm looking for?

as for a manual tranny, what will fit?

also btw, I checkd the mileage on the way home again yesterday, strangely enough, got about 25.5 mpg out of the car. Thats not too bad, woudl still like better though.

Frybox

First -- tranny: The easiest would be an auto with a locking torque converter. I'm not sure about '80s models, but a '90s auto tranny from a non-turbo car will have overdrive and a locking torque converter. It's a direct bolt-in.

An M-46 (4 speed + OD) from any Volvo would be a bit more difficult -- but worth it. Do some research on this forum... it's been discussed at length by people who have made the swap. (I'm not one of them.)

Second -- rearend: Any rearend (the whole axle) from a non-turbo car will have taller gearing than your turbo. The rationalle for this is that the turbos got lower gearing to give you better acceleration. (at the expense of fuel economy)

Jeff Pierce

--
'93 945 Turbo ( one kickass family car ! ), '92 Mercedes 190E (my daily driver), '53 Willys-Overland Pickup (my snow-plow truck/conversation piece -- sold to a loving home), '85 Jeep CJ-7 w/ Fisher plow

nope, the camry was not a typo. at about 100 to 105 km/h i get about 44mpg with a 5 spd. it's absolutely ridiculous how good that car is on gas.

Regular maintenance:
-synthetic fluids all around
-plugs/wires/cap/rotor/filters
-adequate tire pressure (32+)
-check for rich mixture problems (see 700/900 fAQ)
-new oxygen sensor

Is that 22mpg city driving or highway? I improved my highway mileage from around 22 to almost 28 by changing the air filter and plugs and reattaching a vacuum line that had come off the PCV "nipple."

Joe

My '87 turbo(Mitsubishi)wagon with M46 breaks the 30 MPG mark frequently on highway trips when not carrying kayaks.
Synthetics in the trans and rear axle- 44PSI in the tires-outside air intake- IPD stainless exhaust -always use the cruise - just regular maintenance -225,000 mi. since the overhaul - Total of 360,000 miles, maybe I'm just lucky?