Hello Chris - do you have any experience in converting older Volvos to propane?

I work for a propane company here in Lethbridge, and I have a 1970 145 that I would love to convert.
I have looked into it - the conversion would not be difficult to do at all - I have also talked to Bram a little about his setup.

The biggest thing for me is the tank placement -cutting away that virgin sheetmetal gives me the willies!
But 145's have a natual spot for the tank. I would love to get one of the doughnut-shaped tanks that they have in Europe,
but haven't had a lot of luck finding them here in Canada.

The thing to be wary of with propane, especially if you are going straight LPG as opposed to dual-fuel,
is cold weather starting. This wouldn't be a problem for me because I don't drive my car in the winter, but for others who
reside in colder climes and drive their Swedish sweethearts year-round, it might be a consideration. What are your
experiences with this?

Propane has so many benefits that it is surprising that it isn't used more than it is - the emissions are far lower, there
is little or no carbonisation so your oil stays pristine, and the octane rating is much higher than gasoline, so it is a really
wonderful fuel to use on older cars (especially if you are worried about passing emission testing!)

Some drawbacks are availability, a bit of a clumsy procedure that you have to perform if you do run out of gas, and lower
mileage (the BTU rating for propane is lower than gasoline, so you end up using more fuel to cover the same distance.

Of course, when it is less than half the pride of gasoline, these turn into moot points :-)

Anyhow - Chris, please get ahold of me sometime. Just look in the phone book for "Lo-Cost Propane," although I don't
think we are in the Calgary book. Or call me at 1-800-446-1047.

Cheerio!

Ross Bruinsma