Not the best condition but

I must say that it's very charitable of you to spend your money on providing us with endless hours of entertainment over the next few months.

Hehe dude, no aircon and windows that don't open is gonna really suck balls in summer :-)

experience.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260098243574> Looking forward to funny fuel. Normally I don't care about things like this, but, seriously?? I can't imagine that you're going to have the best ride ever on them tyres, and it's going to sup fuel - you aren't going to get the economy you think LPG will provide. It's more of a hobby car than anything. There's various little bits to fix, including the LPG system. It's going to cost you money, more than you think. Sorry man, but I honestly think you made a mistake on this one. I suppose you could always strip it for parts though.

How's the new job treating you though?

I doubt it'll last that long as it's only got MOT until April.

those tyres can't be road legal surely?

It says it doesn't come with them.

"NOTE THE WHEELS AND TYRES ON THE PHOTOS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE SALE!! I HAVE A SET OF RANGE ROVER 3 SPOKE ALLOYS WITH GOOD TYRES TO GO ON"

Lol, did you notice one of the pictures has an RAC van in it? :P

Yeah, I don't know anyone who's had anything like this as a main, daily driver. Closest is the guy at work who comes to work in a LPG'd VW Transporter camper van I guess...

Think this might be a bridge too far

Yes, I did notice that. But a couple of cars near me have an AA van parked next to me every day. He works for them. I guess the drivers take them home.

experience.http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260098243574>> Looking forward to funny fuel.>

It will probably work out the same cash wise in fuel as the Octavia. Those wheels/tyres are going to taken off, and it is getting standard ones fitted as part of the deal. One thing I've discoverd about lpg'd rover V8's is they can idle like shit for two main reasons. One, the mixture is too lean (leaned out to try and meet petrol CO levels), causes misses and backfires and lumpy idle. two, plugs, leads and dizzy cap need to be absolutley spanking. Going to get it MOT'd and give it a spot on service first before anything else other than insure and retax it. The best cars I've owned have been the cheap and the ratty ones, even when they have faults, because you can forgive the faults and have cash to fix them. The ones that I have put cash into have been the ones that have either been really bad (like the A pillar rust in the Saab vert) or a let down to drive like the Octavia, and I always had the feeling that something really pricey was going to go wrong, but couldn't work out why. Didn't ever feel comfortable that something could keep working so well, with so little done to it.

It might be too much. But like the guys on the landrover newsgroup said. It looks OK, at worst I paid roughly the value of the LPG kit with a free car thrown in, at best it really is as solid as described, and I got a bargain.

Going OK, taking time getting back into the swing but so far so good.

Rear windows that don't open, and I'm guessing based on age, but I still have half a can of the R12 dropin substitute that I used on the Celica to try it out and see if it is a leak or a knackered compressor. If it works it works, if not, bah, use the sunroof. Not exactly the first time I've driven a car without aircon. Spent most of my life in cars like that. Such luxuries are only a modern thing.

Ah, fair enough. That'll teach me to read things properly.

Yeah, I missed that bit, silly me.

The last LPG (or propane, as it was) engine I dealt with was a 454 in a Chevrolet pick-up in Canada. To tune it, you twiddled the adjustment screw until the exhaust didn't smell of apples. Simple!

Get the tranny fluid changed aswell. Do them rover V8 engines have cambelts or chains or anything that need anything?

What?! Well, that's progress for you! When I went to buy my car in BC, it had been sat under a tree for 9 years and had nothing done to it. The guy poured a pint of petrol into the carb, hooked up a new battery and it turned over quite happily. Sure, the brakes were shot through, and it would stall if you put it in drive before it had warmed up, but at least the engine worked!

Yeah, if all goes wrong, you've got a piggy bank of serviceable spares to flog.

I wouldn't be so sure, I was running a 3.5 V8 manual with tyres of a similarly silly magnitude last summer, even on petrol it was capable of 22 mpg on a run and around 16 mpg in town. On gas that'd be ok.

LPG systems are pretty easy to set up as well, that'll be the basic vapouriser and gas ring job. Dead easy. Get it on a decent emissions gubbin (I have a mate in Warrington who's a Kwik Fitter with an LPG emissions thing), set lambda to around 1.01 and it'll be fine. Change the spark plugs though, badly setup LPG eats plugs.

Gimme a shout if you need a hand with it Carl.

PS, the lecky windows will probably be dead motors, and the AC will probably just need some of the R12 replacement (R24 is it?)

Piece of piss.

A lot of garage make the mistake of trying to get the HC reading on LPG=20 within the range for petrol, There is a correction factor they are=20 supposed to use because the reading are Hexane not propane or something.=20 A lot don't seem to know that and screw up the mixture completley

Yeah, was going to check level and condition as part of the service. I=20 know the procedure for that. Will change if needed.

That is the principle I'm looking at now. Fairly simple and little to go=20 wrong. Might even treat myself to a Mig with some of what is left over.=20 I might get to learn to use it.

Strip the kit and either sell it or fit it my next big tank.=20 There is an F reg W124 at a local "cheap cars and part worns" place for=20 =A3750 with leather and a 4.2 V8, and T&T until Sept. Looks OK, but not the mint they describe. One scabby arch turnback, and=20 a small ammount of pitting on the roof of all place a couple of inches=20 back from the windscreen. If that had been diesel or LPG I would have=20 had that. But I couldn't fuel a 4 litre petrol on petrol alone.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

Playing at home:Damned-Alone Again Or

I think Isceon 49/R413 is the one to use.

I think I might have about 1/3 can of this

left from the Celica

so I could either buy

or if there are leaks I need to check the exact weights needed though.

While I am not convinced about your choice of car, your last comment is spot on.

First things with a car are that it drives and that it stays more or less economical to do so.

Some of us would -and are- paying big money to have cars without aircon, without the electric gismos and without the 300-400 kg all that comfort is adding up to.

Go to Porsche or BWM: they will happily charge you 50.000 Eur (you are reading the figure correctly) for stripping the comfort items out of the car, in return you get noice (they call it sound), some carbon bits and unbreakable things (because they are not on the car). Best of luck with the Range and happy V8-driving!

Tom De Moor

So I try a regas, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. Just DIY gas is cheaper than inspection, "service and regas" then find either it still leaks or the compressor is pooped.

I'll get them working. BL switches are notorious for gumming up, and dust and crap crap gets into the motors turning the grease to custard. You can flush the switches with contact cleaner and get them working most times, and the motors can be opened and the custard removed and then regrease them. Then they turn again.

ISTR someone telling me I needed a shed if I was going to be parking near Gorton anyway. I don't bother about the look of a car so much, you can always make something look tidy ish. As long as it doesn't take much more fuel, fine. I can manage the level of fuel economy, and bonus is, I'm using what was traditionally a waste product, and is actually so much cleaner. CO2 emmisions are arround 20% lower than the equivalent engine on petrol. I'm no environmentalist, otherwise I wouldn't consider a V8 4x4, but if I do everything I can without effort, why not.

Good for you. Similar runs in the Octavia including the slow drag on the M56 would have gotten me close to 40 on petrol.

But my average speed normally now seems to be between 20 and 40mph, and about 220 miles a week for work.

If it really is as simple as topping up the aircon then I think the current owner would have done it. It's probably not working because it has a leak somewhere that's expensive or tricky to fix - and that's being optimistic.

You'll need all the windows working this summer, though - leather seats and a big glass area will *not* be comfortable when you're sat on the Mancunian Way in the traffic. I'd wager it will be so uncomfortable you'll be wishing you still had the Octavia with it's aircon.

That Rangie looks an absolute shed and I have a feeling it will be no less expensive to fuel than the Octavia, which defeats the point, really.

I've just done a run from Dartford, starting in the rush hour back home. Averaged nearly 60mph door to door and turned in 52mpg. This was including the slow drag from the M25 to Reading on the M4, too.