Here in this province (Alberta), all the cabs run on propane and when you see an old cab at the junkyard, it has more than 500,000km on it; a lot of commercial vans and pick-ups also use propane. Propane is reliable and does not pollute; it is also cheaper than regular gas here.
There is a cost of course to convert the engine and you need to drive a lot to recover that cost. You also need a place for the tank (in the box, usually) and you need to check locally if a propane-powered vehicle is allowed in closed areas such as underground parking lots or road tunnels.
With propane, your engine will also loose some power (up to 20%, depends on the engines). As for the valve seats, it is the same "fantasy" as when leaded gas disappeared: a regular daily driver will not have any problem with the valve seats; go racing, rev to high rpms, or tow a heavy load and your valve seats will suffer indeed (same as an old engine on unleaded, really).
As a conclusion, I cannot really see the point on a hobby vehicle, unless you really care about clean exhaust!
Last edited by wave1957; 10/29/2008 11:55 PM.
