Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) 1989 propane powered 4 Roadster

Alloy cars are not totally alloy. Some steel will exist. Use a magnet to check.

Cheers,

Here is what Bill told me about this Morgan....This VIN refers to Gloria Lowengart’s pristine 1990 4/4. Black with Tan trim, full Connolly Autolux leather interior, alloy body, chrome wire wheels. The first 5 years of ownership we had her down to replace the battery a couple of times but she basically lived under a pair of car covers in Pacific Heights, in Gloria’s front yard. She went with Gloria to Birmingham, Alabama after her husband died in 1995 and I have no further record.

Congratulations on your new acquisition. The car was represented to me by the seller as a car that has lived in a garage all its lifetime. When I learned it lived its first 4 years in San Francisco by the sea and only under a car cover, it spooked me and I decided to pass on the car. But it sounds like it found a good home. Enjoy.

Congratulations on aquiring you 4/4.

Hey Tim... this turns out to be an amazing 4/4. Condition is nearly new. The paper stickers haven't fully burned off the muffler yet! No signs of corrosion on any hardware or alloy parts. Paint shines like new. And the raw wood areas are like new. I imagine I will convert to gasoline, but for now the propane is an interesting part of Morgan history! With a little pre-planning I think I can cope with the inconvenience of finding LP fuel locations. Black is not my first choice, nor is the 4/4 model, but condition seemed to good to pass up and I traded for a hot rod I wanted gone. Warren

Sounds excellent. Photos please

That's the beauty of propane. We don't hear from the owners for years and years. When we do, it's to replace a hose more often than not. Despite the inconvenience which is overstated in some reports, the engines really benefit from the cleaner burning fuel. I always recommend that one should stick with the propane for a year, see if it makes sense to convert to gas after that.

I agree and think I will stick with the propane for at least a year. I don't think propane availability in this part of the country is going to be that difficult to deal with. Perhaps in a metropolitan area it is more inconvenient. But in Northern New England, there seems to be reasonable availability with a little advance planning. Bill's amazing efforts to convert these cars to Propane in order to keep importing cars into the USA is an an exciting saga in the history of Morgan. The engine certainly does burn clean, you can wipe a white cloth in the exhaust pipe and it comes out clean! My car is reluctant to start in the morning so I need to sort that out, but for now, I am pro-propane MOGs!
I would like to start to accumulate the needed parts for a conversation and just have them on the shelf. Let me know if you can help with the carb, fuel tank, fuel gauge or other parts.

Just filled my propane tank for the second time. I appear to be getting about 19 MPG. I was thinking I might get a bit more, but with 3200 miles on the car the engine may still not really be fully broken in. Wondering how others are doing?

That is fairly standard for driving around town, however mileage should improve significantly on the highway. Perhaps we can ask around about post-gas conversion mileage so you can start a list of pros and cons.....