the system I installed is a complete kit. http://www.tomasettolovato.com.ar/english/company.html however all my lines are custom bent stainless steel instead of plastic.

 

finally filled up on dino today.. made it 1 full month which was my goal. so far from my precise calculations I am spending .13 cents per mile in town only driving. I am still tracking it.
was it worth it? hard to say I went 717 miles on the last combo fill up if you figure that I was on CNG for 300 of the 700 miles (based on the 400 + - mile range on gas) I produced far less carbon output as cng is 90% cleaner than gas. Still haven't taken a road trip but I am thinking that it should go 850 miles or so on a fill up (cng/gas) so those are the next numbers I am hoping to gather.

more to come

 

I've never been so impressed and resentful simultaneously.

Me and my 13mpg average salute and curse you!

 

just get some of that money out of your mattress and spend it, you know you can't take it with you and the savings will replenish the investment!

 

Just picked up on this thread while researching cng conversions. I'm curious did you install the kit yourself or have it done somewhere like CNG Solutions in Sandy?

 

it is sold as a kit but I had it installed by them as I don't really have a garage space big enough to work in (the mini cooper fits fine but 1940's houses were built for 1940's cars!) They were very thorough and did a great job on the stainless steel tubing.

 

on to the next step. One concern with any install like this is that CNG doesn't cool the valves etc like gas does. There is a potential for burned valves although it would take 40k or so to see a problem.
I am going to install an ADI/water injection system to cool the intake charge when running on CNG. When we had a p-51 mustang that we raced we built an ADI system out of some hippity hop ***** and a cargo net plus a pump. these rode in the second seat and were pretty foolproof. the ADI injected directly into the injection carb and fuel logs on top of the engine after the supercharger and greatly reduced manifold temps to help prevent detonation. It also served to lower the cyl. temps when running at 400 mph. I think this should help with the valve cooling and also will add some HP to the system.
I am looking at a couple of systems and it all looks pretty straight forward, especially since I have the V12 Merlin experience....more to come.

 

Jet, valve technology, cam dynamics, springs, heat flux, and metalurgy have all drastically changed since even the late 80s. The newer aluminum heads must have inserts. As such the inserts have much more surface area for valves to land. Further valve train dynamics to make engines quieter have reduced valve closing velocities reducing "tuliping" and "pound in". The newer roller cams allow a more controlled descent to the seat.

While many Port Fueled engines do rely on a shot to a closed valve and the second shot (per cycle) it is mainly for fuel vaporization.

Now we have even more powerful boosted direct injection engines in the market. Virtually no liquid fuel on any valve to cool it. They are holding up. I think yours will as well.

P.S. made the run up Loveland Pass this morning in the snow and rain. Some guy with turbo Ford pick up wanted to push me in the 2 Mode.

My kids were in the vehicle and it was crowded so I just let him go.

 

INTERESTING....I just took it to the dealer last week for an oil change (spendy I know but I choose to support them!) anyway he told me just the opposite, I will have valve failure. I know it is a possibility, but as far as I am concerned its not really a problem, although I am looking in to the idea. If I were to put in water where would the best location be for the spray? I assume that it should be as far away as possible so as to help it fully atomize but not before the mass airflow sensor. what do you think? thanks again for all your input! and good choice on the race I only do it when I am alone but I love the looks on the receding faces in my rear view mirror!

 

If you do water injection the best location is most likely behind the throttle body. You don't want to create any ice on throttle blades or throttle shafts.

As for Mr. dealer. I would ask the dealer about the GM Bi-Fuel pick up trucks you can order. I have some friends over in small block engineering. When I get home from the ski trip I will ask if the heads/valves on the CNG/Gasoline engines have anything special or different from the straight gasoline builds.

I will also ask around of some other local Detroit gear heads to see if anything special was done regarding the valves to any of the CNG small blocks they make.

The great thing about my home neighborhood is, every other neighbor works for one of the OEMs or for a supplier. Bad thing. NO moutians.