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Shall I Convert to Oil?

by John Savage,

A.I.R.T.E. OPERATORS who have ' stuck to petrol" so Ear must now be giving .close thought to the question of converting to oil. Oilengined vehicles. including small vans, are greatly increasing in number, and over 1.000 London taxicabs have been changed over to oil.

Trends of this nature may support the 'well-known claims that are made in favour of the oil engine, but the wise operator will ensure that sufficient benefit is to be obtained in his particular .case before following the fashion blindly. The possibility of fuel costs being halved may be most attractive, but there are many other factors to be taken into account. .

• I have, therefore, set out to answer a number of questions that might be asked by the operators considering this matter. A conversion is no small job, so that naturally, before considering the prospects, one must know: What will it cost and how long will it take?

A WIDE selection of conversion sets Pi is now available, the prices of which are shown in the accompanying table. The sets usually include all parts required except batteries. The cost of the labour, plus the price of the conversion set, represents the main cost of the complete change-over. In some instances, especially when converting vehicles for which no standard kit is available, expenditure on additional parts may be incurred.

In the case of light vehicles, for

instance, strengthening of the front end of the chassis, or extra springing, may be desirable. Often a new gearbox or greater-capacity clutch is advisable. When a vehicle is placed in the hands of one of the specialists in this type of work, an inclusive charge is made and such items will be allowed for in the estimate. An operator who plans to make the conversion himself should keep an eye open for possible extras. . If the work is to be done by a contractor, a period of seven days is usually required, provided that the vehicle is one for which. a standard kit is available. Most of the specialists. Will undertake to handle any conversion if it is practicable. Non-standard conversions can usually be completed in about 10 days..

For operators who contemplate carrying out conversions in their own workshops, the time required will depend 'largely on the skill and ingenuity of the labour available. Standardization and experience also reduce the time involved.

Most of the operators who I have questioned on the cost of labour have quoted about 88 man-hours as being the time required to convert the popular types of vehicle for which a kit is available. Two men will thus be engaged for about a week—much the' same time as is required by the specialists. Early conversions may take a little longer.

F16 Nevertheless, without previous experience, Sutton's Bakeries, Ltd., Coventry, installed a Standard oil engine in a Morris-Commercial 15-cwt. van in 14 working days. Only two men were employed and they completely reconditioned the chassis during this time. To fit a Perkins P4 engine in a Commer Q.4 2-3-ton van took two men seven days, the chassis also being fully overhauled.

The value of the redundant petrol engine should not be overlooked. In many cases it has been found that the sate of the old engine more than pays for the installation work.

Consideration of these factors will enable the total cost of the conversion to be obtained, but as the ultimate purpose is to reduce running costs, the operator will next want to know:—

flow much will I save?

CALCULAT1NG the savings to be expected is a simple matter of comparing fuel-consumption figures. Other factors, such as routine maintenance, may be considered in the calculation, but for practical purposes, fuel cost is sufficient to determine the total mileage that must be covered to repay the cost of the conversion. Allowance must be made for the difference in the prices of petrol and oil fuel, which is usually about 4d. a gallon in favour of oil.

Normally, fuel bills will be nearly halved by using oil. It only remains to divide the total cost of the conversion by the saving per mile to arrive at the critical mileage. When the conversion is financed by a loan on which interest is payable, or by hire purchase, it is more convenient to calculate the cost on a monthly basis. It is then easy to see how much mileage must be covered each month to meet the repayments. Any mileage in excess of the critical monthly figure, multiplied by the estimated saving per mile, will represent the net monthly gain.

On road test by The Commercial Motor, a Neville-Meadows conversion of a model 105 Dodge returned an average fuel-consumption rate of 18.8 m.p.g., compared with 12 n when the vehicle had a petrol en Assuming that the vehicle runs miles per week, the saving on fuel will amount to about £22 10s. month. The total cost of this par Iar conversion was slightly less £600. That sum would be recoven just over two years by fuel savin The engine would still be withi guarantee period of 120,000 miles as a life of about 200,000 mill expected between major overhau large saving over and above the fuel could be confidently expected.

Taxicab conversions earn their ii cost in about 50,000 miles, whicl many is less than a year's work Scotland, on a service for which vans are used for door-to-door deli fuel-consumption figures three I better than the previous petrol-er returns are being obtained.

Would I do better to buy a nett engined vehicle?

'THE expense of conversion Ai J. obviously not be warranted ii vehicle had not a reasonable life IN it, and the question whether to b new vehicle arises. A new oiler a proprietary engine of one of the 1 used for conversions normally £300-1400 more, including purchaR than its petrol-engined counterpar The difference is usually smaller' the engine is built by the chassis m For instance, the Thames, as an costs only some £100 more th petrol-engined Cost-Cutter, More the Standard Motor Co., Ltd., recently introduced oil-engined ven of their van and pick-up at £816, in ing purchase tax.

Although the range of oilers is g in rapidly, there are operators wIn still unable to obtain models to their needs and are finding it while to buy new petrol-ens vehicles and convert them.

What will be the effect on unl weight?

UNAVOIDABLY, unladen wi will be increased unless 2 saving can be made in other par the vehicle. This question is par lady important in vehicles weig nearly 3 tons unladen. Often weight can be kept within that cri figure by replacing a heavier hod one of light alloy.

Is an oil engine more difficul costly to maintain than a p unit?

1:11 ART LY because major ovenl I are less frequent, an oil engine less to maintain than a petrol Between overhauls, the manufactu simple instructions on routine se: should be followed rigorously. other attention, especially to injection equipment, should be entri to a specially trained mechanic. The full advantages of the oiler mot be achieved unless mechanics precigte the need for adhering to the .ker's recommended maintenance xedure. They should be given all ; information supplied by the manu:turer and if instructional courses are ered, fitters should be sent on them. engines are not difficult to mainbut the technique is different from .t of a petrol unit.

Cuthberts Co-operative Associan have, by converting over 100 petrol tides to oil, halved their mainance staff. The surplus mechanics now making further conversions Lead of repairing petrol vehicles.

low will drivers take to the change? IISLIKE of the unknown may at first produce unfavourable reaction, but pod driver will soon appreciate the ater pulling power of the oil engine

the advantage of fewer gear ngds. Most drivers insist that they aid not wish to go back to petrol. ilthough the oil engine is noisier, is not usually excessively or ,leasantly vocal. Drivers grow to : the deep-throated roar as the icle pulls in top gear up hills which viously required the use of a lower o.

Jung, if correctly set and adjusted, uld not be noisy or cause undue ration. Excessive vibration is not :rent in the oil engine.

L point often overlooked by opera: is that oilers cover nearly twice as ry miles on one tank filling, and the nivenience of having to purchase away from home is frequently ided.

'hat conversion sets are there on the market?

N accompanying table shows that a large selection of vehicles can be verted to oil by using a standard More kits, based on the engines tel, are always being produced, and t conversion specialists will fit any icle with an oil engine if it is :ticable, he Arlington Motor Co., Ltd., ders End, Middx., who specialize in Wing the Leyland Comet 350-cu.-in. ne in the S range of Bedfords, will fit the Perkins P.6 engine in any tonner and the Comet in any imurn-load four-wheeler.

. E. Neville and Son, Ltd., Forest d, Mansfield, are willing to fit a ,dows 4DC 330 engine in any type ommercial vehicle, tractor, crane or isuial plant.

Jr smaller vehicles. the Standard itre engine, used so successfully for Austin F.X.3 taxicab conversion, be obtained from Birch Bros., , 20 Cathcart Street, London, le Turner two-stroke engine, which ie moment is available as a converkit only for the Land-Rover, may available soon for Austin and 'Ord 25-cwt. vans, the Morris Commercial 1-tonner and taxicabs. The Turner Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Wolverhampton, intend to produce in the near future two-, three-, fourand six-cylindered versions which will be suitable for a wide range of vehicles.

Another new engine is the Vernon Poppe two-stroke, which, although not yet on the market, will soon be available at about £300 and will be well suited to a variety of light vehicles.

ALL the advantages appear to be on the side of the oil engine. It may be argued that I have avoided mentioning several of the favourable features of the petrol engine, such as its easy replacement, standardization, and the readier availability and lower prices of spares These are some of the points which may, in certain cases, persuade an operator that "petrol is best." Rarely do these features outweigh the advantages of the economies that can be expected on all but the lowest of mileages.

Convinced that a change to oil may be worthwhile, many operators will still ask one further question: Is there a snag?

THEY may have been influenced by the widespread, but erroneous. publicity given to the supposedly ill effects of oil-fuel exhaust. They may also object to the recording of oil fuel used to conform with the law. A driver, faced with a small fault away from the depot, may not be as well equipped to deal with it as he would with a petrol engine. Greater wear of

the front tyres caused by the increased weight may be feared and poor cold starting expected.

These objections must be viewed it, the proper proportions. It is necessary to determine, for insjance, whether drivers are really capable of dealing with petrol-engine faults. If they are, they will soon be able to do just as well with oil engines. If they are not, the situation will be unchanged.

Analyses of operating costs prove that tyre costs are generally equal for petrol and oil-engined vehicles of the same class, Individual operators occasionally claim that tyre wear is heavier, but with so many other factors, such as variations in driving techniques, maintenance, wheel alignment and so on, it is easy to be deceived.

Most operators keep records of petrol, oil and other commodities, so that oil-fuel records are no problem. Petrol-engine changes may be quicker, but they are usually required more frequently than with oil engines.

Many cases are known of oil engines giving trouble-free service right up to the time of replacement or major over haul at well over 100,000 miles. In other instances, low oil and fuel consumptions have been maintained by carrying out a top overhaul at 50,00060.000 miles. Starting is good on all the British • proprietary oil engines, although the advice, and aids to starting, provided by the manufacturer should not be ignored.

Dirty exhaust occurs only when the engine is treated badly. In any event, the exhaust fumes are less harmful to health than petrol-engine fumes.