hey guys,
Im new here so just learning excuse the mistakes
just bought 85 magna duel fuel engines dying
looking for something a little newer around $750 -$1000 for the engine am a mechanic but have little knowledge on am engine swaps. I want to rebuild this myself for lpg but what choices do i have??????????????

for that price u can get a TN/TP EFI engine with ecu, wiring loom, electric fuel pump (from fueltank) etc...

for maybe abit more... u can get a TR EFI engine which has alittle more power (98kw rather than the TN/TP efi's 93kw) and being newer, could b a good investment. (TR's are 91-94 im pretty sure) though u will have to also get either the TR auto or manual trans to bolt onto the engine as the TM/TN/TP gearboxes won't bolt up.

an 85 model magna (TM which is the car that i have) were all carby. wat do u mean by duel fuel?

as for rebuilding to LPG, i have no idea cause i haven't looked into it at all and i haven't heard of anyone looking into it or doing it.

above are the facts, now i'd like to give a tip. definately go with EFI. i personally would get the TR efi engine. it is a direct bolt in as both engines are astrons. but if u don't want to/can't fork out that much money (probs looking at around $1500 for TR engine and abit more for trans). so to answer ur question, for $750-$1000 get a TP efi engine and manual gearbox if u can find one.

another thing to look into is converting ur current carby engine (if it is an 85 TM) to efi. i was looking at doing this but there was a fair bit of work to do. u would need:
ECU (can use old wiring loom apparently)
intake manifold
exhaust manifold
fuel lines
electric fuel pump
dizzy
airbox assembly etc...

that's all i can think of at the moment. u being a mechanic should b able to convert the engine quite comfortably. i got a quote from the wreckers for everything... $550. i cant remember if that included the ECU or not but it shouldn't bust ur $1000 budget, no chance.

so yeah, thats everything i can think of at the moment. hope that helps...

brendan

Or you could just get an el cheapo magna, they occasionally come up for about $300, but almost always have something wrong with them (a stuffed auto box, etc), to source an engine from.
I was thinking of trying to find one with efi to do an efi conversion for the extra 10kw lol, but dont have the time to do it while uni is on, or the money :doubt: .

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2485348118 100 bucks and counting.

just get a 2nd hand magna if your going to rebuild. LPG or no LPP the engine still uses the same internals its just a mildly different fueling setup, my fairlane was LPG

an 85 model magna (TM which is the car that i have) were all carby. wat do u mean by duel fuel?

The car has a switch where u can change it so it runs on either petrol or LPG.

if ur a mechanic you should know that to swap the motor in a front wheel drive u raise the car and lower the engine g'box assy onto the ground i would agree with the suggestion that u hunt for a cheap rustbucket or accident damaged tn/tp with efi and low k's (i have bought them for $300 driveable with rego in Sydney) and fit that motor to your car, tank, wiring loom, computer and all. this would give you efi with more power and better economy on petrol. To get rid of the donor shell make it roll and steer then call a "cars removed free if on wheels mob".
You would also need a gas mixer that is suited to an efi intake and a motor the size of yours if u do an efi swap, You can turn the gas system off at the tank and run the system dry and you can also remove the mixer and the pipes from the converter so u can get the motor in and out. Don't do ANY other work on the LPG system yourself it is illegal unless u have an autogas repairers ticket. you have to take it to a gas workshop to have the system legally and safely reassembled and recommissioned, they have gear to test for leaks. last year some bloke in Vic who did backyard gas repairs on his xf with lpg blew up his kids and himself when he lit a smoke while driving.
As for building your motor for gas, gas is a dry fuel and does not lubricate the valve seats (this was why petrol had lead in it) over time the valves and the seats in the head wear making the valves pull back into the head. Running lpg, because it's dry accelerates this process. To overcome it u can have the head rebuilt with stronger valves and seats fitted. This would cost about $300 plus gaskets, Motors designed for ulp have stronger valves and seats anyway. it would be cheaper to just leave a good second hand ULP motor standard and try to get 100'000km out of it and then find another cheap donor car.
To tune for LPG u use plugs of a different heat range (cant remember if it's hotter or colder) and tune for about 5deg more advance than u would run on petrol, but remember urs is dual fuel.

An engine out of what looked to be a TN - TM went for like 5 bucks on ebay not long ago, it was a manual, never got a bid. Maybe you should send him an email if you could track him down in the completed items section?