I understand why people move old cars on, as there’s a sense of frustration when you can’t get the car to perform as it should. I found a local LPG specialist (who still looks after a small LPG taxi fleet), they had a good look but couldn’t find anything wrong. Just over a year went passed and it was now Dec 2024, with 404k on odometer. I kept putting up with the loveable Lister, but thought it was now too hard to fix, given the LPG fleet is in steep decline, hence it’s hard to find an LPG specialist.

Finally, Naomi said, let’s just get this fixed, as she had been given a recommendation, AG Automotive in Lilydale. To put it in perspective, a trip to Lilydale was the same distance as driving to the CBD. As we had nothing to lose, we drove to Lilydale and dropped Lister off. After recounting our story, the words came back, “You didn’t take it to Ford, as they have no idea how to fix LPG vehicles”. Two days later AG Automotive called, communicating he was all fixed after replacing the stepper motor. The stepper motor accurately adjusts the flow of gas via the o2 sensor. Apparently, it’s common practice to replace the stepper motor when replacing the LPG converter.

From this point on Lister started to behave like he should have from new, now idling well, performance felt stronger, whilst fuel economy improved. I started to regain confidence in him again, but moving forward to Jan 2025, my confidence was again shattered, as he developed a rough idle, worse than before and started to stall at idle. The only mechanic I could get to, was the local specialist, who looked at the car previously and said everything was ok. This time he took it for a drive, and on return said there was something wrong, likely the stepper motor needed to be calibrated. He had the stepper motor out, calibrated and back in within 20 minutes and then disappeared around the block. To my surprise Lister was again back to normal, but I kept on thinking when is he going to break again.

It’s now April and surely a trip to Canberra will confirm if Lister is fixed. My confidence wasn’t great, but to my surprise he went like clockwork. One of the things I did notice on this trip was the removal of more LPG bowsers, at Tallarook & Holbrook and while in Canberra, the service station we normally go to, was out of LPG. The e-gas BF wagon has 116 litre capacity, and according to Ford provides for up to 900km of range, enough to get from Melbourne to Canberra. I topped up in Wodonga, given the price and availability of LPG prior to driving into NSW. While stopped at the APCO Service Station in Wodonga, we spotted a rare Hillman 16 on the back of flatbed truck.

Stopping at Holbrook for lunch, can highly recommend “The Ten Mile Café”. It has large indoor and outdoor sections. They provided excellent service, combined with quality produce and great coffee. What else can you ask, especially in a town the size of Holbrook.

On the way back, we stopped in Gundagai, as we love the Coffee Peddler Café. Opposite you can see the impressive Gundagai Theatre.

I’ve always loved the main street in Gundagai, this time we stretched our legs and went for a walk, and found a shop called Junque & Disorderly. I couldn’t help myself from purchasing a 1973 Mercedes W115 220D Ute, 1:43 scale for $12.

We did approx. 1424km within three days, averaging 13.7L/100 on the way up and 13.4L/100 on the way back. Since Oct 2023, Lister has averaged 15 cents per kilometre. Comparing to our i30N which requires 98, averages 19.4 cents per kilometre over a similar period.

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars.  Links to some his other articles can be found here

The post Guest Post: BF Falcon Futura Update – April 2025 appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

One of the things I’ve noticed about using an LPG equipped car as a daily driver, is how rare it is to see other LPG vehicles filling up at the bowser.

I’ve already written about our dedicated e-gas Futura wagon, but let’s just replay some of the key facts. Ford Australia replaced the petrol tank with a 116 litre LPG tank for the wagon. Ford factory specs claimed the e-gas BF MK2 combined average was 15.1 L/100, while the petrol version was rated at 10.7 L/100.

As I was planning a trip to Canberra, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to perform some real-life fuel economy testing.

The first leg was from Vermont South (home) to Holbrook NSW. We managed to leave ~7:15am on a Friday morning and as usual confronted peak hour traffic.  This included a major Victorian Government project, North East Link, connecting the Metropolitan Ring Road at Greensborough with the Eastern Freeway at Bulleen. Two hours after leaving, we arrived at Euroa to our favourite café, Mely and Me.  This was followed by a quick stop at the op shop across the road.  It was no surprise we walked out with a large picture, clothes and for me and a JBL iPod dock for $8.  Who could resist?

Arriving at Holbrook, first stop was to fill up and take the first measurement. We had completed 393.9km and put in 42.77 litres of LPG, this equates to 10.86L/100. At 75.9 cents per litre, this leg cost $32.46.

After a brief lunch at J&B Gourmet Café, it was time for so more shopping. While Naomi decided to shop, I decided to check out some of the local buildings, including the Holbrook Holden, which is still trading, as a Service Centre while displaying a selection of Classic Holden models in their main window.

Ross Building, 1913.

Holbrook Holden, established 1923.   Run by four generations.

Current building was known as the Criterion Hotel, built in 1895 and traded until 1965.

The next fill up was in Canberra on the day of departure back to Melbourne. This included Holbrook to Canberra and three days of urban city commute around Canberra. We had completed a total of 415.5km and put in 62.18 litres. This equates to 14.97L/100 and at 109.9 cents per litre, this leg cost $68.34.

We drove all the way back from Canberra to home (without a fill up), stopping at Gundagai and Holbrook. You do need to try the neenish tarts at the Holbrook Bakery, they are delicious. The following day we filled up, we had completed 707.9km and put in 88.77 litres. This equates to 12.54L/100 at 105.9 cents per litre at the cost of $94. We were quite loaded up on the trip back, with the back seat down and the wagon almost fully loaded, with a ladder on the roof.

To summarise, LPG fuel economy is what I expected. LPG in Victoria is a fair bit cheaper than most other states and rarely fluctuates. The average I pay in Victoria ranges between 75-79 cents per litre, while in Canberra it ranges between 105-115 cents.

Author:  Nick Gruzevskis is a contributor to classicjalopy.com, and the custodian of a great collection of classic and modern cars.  Links to some his other articles can be found here.  

The post Guest Post: BF Futura Wagon – LPG Fuel economy update appeared first on Classic Jalopy.