Diesel in a Model A

Chris, It's been a long time since I figured it out. Actually I figured out a break even price as diesel went up. It was like a $0.50 a gallon differential (IIRC) and we never got that high. However, Where VW gets you is on oil changes. Figure about $35-40 for just oil and filter. The oil is 5qts of 15-40 Synthetic. I was told by the VW dealer that Castrol Syntec is acceptable as a substitute. so I use the Castrol. The filters are a P.I.T.A. They are not the spin ons that we're used to. They are a cartridge filter ala early Ford or Chevy, they go into a canister that must be cleaned before installing the new filter. I've complained more than once about VW's love of proprietory pruducts, Such as brake fluid and ATF. They get $300 to change the ATF. One dealer wanted $600. WTF, It's only 4 quarts! You can't drain it! or fill it! However, The car's handling is superb. It's comfortable. And worth the money if you can put up with these annoyances.
Terry




Chris in WNC said:
fortunately my undies are un-bunched.
actually, I'm not wearing any. it's summer. be comfortable.
I like the high mileage diesel engines achieve, but the higher cost of the fuel puts me off.
NJ Terry, how does your cost per mile compare to a similar car burning gasoline?
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"They get $300 to change the ATF. One dealer wanted $600. WTF, It's only 4 quarts! You can't drain it! or fill it! However, The car's handling is superb. It's comfortable. And worth the money if you can put up with these annoyances."


That's quite a change from my VW Rabbit, which had easy to do maintenance and was cheap to operate. I always got 55 to 57 MPG on the highway and not much less for local drives. It pulled much better than the rated 48 H.P. would lead you to believe.
 
ctlikon0712 said:
I recently vacationed in Scotland and rented a turbo Peugeot 207sw, I was very impressed with the power, lack of noise, and MPG I got. I would buy one to drive.
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Same experience I was in England last year and rented a VW Passat Turbo Diesel . Man what a car ! Lots of power smooth as silk and fuel economy to die for. The only downside I can see to owning a diesel is servicing costs (and at least in this country extra taxes on diesel owners).
 
They should make exhaust stacks mandatory on diesel cars. The drought has caused a shortage of corn. Now we have to import corn to meet EPA mandates for ethanol gasoline.
 
roccaas said:
I heard tell of an elderly engineer in our town who turned his A engine diesel during WWII. Unfortunately he passed away before I could meet him and find out how he did it.

I'm imagining he decked the block to raise the compression ratio, pulled some injectors out of an old truck engine and retrofitted them to the spark holes??
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With that compression ratio, I wonder how he got the crank and rods to hold up :rolleyes:
 
Kurt in NJ said:
A 240D mercedes engine is about the size of an A engine, 60 or so hp, nice heavy iron ---but I think a 190D 2.2 would give the best fuel mileage,in the 190 car with 5 speed they got up to 50mpg , a 2.5 turbo would be a good fit, an 80s Peugot diesel wagon had a closed driveshaft.

The WWII diesel conversions were not real diesels, they heated the fuel very hot, and the carb was heated to vaporize the heavy fuel, actually they were dual fuel, started on gasoline ---I have even seen a Packard that was converted, there was a small 1 gal tank attached to the radiator rods, long shafts for the valves to the dash--2 headgaskets for lower compression-the owner was a boat captain, gas was rationed, fuel for diesel boat was no problem---this conversion tended to be hard on the engine, i later heard that the valve seats were all cracked on the packard( I was 32$ low on my sealed bid, it still was a good deal at 2255$)

i saw a picture of a conversion done to an A, the fuel pipe was wrapped several turns around the ex manifold, there was a box around the carb for heat---I guess a tillotson wasn't very good for this conversion

I have 3 older S class benzes, 2 are diesel, 1 gas, gas 14mpg, diesel 25mpg ---on the road --gas 18 mpg, diesel 32 mpg----an A with a 2.5 turbo would probably get 35mpg at 60-70
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Yep. I have owned 3 Benz with the turbo 5 OM617. My 85 SD gets 27-30hwy. Very nice to drive and good mileage for a car that size.
 
Originally Posted by Kurt in NJ
i saw a picture of a conversion done to an A, the fuel pipe was wrapped several turns around the ex manifold, there was a box around the carb for heat---I guess a tillotson wasn't very good for this conversion)

I think this is what it looked like.
 

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roccaas said:
I heard tell of an elderly engineer in our town who turned his A engine diesel during WWII. Unfortunately he passed away before I could meet him and find out how he did it.

I'm imagining he decked the block to raise the compression ratio, pulled some injectors out of an old truck engine and retrofitted them to the spark holes??
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The model "A" will run on kerosine. I do not think they raised the compression and used injectors.They had tractors in the old days that would start on gasoline and when the engine was warm they would switch to a diesel fuel.

There is a goofy farmer that adds diesel to his gasoline in his S-10 pickup. The crank case is usually overfull because not all of the diesel burns. He thinks he is saving money.
 
Tom, VW follows an auto industry trend to make us take the cars we buy back to the dealers to empty the ashtrays! They don't want us touching our cars. Actually, I much prefer my SAAB 9000, 200+hp,turbo, 31 mpg, handles like a dream. Runs on anybody's 10-30 oil. trans (5 spd) uses the same thing. Anybody's antifreeze and dot 4 brake fluid. Still looks great after 170k, runs great, and rides great! So why did SAAB allow it's self to be bought out by GM? I knew it was the beginning of the end for SAAB when they were bought by Government motors.
Terry



That's quite a change from my VW Rabbit, which had easy to do maintenance and was cheap to operate. I always got 55 to 57 MPG on the highway and not much less for local drives. It pulled much better than the rated 48 H.P. would lead you to believe.[/QUOTE]
 
Believe me, guys, diesels are the way forward. Developments in diesel design have made leaps and bounds in the last few years.

I'll stick to my Flattys for now, but I don't use them every day.

Mart.
 
That was one of the deciding factors for me, I need to go modern highway speeds and be able to hard accelerate if needed in that miserable SoCal traffic...I got off work at 10:30 at night and so safety was real important to survival. The bolt in diesel was a great answer...and somedday I will reinstall the original engine...it sure made a driver out of the roadster...quick and nimble..plus easy to service..I converted the filters to spin-on units...and at over 40mpg that 10 gallon tank stays full longer... I like it... I did pressureize the radiator so I could use a hot water heater mounted under the dirvers seat....roadsters get cold in the winter...especially now that I live in the mountains...lots of snow in the winter... just ordered my winter tires yesterday...195 80 16 that I will chain up when needeed. (and run that heater)

Joel in Chester Ca.
 
What I really want is a little diesel pickup. I'm not talking a half ton truck or anything (although they should put them in while their at it) But just a little Ranger sized truck with a little 2.0L. All i need is something that can haul sod on a weekday and dirt bikes on the weekends . . . all the while getting 40+ mpg. :)

Diesels really are the way of the future. If California would back off on emissions standards (sorry California members, but we all know it's true) then we might be able to get somewhere with small diesels.
 
I'm not sure about this, but the grade of diesel fuel we use in Europe either isn't available in the USA or is only recently starting to become available. The company I work for test diesel cars in the USA but have to make special arrangements for diesel fuel. USA pump diesel is not the same as Euro diesel.
 
jrapose said:
That was one of the deciding factors for me, I need to go modern highway speeds and be able to hard accelerate if needed in that miserable SoCal traffic...I got off work at 10:30 at night and so safety was real important to survival. The bolt in diesel was a great answer...and somedday I will reinstall the original engine...it sure made a driver out of the roadster...quick and nimble..plus easy to service..I converted the filters to spin-on units...and at over 40mpg that 10 gallon tank stays full longer... I like it... I did pressureize the radiator so I could use a hot water heater mounted under the dirvers seat....roadsters get cold in the winter...especially now that I live in the mountains...lots of snow in the winter... just ordered my winter tires yesterday...195 80 16 that I will chain up when needeed. (and run that heater)

Joel in Chester Ca.
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Joel, specifically which Opel engine did you use, and what year/make/model vehicle did it come out of?
 
I don't know if I completely agree that diesels are the future.
I drive a Chevy Sonic (if you can't say anything nice............) and its 138HP and will squeak out 42MPG highway with the A\C ON running 87 octane which we all know is cheaper than diesel.

While the Sonic is no sports car 0-60 in 8.8 seconds is fast enough for me.

To keep this discussion proper for the forum, Ford also has some decent gas engines out producing amazing fuel mileage with impressive power.
 
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tdub2112 said:
What I really want is a little diesel pickup. I'm not talking a half ton truck or anything (although they should put them in while their at it) But just a little Ranger sized truck with a little 2.0L. All i need is something that can haul sod on a weekday and dirt bikes on the weekends . . . all the while getting 40+ mpg. :)

Diesels really are the way of the future. If California would back off on emissions standards (sorry California members, but we all know it's true) then we might be able to get somewhere with small diesels.
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We had those in my country but i think the salt air ate them all.
Diesel was half the price of gas but tax & refinery costs have closed the price gap a little.
 
tdub2112 said:
What I really want is a little diesel pickup. I'm not talking a half ton truck or anything (although they should put them in while their at it) But just a little Ranger sized truck with a little 2.0L. All i need is something that can haul sod on a weekday and dirt bikes on the weekends . . . all the while getting 40+ mpg. :)
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My thoughts exactly. VW made a little pickup from the rabbit platform back in the 80's and I wish someone would do it again. A SMALL pickup with a diesel would be great. Ford has stopped production of the ranger, so that is a dead end. Toyota has made their little pickup larger and larger, and dodge does not have a little pickup, it is mid sized. Suburu had the brat, and now has a 4 door pickup, but I would want a 2 door. For some reason, car makers increase the size of everything they make on every restyle.
 
In the US, We pay MORE for diesel. It wasn't always this way. Diesel used to be about 70 - 90% of the cost of gas/petrol. Then it went up to about 110-120% of the cost of gas. So in trying to figure this out, I came to the conclusion (Possibly incorrect) that it's in the higher refining casts due to the low sulphur content mandate. also, we can no longer use heating oil in them. For larger vehicles (Small vehicles will be next) there are roadside inspections. And to accommodate the inspectors, they dye anything non road taxed, red. Woe to he who gets caught with red fuel in their tank! and to further accommodate them, they have a short section of clear fuel line. They don't even have to sample it.
Terry




Mart said:
I'm not sure about this, but the grade of diesel fuel we use in Europe either isn't available in the USA or is only recently starting to become available. The company I work for test diesel cars in the USA but have to make special arrangements for diesel fuel. USA pump diesel is not the same as Euro diesel.
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