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MG MGB Technical - deisel mgb

just like to comment on a engine coversion . my mate as fitted a deisel engine in to is b,its from a sherpa van .its noisy not very fast but pulls very well the engine is simular and easy to fit and does 55 to a gallon. he is planning to fit a modern deisel turbo into another car i will keep yuo posted
daz

That would be the B-Series Diesel I would guess. The two engines share a block, he might even have fitted it by accident... :P
dave

Have a VW TDI 150 Din HP fit inside.
Renou

If the petrol in this country gets any dearer it's beginning to sound very attractive!
Ron
R. Algie

>It's noisy, not very fast, but pulls very well.

I am guessing we're not talking birds here :)
Simon Jansen

could you tell me was the vw coversion a massive job
daz

So, I'm just curious, why do you quote miles per gallon yet purchase by the litre?

When we lived in Ireland, they had speed limits in miles and distance to next town in KM (or was it the other way around?)

Dave
David Steverson

Because we like making simple things complicated.
andrew.horrocks

I wish there were such a thing as a Sherpa Van in this country. I would love a straightforward deisel conversion for my MGB right about now, with gasoline going the way it has. I've actually started going a bit mad and looked into a propane retrofit.

Adam
Adam Birnbaum

Adam,

although there are no Sherpa Vans around there, there are Leyland Marine diesel engines fit to many boats and yachts.
As these small diesels often use the B-series engine block, maybe that will be another source.

Ralph
Ralph

Man, don't let the Triumph guys hear you're going to put a diesel boat motor in an MG. We'll never live it down!
Simon Jansen

My valve train is kinda noisy enough thanks...add a Diesel knock to that and I'm sure an MGB Diesel would turn even more heads!!! Seriously...at 25-28mpg it doesn't really make economic sense IMHO. Now for the Land Rover Disco...that's a different story! But Gas in America still costs less than 'petrol' did in the UK when I was a kid living there in the 1970s & 80s! I think we just have to get used to the fact that the days of cheap oil are well and truly over. An Ethanol still in the back yard could be the next project!!...cheaper and quieter than a B Series Diesel!
P J KELLY

Yeah, Peter, you sound to speek true about petrol prices.
Daz, don't know about VW TDI modifications imply but, it must be a huge job: starting from a front wheel drive unit to an inline one must make the job harder, but , this fantastic engine pulls strongly on low rev torque and go fast with the right tranny. Ask the man who owns one. Even more efficient, the very last VW TSI engine: 1,4l and 170 HP Din, given for about 3,5 l/100km ( about 70 miles per british galon )!!!
Renou

Both Triumph and BMC had diesel versions of their engines for use in trucks, boats and other commercial applications. All are old technology - rattling smoking, stinking....all the things you probably think of when you hear 'diesel'.

The new VW TDI is a wonderful engine - no rattle on starting (unless it is very cold out), no smoke, and power from the ground up (and lots of it) combined with excellent fuel mileage. These are NOT your father's sort of oil burners!

One problem with using them for swaps is that the engine is mated to the car's instrument cluster, and will not run if separated from it. It will take someone with computer skills (or a moonlighting VW technician) to figure out how to crack that problem and allow the ECM to work in another vehicle.

An MGB with a TDI engine (assuming it will fit) would be a great combination!
Bill Spohn

Been wanting to do a diesel midget to make a mileage special, and run it on veggie oil (free here in CA).
I have a crack pot neighbor who is an inventor, and he has been looking at a briggs and straton diesel that puts out 90 bhp I think. Really small displacement to.
He is also making his own ethanol from free sugar he gets from the floor of a marshmellow factory. He makes it into Marshmellow wine, then runs it through the still... presto, ethanol. Thinking about running the B on that some day.
-Bill
Bill Mertz

If you read between the lines of the threads I started about finding a fellow in New Hampshire and building a mileage monster in the conversion board, you'll quickly come to the conclusion that I've been thinking along these lines, too.

VW engines can be mated to other gearboxes for rear wheel drive.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sylva-Striker-sports-kit-car_W0QQitemZ4636262774QQcategoryZ29750QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

As far as I know, the VW gas amd diesel engines are interchangeable where it comes to engine/gearbox mating.

TTFN

Derek Nicholson

But, but, down here in SoCal diesel cost more than gas. Will you make up the difference?

BTW, years ago I built a Bugeye I acquired w/o a motor. Therefore, ending up buying three different semi-complete motors. At one time I had an 1100 block combined with a 998 head and small SU's. Regularly produced 45 mpg. Of course, as soon as the 1250 was finished it went in the car :-)
Edd Weninger

The VW with a TDI fitted made somewhere around or over 45mpg, thats in a car that weighs over 3000 lbs, probably close to 4000.
Now imagine that same motor, in a B, or even better a midget--a car that weighs half as much maybe even less. I think you could get another 30 mpg out of it, around 80 or so. I think that would be worth the extra 10 cents a gallon that diesel costs up here.
Then do a veggie oil conversion, and cut your cost even more.
-Bill
Bill Mertz

as long as you are having fun, go for it!
brdave

Here in the Bay Area, diesel costs less than regular unleaded. I'm getting about 21 MPG from my B thanks to mostly city driving, and I have to use premium. As premium is getting close to $4/gal, conversions of various kinds are looking more attractive. I've owned a VW and loved it, but I suspect that trying to shoehorn a VW TDI engine into my B would be an exercize in frustration!

Adam
Adam Birnbaum

Some research:
There's a converter plate & flywheel available to put a VW engine into a Suzuki Samurai:
http://www.roadlessgear.com/page/RGL/PROD/E/RG289
So, for our cars, this would mean also finding a Samurai RWD 5-speed transmission, starter, clutch, pressure plate, and that kind of fun. I know that someone's fooled with Suzuki gear in an MGB before, but this would truly be a Frankencar!

Adam
Adam Birnbaum

What about this?

Is it legitimate?

http://www.nexusmagazine.com/articles/Firestorm.html

SF
Dwight

P.S. Now, now, now, I'm not advocating this, I'm curious, do not accuse me of anything!

DCM McCullough

Dwight,
When people start throwing around words like "electric plasma" I get concerned. When they say that they've invented some magical thing that no company wants to produce, then I get out my tinfoil hat. Companies like NGK are in business to make money. If my invention will help them make money, and does what I claim it will do, why wouldn't they make it?

On the topic of alternative fuels, I found this interesting article on moving an old car to ethanol:
http://running_on_alcohol.tripod.com/id32.html
Seems to contain fewer magical claims, and it looks like, with the availability of so many SU needles for our cars, this would be possible.

Adam
Adam Birnbaum

This thread was discussed between 28/04/2006 and 08/05/2006

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