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Old 11-19-2009, 11:28 AM   #25 (permalink)
bondvagabond
EcoModding Apprentice
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin tx
Posts: 115

vandle - '93 Ford E-350 Xlt
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brucey View Post
What about a diesel from a VW in the samurai? Diesel swaps are common and pretty cheap, and people report 35~ mpg with mud tires and probably no regard to hypermiling.

Or better yet, how bout a mini truck with a cummins 4BT in it? 40 MPG isn't out of the question and you get a 6 foot bed.

I had a samurai, it was great. But highway was something it did nto like. And that was with "Just" 33's, rear locker, and a 6:1 low range. 55 MPH was about the top speed in the little fella. Unless I was drafting a truck.
Very cool engine swaps, The vw diesel I have thought about for some time, but when you read the suzuki forums about how much people ended up spending on them they don't fit my real economy criteria well. And I know the cummins diesel swaps are expensive, people are like groupies about those engines. plus, for economies sake, we should really be talking about dollars/mile not miles per gallon, cause diesel is usually more expensive here in the states. Although why is a mystery to me, since you can make more with a barrel of oil mI love diesels though, goodbye electrical ignition system!

I worked for years as a shipwright mostly on old wooden sailboats and salmon trollers. old fashioned low rpm marine diesels are awesome. my favorite are the old saabs. Flywheel start=goodbye electric starting system, the cause of 80% of motor vehicle breakdowns. they have a little hole in the bottom of the block to insert a flaming cigarette or splint of wood instead of a complex glow plug settup. heck yeah!! change the injectors out every 1 YEAR OF CONTINUOUS RUN TIME for $45 then when you die give it to your kid and they can do the same. That is good engineering. In the old salmon trollers they had to be super efficient, because that was before all the ma and pa outfits got kicked out by the big corporate setups buying regulation that favored them. And if your engine conked in bad weather, you died. I wish I had the machining skills to throw one of these in a truck.
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