Frugal AND cheap

[Varn]

Sarguy
Point taken with economy and fuel price. Still my car was less than 2000 dollars and I have had to put on a set of tires, the only real necessary expense in 3 years. Probably could still get my 2000 out of it.

As far as room I wish it were a wagon style but it will hold a 10' section of 2" water drain pipe with the trunk closed. I think one person would have room in it to sleep with a bit of modification to the interior.

[sarguy01]

Originally Posted by Varn

Sarguy
Point taken with economy and fuel price. Still my car was less than 2000 dollars and I have had to put on a set of tires, the only real necessary expense in 3 years. Probably could still get my 2000 out of it.

As far as room I wish it were a wagon style but it will hold a 10' section of 2" water drain pipe with the trunk closed. I think one person would have room in it to sleep with a bit of modification to the interior.

$2000 and only needed tires sounds like a great deal, especially on a 1986.

I thought about buying an older VW diesel and there have been a few on Craigslist around here. But, my wife would kill me if I sold my perfectly running Civic for pretty much any car...

Wouldn't it be great if there were more wagons on the road?

[Varn]

I was scouring craigs list and saw this car on it. I went to dial the number and said to myself I know this number. It was an old friend who is a trained aircraft mechanic. He bought the car from another old friend. The car had been set up with new suspension, adjustable ride height. It had 250,000 on it when we bought it. It isn't pimped and is in need of some paint. I think this summer it is going to get the OD green or woodland camo treatment.

Nearly everyplace we go, it is the oldest car there unless at home next to our 85 MB. I wouldn't be afraid to drive it anywhere. Both cars are our regular transportation except for our van which we don't use unless we need to haul something.

At times I wish it were a TDI instead of the old turbo IDI but I don't have any complaints. Buying cars is truly a bogus experience. If you have one that is working, don't get another one that has someone elses problems. Might as well spend your money on blow and hookers.

I can't imagine a vw motor swap into a small truck would be very economical. The gearing would be lower the aero drag would be 2x. The vw is very low and narrow compared to almost any new small car.

Originally Posted by sarguy01

$2000 and only needed tires sounds like a great deal, especially on a 1986.

I thought about buying an older VW diesel and there have been a few on Craigslist around here. But, my wife would kill me if I sold my perfectly running Civic for pretty much any car...

Wouldn't it be great if there were more wagons on the road?

[BobS]

backpacker3 - Wikipedia says boxer diesels were only sold in Europe. Can you get one?
sarguy01 - that Civic sounds great but could it make it over the Rockies with a trailer?
varn - no insult intended. My daughter is my main influence and would kill me if I bought a VW. But I was exploring the TDI forum the other day and one poster stated that his repair bills kept climbing each month so he sold his VW and bought a ricer. I think that VWs fall into two groups. They have no problems at all or constant problems. PS I also appreciate Ayn Rand.
kgwedi - when you are moving around, hit a town with a Goodwill. I worked at one and believe me, when your expenses are low, $8 per hour does add up. Or a Walmart and be a greeter. Walmarts allow you to park an RV overnite free. Or locate near a medical school and you can work as a "standard patient" for $15 or more an hour and all you need to do is answer a med student's questions from a memorized script. You play such vital roles as a man with a cough and let them diagnose you. Got this off o women's magazine. Actually sounds fun. And once I learn how to pm, I can tell you how to get a house for $500-1500.

[backpacker3]

You can't get them in a car (unless you find one with the swap) but there is a company that sells them here because that engine is popular with small aircraft, I'll have to find the website again but the swap has been done and there is a site with people who have done it I'd have to look up as well. The gas to diesel swap is pretty straightforward because subaru has a parts bin approach to building cars so everything. Is pretty compatible to switch around.

I read up on it for a while and considered trying it but didn't have the funds to at the time. If I remember correctly you'll want to start with a manual transmission subaru then just switch the engines out, of course you'll have the electrical to deal with but it's not too hard.

[Varn]

Bob
I am not going to try and sway your opinion of vw. I bet that many on the vw forum you mentioned have increased the fueling and boost quite a bit.

I resist that. I don't have the money for the mods or upkeep. There is something quite cool running a vehicle that sounds almost exactly my old school diesel tractor. Our Mercedes and VW sound nothing like any car on the road.

I saw this KUB van VW powered and made by Grumman. It has an aluminum body. It might fit your requirements pretty well.

Kurbside Classic: 1983 Grumman KubVan – Tiny, FWD, VW Diesel Powered, And Very Rare

[BobS]

Damn, Varn, that looks good! You wouldn't happen to have one in the back barn would you? Do you feel that a Cabrio with an AHU up front would be a good trailer-hauling combo?

[backpacker3]

You could also get a mail truck those are pretty cheap and easier to find.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Not sure if the real European Volkswagen Lupo was available in Mexico, but the Brazilian Fox (unrelated to the Voyage and Parati which were rebadged as Fox and exported to U.S.A. and Canada in the 80s) was rebadged there as Lupo for political reasons. And no Diesel versions for this one in the Mexican market...

Originally Posted by BobS

One of the options that your information suggested was to get a 4 door Suzuki Sidekick and put a VW diesel in it.

Do it, but for God's sake don't get a naturally-aspirated 1.6IDI due to the extra weight of the trailer. Indirect injection vs. direct injection has been a fierce debate, since the good old IDI usually is more resilient to lower-quality Diesel fuel and straight vegetable oil but the overall fuel-efficiency is lower. Anyway, an uncle of mine once had a 4-door Suzuki Vitara (the same as the Sidekick) fitted with a 1.6IDI Volkswagen Diesel and used to get 42MPG consistently either in city or highway traffic.

[BobS]

To the person that sent me the last PM, my computer security blocked it. That is the trouble with Microsoft, you not only get to pay for bad software but you also get to pay for protection of that bad software. (I wonder what MacAfee programmers do at night if there is a dearth of malware?) I am moving my computer over to Ubuntu Linux so should be able to read my PMs at that time. Don't despair, I will answer.
Bob