PICS! Econo Car conversion to Kubota Diesel. 1997 Geo Metro, Kubota D1005 3 cylinder

[planejob]

Originally Posted by bikeprof

Followed this write up from the beginning to the now, may not be finished !?!?

Definitely not done! I'm enjoying the project and will continue to bee making progress toward a finished vehicle. I've got to get an exhaust, license plates, and the wiring sorted.

I'm very pleased to have been this successful so far. I really appreciate all of the encouragement and help.

[kimer6]

You startled me! I thought you were going to get rid of your new jewel. That was a hell of a lot of work and awesome ingenuity. Thanks for being hands on!

My son took Autoshop in high school in 2002 and thought he was something special. What the class turned out to be was 95% emissions related. Plug it into the computer and fix everything! Well.....the diagnostics couldn't find the metal to metal brake pads, the bad alternator bearing, or the leaking water pump seal. 15 years later he repairs everything on his cars himself.

We used to have something called American Ingenuity when I was a kid. Now very few people can fix anything themselves. Thanks for continuing the tradition. American Ingenuity isn't dead yet!

[Joe of Loath]

Originally Posted by kimer6

I have a supercharged Olds 3.8 V-6 in my garage. That came very close to being installed mid engine in my Diesel Metro. It still may happen one day.

As far as a wife.... Mine put the WHY in whyffe. She left me for another woman. No surprise here....its California. I am now a MWWAPC . Man With Welder And Plasma Cutter.

Have you seen the Knoxvegas Lowballers Duratec V6 Geo Metro swap? It's ridiculous, and one of the fastest LeMons cars around. The Knoxvegas Lowballers welcome you to https://www.facebook.com/KnoxvegasLowballers/

[planejob]

Well, last night I printed out the insurance cards, and got a "5-day Transit Permit" from the governor.

In the mediocre light of the too-early dawn I sneaked out into the garage and rolled the Geo into the twilight. I, with reckless abandon, heated the glow plugs for one third of one sixtieth of one twenty-fourth of one three-hundred-sixty-fifth of a year. With bated breath I jumpered the starter to the positive terminal of Gaston Planté's invention and listened as Rudolf Diesel's engineering prowess roared to life, embodied by a Kubota engine.

Then I drove that sweet ride through my neighborhood and all the way down to the muffler shop (about 5 or 6 miles). With the open header pointed straight out of the front of the car it sure attracted a lot of attention. Every soccer mom and GQ dad that passed me stared - clearly in envy. Those poor *******s are constrained by the limit of their imagination, clearly.

I learned that 5th gear is not working in the tranny. Luckily 5th is accessible through a 'top hat' on the box.

Tops speed in 4th was 42mph, RPM limited by the governor. The engine had lot's more to give but the fly weights kept backing it off. Downshifting is weird.

Juan at C&M Muffler in Wylie, TX charged me a very reasonable price to bend up a custom 2 inch exhaust system with a new muffler and hangers. The pipe will run all the way to the rear - despite earlier intentions of pointing it out the fender (Like the 'Ricer' cars do), or straight up through the hood (like a tractor). Neither of those would pass state inspection, and the goal of this operation is to have a street legal project.

All the guys at the muffler shop were entertained by the car. It was like a 1 man car show. I'll post some pics of the exhaust system once I pick it up.

[Xist]

Do you have any plans for the transmission and\or governor?

[kimer6]

That pesky old governor! Mine was set to hold 1800 rpm as the Kubota ran a generator in one of those construction site light towers. Of course I messed with it....out of the car and on its test stand. I am glad you were able to get it down the road and back.

I had 3 weeks of California registration left on my car after I got the Kubota running. Here its next to impossible to legally replace a gas engine with diesel so I put it in storage until the coming Zombie attack.

No 5th? I have a 5th of Wild Turkey I can send you.

[planejob]

SO here's the engine bay - the fuel filter is visible on the fire wall, and the throttle linkage is in there. But, let's focus on the new exhaust:



The shop used the flange that I supplied, and custom bent the rest of it. I think the 2 inch pipe might be a little too large, but it's too late now.



He squeezed it in right between the oil pan and transmission - exactly where I wanted it. Now, I might have to cut the exhaust in the future when I need to separate the engine from the transmission... but only if I don't pull them as a pair. I can't think of why I wouldn't pull them together.



It follows the standard Geo path, nothing new here. He put it up over the anti-sway bar and tucked it out of the way of the shifter mechanism. All of the exhaust hangers were new or added and it fits in there really well - he added one to the back of the block and suggested a future addition of a flex pipe might be needed.



It goes right up over the rear suspension, there is no rear muffler; there's only one at the mid pipe location. The idea was not to make it quiet, but to make it narrowly legal.

[planejob]

Originally Posted by Xist

Do you have any plans for the transmission and\or governor?

Yes, I'm going to pop the "top hat" off the tranny and check out the 5th. A quick search of the ol' googlator indicates it can be serviced in place - no complaints here. I'd go back to the junk yard and ***** but... I'm probably outside of the 30/30 warranty (feet/seconds, respectively).

The governor is cool. I love the way it works, but not the setting. I've not yet started investigating what I can do, but I'd like to:

1. Remove the HEAVY return spring.
2. Adjust the governor up to 32-3300 rpm.
3. Retain the governor to avoid over-revving

[kimer6]

That's a beautiful job you did.

Kubota used this type of engine in 3600 rpm generators so that's well within operating limits.

Is the brake booster working?

I may have to dig out my Diesel Geo Metro and fire up that bad boy pretty soon!

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Nice pictures. I like the clean look of this setup.