I see two approaches that come together in a way that suggests that a diesel rod that is at least traditional in spirit is possible. The one is the relatively new field of diesel performance, especially where turbocharging is involved. Diesels were after all turbocharged long before SI engines were. There are a lot of middleweight commercial engines nowadays that have a lot of performance potential. The other is historical diesel engines, of which many have some sort of uniqueness of character or quirky charm. I'm thinking of two-stroke Detroits, Commer TS3s, Gardner 8XLBs, air-cooled Deutzes, horizontal underfloor bus engines, all manner of obscure stationary industrial or marine engines, etc. etc. etc. Many of these would have limited performance potential, though being as a rule overdesigned might have more than one might think. For one thing diesel tuning is about torque rather than rpm, so long strokes are quite viable. My personal holy grail here would be one of the few "mini-Jumo" opposed-piston bus engines Junkers made in the '30s.
I agree with you on many things you have stated. The Pre Electronic Cummins in both 4BT and 6BT form is very popular and has a following not unlike that to the Ford Sidevalve (Flathead) V8. Although as I stated earlier let us not take this topic off topic. We need to see more of this great little A.
What is the manufacturer and displacement of the diesel in the P100 truck? I wonder if they are used in the US for industrial or ag purposes. We did have the very good VM "tunnel bore" inline six in FedEx trucks, that sort of looks VM-ish. When I was in the UK I saw an old Jaguar with a Gardner engine it. That was pretty impressive looking.
Great car , great build and I think it is traditional as it can get. Taking a old car , updating it with what you have, what suits your needs and making it a safe driver to be enjoyed . Maybe not 1940-50 traditional but this is 2013 .
Sounds great! I bet you're loving it now! Everything I have has a diesel in it except my 40. It was really hard not to drop one in it though.
I have at least fifty guns but do stay away from McDonalds as much as possible. Big Mac sauce is the second most revolting thing in the world. Second only to Vegemite.
The Isuzu powered car should be tested with some tall tires on the rear before you search for a new engine. That should gain you some top speed.
Well done on getting it running, and going a completely different route with the build. and it doesn't even sound like a taxi
I've just sat and read the whole thread, really enjoyed it, thanks. Wow... only 19 and driving a Model A. What a great looking project... well done !! Look forward to seeing it around.
In Scandinavia all the big engine old cars I saw there were on propane. When I was in the UK all the propane setups were low performance dual fuel. Is there a reason no one runs straight propane set up for power?
Hey patrick66, thanks for getting the joke - it was a tongue-in-cheek comment. Who else can we pick on? The New Zealanders? ............. or the French? And I definitely agree that the A coupe looks great, and traditional or not, the diseasel is a good choice - it's still probably got more get up and go than the orignal 4-banger on gasoline / petrol. Cheers.
Watch it ,sounds good. I'm going to be interested in fuel mileage and performance. Would love to do this with an A pickup. Really enjoyed your build and keep posting.
That is my plan as well. This is a link to another HAMB members Diesel > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCfsDGa2wDA
Cheers for all the comments everyone ! ... Hopefully by the end of today .. The car'll be finished ! .. Well hot rods are never finished but useable .. Been spending time getting all the wiring made from a good freind of ours who we trust with all our car electrical stuff .. The plan was originally to make a switch panel. Behind a old tobacco tin with a flip lid so that i could just close the lid an hide the switches away ... Cos im going for jus standard switches for ease an they dont suit the rest of the car really But i later found out that the switches have a huge overhang out the back of the tin. An theres no way we coulda fit it up there without it sticking out by miles .. Soo we scrapped that idea for now an made one out of a bit of chanel we had an just did it sorta temporary. Jus so i can rethink a better idea Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Got up at 4 in the morning yesterday an was in the garage by half past ! There was a local classic car show on about 3 miles from where i live an i just had to get the car there ! So it was a huge thrash and its still not 100% there yet but its definetly drivable. Just needs indicators and the battery properly mounting. An well i spent the afternoon just driving places to look at it differently ! People asked about the fuel usage on this car .. Well .. I filled it up when i left the car show at about 3 .. An ive been pretty much non stop driving from then until 10:30 when i got home. An i started off with halfway inbetween 3/4 and a full tank . An ive still got 3/4 left Was driving the car between 60 + 70 mph on the motorways an stuff too soo i think the fuel usage is brilliant ! An heres a couple nice spots i decided to pull in for some shots !! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
I hope your fuel guage is working. Would love to know just how economical it is and I guess it is torquey to drive.
Yeaaah its definetly working. I watched it fill up .. Took £35 to get it from almost empty to nearly full .. An i dont really know how i could officially measure the mpg .. But yeaah its torquey for sure ! Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
Does your speedo work ? If so next time you fill it when near empty note your mileage then how much it takes then do so again next time you fill it. From that you should be able to work out Miles per gallon or Kilometers per litre.
Oooohh makes sense .. But sadly noo not yet .. I need to sort out some sorta cable to go from the type 9 gearbox to the speedo Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad
You car sits perfectly! I wouldn't change a single thing. The tires, wheels, stance, paint, everything!! Everything about this build is awesome.
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