Diesel in a Model A

[denis4x4]

I realize that a lot of guys will get their undies in a bunch over this build from England, but some interesting posts (especially #25) make this good read.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=694548

[Terry, NJ]

This is one of the few upgrades I'd consider. One can maintain the outer appearance while having a modern powerplant. Diesel is the way of the future! I have a VW TDI Jetta and I love it. (Like all love affairs, it has a few snags) But 42+ MPG makes it very attractive!
Terry

[MikeK]

My undies are in a bunch!!

[JoeWay]

Our newest local club member Joel Rapose has a '30 roadster with a diesel engine. You can't tell until you look under the hood. I imagine he'll be along to tell his story.

Joe

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Did you read where the guy's dad left the fuel tap (valve) on one night and it filled the exhaust pipe where it blew the muffler open when they tried to start it the next morning? I wonder how that would/could happen based on the fuel induction system he was using??

[Pete]

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And for those that care about such things, it is relatively easy to get 250 hp out of a 1.5 TDI engine.

[Bruce Lancaster]

I was able to do a lot of traveling in southern France and northern Spain long ago, around 1970. One of the interesting vehicles I discovered was a Model B pickup with diesel 4 banger...pretty sure it was the type used in Benz sedans of the '50's and '60's.
In Andorra, the two local obsessions were hunting and smuggling in a country full of mountain goat paths, so there were jeeps all over the place. There were real wartime MB/GPW ones, Hotchkiss French army MB replicas, and early CJ's...
I stopped at a little repair shop way up the mountain and watched some natives swapping a Benz diesel into one.

[Terry, NJ]

AFAIK About 50% of the cars registered in Europe are diesels. Contrast that with just 3% in America. For those who haven't driven one, these are not your father's diesels. Jetta and Passats TDIs with diesels are hard to spot unless you know what to look for. And they can get out of their own way! My Jetta is rated at 90 hp. but it feels like much more. And maintainance is a little pricey. And VW is very proprietory about all it's fluids. But overall it's been a good relationship.
Terry

[Terry, NJ]

I was wondering the same thing. How do you fill a manifold with an updraft carburetor ???????
Terry

Originally Posted by BRENT in 10-uh-C

Did you read where the guy's dad left the fuel tap (valve) on one night and it filled the exhaust pipe where it blew the muffler open when they tried to start it the next morning? I wonder how that would/could happen based on the fuel induction system he was using??

[eagle]

I think the backfire/blowup happened BEFORE the engine changeover?

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by eagle

I think the backfire/blowup happened BEFORE the engine changeover?

Likely, ...but unlikely that it happened how he described.

[roccaas]

I heard tell of an elderly engineer in our town who turned his A engine diesel during WWII. Unfortunately he passed away before I could meet him and find out how he did it.

I'm imagining he decked the block to raise the compression ratio, pulled some injectors out of an old truck engine and retrofitted them to the spark holes??

[ctlikon0712]

I recently vacationed in Scotland and rented a turbo Peugeot 207sw, I was very impressed with the power, lack of noise, and MPG I got. I would buy one to drive.

[jrapose]

I have an OPEL diesel in my "drive to work" Model A Roadster...it has almost the same torque as the Model A engine does at low speed plus it easily runs up to 6500rpm if needed....I used that for years when I had to drive in Southern California Freeway traffic...I also built front disk brakes for it, 40 Ford in the rear and used the stock 19' wheels. I amusing a stock transmission and rear end...it was almost a bolt in application...with the exception of a custom built input shaft to the transmission....and a mounting plate to the bell housing....weighs 100lb less than a stock engine and develops 65hp naturally asperated...I so have a turbo unit sitting in the garage but it is not needed ..the car runs so well I don't want to change a thing...easily gets over 40mpg and cruises easily at 60 to 65 on the road...makes a nice daily driver. No holes drilled in the body or the frame..

The best part is at the gas station when folks come up and say "your putting diesel in there, it will ruin the engine" I just smile and tell em, "Model A Fords will run on anything"

Joel Rapose
Cjester Ca.

[Great Lakes Greg]

Despite my boxers being fairly bunched, this isn't nearly as bad a a small block shivvy.
Actually, I am surprisingly receptive to this swap. Imagine the economy of this engine in a 2300 pound car.

[dave in australia]

Twenty or so years ago, I went to the Australian rod nationals, and one of the rods was an A with a four cyl. diesel. I talked a bit to the owner, and he said it got around 40 mpg, and could easily sit on 60 mph.

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Terry, NJ

I was wondering the same thing. How do you fill a manifold with an updraft carburetor ???????
Terry

You put the manifold on upside down with the carb still attached.

[MVal]

This discussion reminds me of an funny incident we had in 1994. We had attended the MARC/MARCA Convention in Tacoma and were heading for Canada via Hwy 9. We decided to stop for gas near the border and as I was leaving the store after paying one fellow in the group told me he screwed up and put diesel in his '29 RP. He was a very astute fellow so I dismissed it and we left for lunch at a nearby restaurant. When he finally arrived, he said yes, he had screwed up. He made a deal with the station to use a garden hose to put the diesel back into their underground tank and refill with gasoline. So there he was parked in the parking lot with a garden hose from the engine compartment running over the concrete slab to the tank inlet for 15 minutes or so which got a few stares. One fellow walked over and asked what was going on and my friend, who incidently had a very good sense of humor, told him "well these darn Model A's get such good mileage that I have to drain some gas off every once in a while to keep it from overflowing"!! Everyone had a good laugh after he explained what really happened and he didn't have any trouble with "vapor lock" the rest of the trip!!!

[Chris in WNC]

fortunately my undies are un-bunched.
actually, I'm not wearing any. it's summer. be comfortable.
I like the high mileage diesel engines achieve, but the higher cost of the fuel puts me off.
NJ Terry, how does your cost per mile compare to a similar car burning gasoline?

[Kurt in NJ]

A 240D mercedes engine is about the size of an A engine, 60 or so hp, nice heavy iron ---but I think a 190D 2.2 would give the best fuel mileage,in the 190 car with 5 speed they got up to 50mpg , a 2.5 turbo would be a good fit, an 80s Peugot diesel wagon had a closed driveshaft.

The WWII diesel conversions were not real diesels, they heated the fuel very hot, and the carb was heated to vaporize the heavy fuel, actually they were dual fuel, started on gasoline ---I have even seen a Packard that was converted, there was a small 1 gal tank attached to the radiator rods, long shafts for the valves to the dash--2 headgaskets for lower compression-the owner was a boat captain, gas was rationed, fuel for diesel boat was no problem---this conversion tended to be hard on the engine, i later heard that the valve seats were all cracked on the packard( I was 32$ low on my sealed bid, it still was a good deal at 2255$)

i saw a picture of a conversion done to an A, the fuel pipe was wrapped several turns around the ex manifold, there was a box around the carb for heat---I guess a tillotson wasn't very good for this conversion

I have 3 older S class benzes, 2 are diesel, 1 gas, gas 14mpg, diesel 25mpg ---on the road --gas 18 mpg, diesel 32 mpg----an A with a 2.5 turbo would probably get 35mpg at 60-70