Diesel transplant

[Bert]

I'm hoping to look at the car over the weekend. I guess I should be looking for numbers off the tranny and engine while I'm at it. My house is being renovated/transformed at the moment (has been for past 9 months) so spare time is at a premium, and I have a second car already lined up to receive an Aspire swap. If however this VW appears to be a good deal and I can find a place to hide it away for awhile the whole thing might just be a 'go' for the long term. Manufacture 10/91 for some reason is the very tail end of 1.6 TD production if I understand correctly.

[Christ]

Yep. If it didn't say ECO on the car, its the higher boost version that makes some 90 hp.

[Bert]

Yep. If it didn't say ECO on the car, its the higher boost version that makes some 90 hp.

If I get out there to have a look at the car I'll take some pictures. For sure it doesn't say 'Eco' on it and it does have a turbo. She tells me it runs great so if a test drive is in the cards I'll do that too.
What I don't want to do is pay $700 for the car. It was originally listed for $1200 but the want ads around here have lots of rusted/busted VWs, and the boneyards have quite a few as well. So if this thing pans out I'll let her sit on it awhile longer until the price comes down some more. On the other hand if it's only in need of minor repairs to patch some holes then I have some serious decisions to make. There are already 3 Festys in my driveway and none of them are dead!

[Christ]

Honestly, if its on good condition and not leaking everywhere, $700 is a very faire price for a TD car. You can find them cheaper, but average prices are still close to original retail /or more/.

[Bert]

I've dealt with you often enough to know you are 'for real'. Can the moderators change your name to ChrisT (capital T) so as you don't appear to be able to walk on water?

I am increasingly nervous about undertaking a venture such as this but I have done some homework. 88-92 Turbo 1.6s are not very common, and they are not electronic-governed. If as you say these engines are so powerful they can pull the front end off a Festy I'll have to consider that as well. I'm looking for economy not 5th wheel or tow truck ability. I have no problem with a TD car being worth $500 (I'll bet the custom exhaust/driveaxles for a TD-adapted Festy easily exceeds that) but if this project sours, stalls or I lose interest, I don't want to be left sitting on an expensive 'boat anchor' either.

[crazyrog17]

Christopher is his full name, Christ (pronounced krist) is what he goes by. A thread covered this a while ago. Anyways, Christ (pronounced in the biblical sense) isn't all that uncommon anyways.

I'm excited to see how this diesel swap shapes up. Good luck!

[Pu241]

I've dealt with you often enough to know you are 'for real'. Can the moderators change your name to ChrisT (capital T) so as you don't appear to be able to walk on water?

Would you ask this of someone if his name were Jesus (Spanish), or would you have an issue if he decided to be call Mohammed, would you confuse him with a supposed prophet?
How do you know he can't walk on water?

[getnpsi]

my phone capitalizes his name for me and it doesn't another names. he is special. Google andriod thinks he is.

[Advancedynamix]

One factor that is going to be an issue with Hypermiling a VW TDi swapped festiva is wheel diameter. Diesels aren't that sensitive to weight ( mk4 TDI golf and Passat TDi get nearly identical mileage but are not nearly identical weight). However, they are very sensitive to final drive ratio. A freind of mine swapped the 15" stock wheels on his TDI jetta for some 19" wheels and gained almost 5MPG all around. Same car with 4 fat people got the same milage.

Since a Festiva is also very sensitive to tire diameter, but in the opposite direction, I see this as a conflict of interest. A TDi swapped Festiva will get worse mileage than a TDi Golf for this reason (albeit smiles per gallon will be off the charts). There is a solution to this problem though. Luckily, the 1.9TDi will bolt to nearly every 4 cylinder VW transmission from 1975 to present. You can piece together a very high final drive box from bits and pieces that have been used throughout the years. Also, a very lucky fact is that VW used essentially the same tranny for 4 decades in nearly all of its FWD vehicles (exclude Fox, passat, quantum and Dasher). This means these parts aren't that rare. But, the box you will end up building isn't strong enough for a heavily modded TDi, so keep this in mind. If anyone needs a specific VW box built I know the guy, and he's in Maine, so that's good news for you east coasters, and he isn't too expensive for a Festiva sized budget (probably cheaper than just buying a solid cable G series). Food for thought.

[getnpsi]

yeah what he said. The lower rpm final the better. That's why I asked ratios for drivability and hwy rpm between the two Trans

[Bert]

I am severely scratching about this at the moment (ie very nervous). Do I need another car, that is probably in better shape than any of my Festy's, to be darkening my driveway? The Suzuki Samurai 4X4 off-road folks have an over-the-counter north-south VW diesel swap kit available but it requires raising their version of a 'toy Jeep' 3 inches in order to clear the VW oil pan over the 1.3 Suzuki gas motor. There would be all kinds of bizzare stuff to deal with (adapt a Ford alternator, for one) in a Festy swap and I don't know if I want to be the first sucker (?) to undertake such a stunt. I'm primarily a wood-worker and not a metal fabricator nor an auto tech.
However, then contemplating souping-up a diesel (if a swap ever came to fruition) is as far from my mind as is the prospect of ever getting re-married.
Thank you for all of the encouragement though, folks. I've lo-balled the VW owner and told her what I intended to do so now it's a question of whether she takes the bait or somebody else comes along and offers her $200 more than scrap value. I cry these days when I look at some of the lovely cars that are sent to the recycler just because no one cares or could be bothered to try to find a good home for an older car.

[Christ]

The alternator is just a matter of making a new adjuster bracket or clever use of spacers, and making sure its lined up belt wise.

Speaking from experience, if you're not into it 100%, its probably best to pass on it. Wish I lived in Canuckistan though, if love to buy that car.

[Bert]

The alternator is just a matter of making a new adjuster bracket or clever use of spacers, and making sure its lined up belt wise.

Speaking from experience, if you're not into it 100%, its probably best to pass on it. Wish I lived in Canuckistan though, if love to buy that car.

Thank you Chris. You are quite right; enthusiasm is 90% of any undertaking. I really do like the concept of a stand-alone engine. This increasingly more electronics-governed racket with modern engines is just not my bag. Sooner or later I will have to succumb and then rely on a 'reader' but until then I still fondly look upon the 60s as glory days for auto enthusiasts.
The older brother of a buddy of mine who bought a 70 Z28 new and still has it (and turned the OEM 350 into a 302 right off the bat), has recently tapped into the exhaust in order to install an O2 sensor. This allows him to get an accurate read of air/fuel mixture while he's adjusting the carburetors. So, yeah, I can see modern technology is not to everyone's disadvantage.

[Advancedynamix]

Just retain the vw alternator, it works in the same manner.

[Bert]

There are aftermarket companies that sell adapter kits for VW diesel swaps into 1.3 Suzuki Samurais but they all tell you to raise the vehicle another 3 inches in order for the oil pan to clear the frame or axle. Anybody ever compared the size and dimensions of a 1.6 TD to that of a Mazda B-series engine?
This 'pie-in-the-sky engine project of mine is not yet dead; the owner of the diesel VW did not blow a fuse when I lo-balled my offer. I suggested she sit on the price until such time that another better offer might come in. But it's been advertised 2 1/2 months already and most folks just give up and then donate their cars to the Fire Department (tax receipt for $150) or to a local college for the same value or allow a salvage yard to take it away for free. Or, heaven forbid someone discovers that all it needs is a bit of welding, bondo and some brake/suspension parts and TLC and also picks it up cheap.