Posted By: larrymopar360
'74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 04:16 PM
The time, effort and expense people will go through for certain projects...I don't understand but more power to them.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/655102639761734/?
Posted By: not_a_charger
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 05:15 PM
"You know what's wrong with this car? It's not slow enough. I know how to fix that."
Posted By: topside
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 05:17 PM
Wonder if that's a case of "idle hands", or "hey, we have this laying around"...
Or maybe they just needed to slow the car down from its hairy Slant-6 days
Posted By: stumpy
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 05:50 PM
There was a period of time when there were lots of diesel swaps into cars. The reason was gas prices vs diesel fuel cost.
Posted By: larrymopar360
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 06:02 PM
Wonder if that's a case of "idle hands", or "hey, we have this laying around"...
Or maybe they just needed to slow the car down from its hairy Slant-6 days
I think this is probably the case; we have this engine and this might be fun. And also there is the expensive going through so many rear tires as you mentioned
Posted By: NITROUSN
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 07:20 PM
I kind of like it. Might be a economical cheap daily driver.
Posted By: larrymopar360
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/19/23 10:50 PM
I kind of like it. Might be a economical cheap daily driver.
I have to admit I kind of am intrigued by it too. I'd never do the swap myself but it's kind of cool.
Posted By: IMGTX
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/20/23 12:46 AM
"You know what's wrong with this car? It's not slow enough. I know how to fix that."
Moparts Gold right there.
Posted By: 360view
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/20/23 12:44 PM
Having owned a Dodge 4wd (1977?) with the Mitsu “forklift” diesel I chuckle.
My employees hated that pickup because it barely crawled up our steep gravel road hills.
They beat up and mistreated it hoping to kill it.
I gave in and auctioned it off, brought $1100.
Thing is, I continued to see that black Dodge diesel running on local roads for at least 15 more years.
To replace it I bought from Memphis Equipment a refurbished US Army 4x4 pickup.
Super stiff arched leaf spring packs.
Would jar the fillings out of your teeth.
Employees complained about that too.
One day I noticed that 3 leafs had disappeared at each corner.....
Posted By: Jer
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/20/23 10:59 PM
Wait, is that a turbo-Diesel in there? While never a swap for Car Craft, magazines like Popular Mechanics and the like often had articles and how-tos on swaps to Diesel engines and electric motors during the 'gas crunch' years.
Posted By: 360view
Re: '74 Valiant with Mercedes Diesel - 04/21/23 02:01 PM
As I have written before,
I would like to swap a Deutz air cooled diesel into a mini pickup truck.
Deutz air cooled diesel powered ‘trash pumps” really impressed me.
Easy start in freezing weather, durable.
I understand in Europe there were Deutz powered farm tractors.
It might be a “death wish” but a air cooled Deutz diesel powered Kitfox STOL airplane might be a better fate than years of Dementia.
I have read about Soviet WW-II era diesel engine bomber airplanes.
I have never ever seen a more complicated vacuum system than what some of those Mercedes 300D cars had as standard equipment, even though turbo diesels do not generate a vacuum like gasoline engined autos do.