1.8 diesel power ???????

[wolfie]

please dont anyone take offence to this

but

having owned a couple of diesel escort vans i always felt they were underpowered, i would never in a million years thought of using one in a camper due to this, are they really a good option?

[richbaker78]

well this is one for Covin, Jp and Alex really but having driven JPs bus (and towed my van on a trailer behind it - pics are on here somewhere) I have to say i was pleasantly surprised - the ford deisel is pretty torquey and does pull surprisingly well - obviously if you want all out performance these diesels arent the way however they are certainly an excellent budget option, available, cheap to run etc - it will be interestng to see what JPs TD goes like when he gets that in.

[Alex (FTS)]

yer there alright mate surprisingly. I put mine in because it was free and in my dads old car so I new the history of the engine and had the donour car for all the bits.

Mine cruises at 80mph (on a 2litre gearbox) on the motorway and will do a 100mph down a slight hill, its not that differant from the old escort and is pretty good at nipping around town. Hills are the problem a big hill can stop me in my tracks and slow me right down from 80-40mph which is anoying but hopefully a turbo will get us all around that problem!

They are very good on fuel I recon I'm getting 50 miles per gallon out of mine and I live in Cornwall so she gets alot of abuse being hammerd up and down the hills. Oh and they are really, really basic so they are a relatively easy engine to fit; no ecu, and very minimum electrics-but I guess that is the same for all old diesels.
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[Covin]

Yep... I think Alex has answered your question here ...

For Cost, Ecomomy, extra power and reasonably straight forward conversion you can't go wrong with a Ford Deisel or petrol engine IMO.

If your after something with more Grunt and good performance and your also willing to do brake uprades, cooling mods etc, Then you need to follow Rich's lead with the Subaru motor. The downside to this is COST but the end result is impressive.

If I'm completly honest and I had the money to spare I'd probably opt for the Subaru option. But as I've already got the Ford 1.8 CVH engine and adaptor plate kit sitting in my workshop that's what I'll be using for now. . . Future mods are always an option ....
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[wolfie]

i am still stunned lol

the ford lump in N/A is only 59 brake and 69 in turbo form

[Covin]

[steamo]

[jp]

From what I've heard Standard Diesel is 58bhp.. standard TD 70bhp and intercooled TD 90bhp (one I've gone for)

As Steamo says it's the Torque that gives it the benefit over standard AC engine or other petrol lumps.
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1971 Devon Bay with 1800 Ford Turbo Diesel Engine (wip)
1983 VW Golf GTI Campaign
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2013 Scirocco TDI GT

[wolfie]

Totally agree i cant think of anything worse than 20 mpg and 50 brake

i will have to catch up with one of these ford buses at a show i think although i see JP only lives 25 mins away , the ford diesel is appealing to me mainly because its easier to fit than others

[jp]

[wolfie]

swindon mate

[richbaker78]

blimey thats not far - I used to live nr Swindon (Minety)
you should pop over - our barn is actually nr melksham but still not far away. as you guessed we share a place so you get to see a scooby conversion in progress too and a nice shiny splitty - 3 for 1 cant say better than that.

Theres another ford diesel in progress in Malborough too funnily enough! see the Kool rides section.