Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi,

I have a Traveller for restoration and would like to add a diesel engine to this with a manual gearbox.

Can anyone suggest a suitable engine and gearbox?

The car will hopefully become a daily runabout so needs to be relatively user friendly and economical - I plan to also convert to run on vegetable

I currently have a Rover 220SD with an L Series Diesel Engine not sure if this is suitable or not when mounted in line its rather large or what RWD gearbox could be mated to it.


Sorry if this is posted in the wrong place and also if its been asked many times before. I did do a search of the forums but couldn't find a definitive answer.

Thanks,

Barry

The smallest diesel you could hope to use would be the 1.4 litre from the Metro (and various others) - but you would have to match it up to a gearbox. It certainly can run on veggy oil.

The Perkins Prima engine was also fitted in Sherpa/LDV vans, and it was bolted to the Rover LT77 box, later LDVs came with the Peugeot XUD engine, also bolted to an LT77.
It might be worth also looking at the Isuzu lump fitted to some Vauxhalls, it will bolt up to an Omega box, or a Ford Type 9 with an appropriate bellhousing (there's one somewhere on here with a 1.7TD Isuzu engine).

There was someone breaking a diesel Metro on here very recently.

It really would be interesting to see what it would take to put that diesel engine onto a Minor gearbox!

Thanks for the reply guys (and gals),

Interesting options, I was also thinking about a Citroen AX diesel, they do 1.5 and I think a 1.4.

Certainly don't think it would match up with a std Morris gearbox, I'm told they're pretty weak in 1st gear.
The low down torque of a diesel would trash the gearbox in no time.

There was a diesel traveller in a copy of Practical Classics, but it had a strange 3 gear auto box in it??

Problem at the mo is I'm too busy fixing our other vehicles to get to the traveller. Got a Hyundai will a kn***kered lift pump / sender unit and a water hose has just blown on my Transit!!

It's the same engine in the AX as in the Metro - at least the 1.4 version anyway. I think the 1.5 is just a 'grown up' version and probably much better - although possibly not the absolute best for economy. Top speed of course will be seriously hampered by engine revs - so a 3.7 final drive will be essential - and probably stuck with ~70 mph tops. But then - that is the national speed limit anyway! Good news is - with the diesel you probably wouldn't need 1st gear very often - just start in 2nd. I was suggesting it as the cheapest/easiest way to get good cheap motoring. Possibly a simple adapter plate between the gearbox and the engine would suffice - although would depend obviously on the crankshaft/flywheel arrangement of the diesel. I would love to get my hands on one to play around with it!

Hi, have a look here, http://community.webshots.com/user/mogmad56 405 1.9 td engine mated to a FSO Caro gearbox and Escort rear axle with a 3.54 diff, plenty MPG, plenty torque and plenty fast
Andy

Did you have to modify the chassis/tunnel/gearbox tunnel Andy to get it all in ?? Will it run on cheap veggy oil ??
I was hoping you would be at East Fortune this year - so I could have a good look at it!

Sounds like a lot of trouble for no/little benefit.

If you need diesel economy, then just run a small diesel car as an everyday runabout and restore the Traveller as a fun/ show/ nice day car. One of the many great things about the Minor is the A series engine- and with 45mpg economy on a run I can't see the point in fitting a diesel.

Well - I can't get anywhere near 45 mpg. And even my super efficient/sleek shape modern only manages 44 mpg running average. So I seriously doubt anyone gets a genuine 45 mpg from a Minor - unless driving at 40 mph.........

I can't see the point in fitting a diesel.

The possibility of running on veg oil could get very interesting as time goes by.
The original diesel engine was run on peanut oil, but non common rail engines seem to work fine on any clean veg oil.

I wanted to fit a Diesel engine to see if it can be done.

The reason for the Rover spare, is just that I already have one spare and would scrap my current 220sd to use as a donor.

I currently run the Rover on pure, clean vegetable oil, (Bought at cash and carry for approx 75p per litre) using a 2 tank preheat system from Dieselveg

Car runs fine - Its done an 80mile round trip from Exeter to Plymouth 4 times a week for the past 2.5 years.

I wouldn't expect the traveller to do this though as I'm looking for work closer to home.

I also would not recommend using vegetable oil in a modern common rail engine.

I'll look out for the Metro / Citroen AX diesel - the citroens seem pretty cheap on Ebay..

Well done at 75p/litre! How many miles do you get per litre ?

Hi,

Used to get it at 50p a litre from super markets until the price rocketed inline with diesel. Looked a bit of a prat with a trolley full at the checkout though

I don't really keep a check on mpg but I reckon its similar to diesel, probably around 35mpg. I use about 40 litres of chip fat per week.

bmcecosse wrote:Did you have to modify the chassis/tunnel/gearbox tunnel Andy to get it all in ?? Will it run on cheap veggy oil ??
I was hoping you would be at East Fortune this year - so I could have a good look at it!

Just a chunk out of the bulkhead cross member and much the same as the Fiat conversion Bosch pumped Pugs run well on veg oil ,a bit quieter and mpg/power down a fraction. As for East Fortune I was busy with work

chickenjohn wrote:Sounds like a lot of trouble for no/little benefit.

I can't see the point in fitting a diesel.

John, if you are ever in my neck of the woods, look me up and get a test drive in a 100+bhp-200lbs/ft torque Morris van , then you might change your opinion, it's a great laugh , if nothing else

So I seriously doubt anyone gets a genuine 45 mpg from a Minor - unless driving at 40 mph.........

45mpg is proven and documented so often that it's like saying the world is flat despite the evidence to say it is round.

I've had 47mpg with a 1098 in an LCV using a high ratio diff - average cruising speed 55 to 60 mph. Mileage verified with 2 other Minors. The engine was however running lean and I got 44mpg after richening the mixture.

Incredible then that over all these years - neither of my modern 'lean burn'/high comp ratio/ohc/fuel injection cars with high gearing/5 gears/slick shape/low rolling resistance tyres etc etc can beat 45 mpg. And I don't thrash them either. Perhaps the mileometer readings were not accurate ??

The problem is that as cars have got more efficient they have also got weighed down with features.
Air-con, power steering, electric windows and all the safety stuff have all conspired to make cars heavier.

One of the most economical cars I've owned was a Mk1 diesel Golf which was easily capable of doing over 50mpg at motorway speeds.
Look how much weight the Golf has put on over the years;

Mk1 830 kg = 1826 lbs
Mk6 1318 kg = 2899.6 lbs

One of the best ways to reduce your mpg is to do short journeys and town/city driving.
On short journeys the engine is less efficient as the oil is still thick until it reaches full temperature
In town driving you waste nearly all your energy via the brakes by stopping at junctions

On proper long journeys (e.g. 55 to 60mph in a Minor) over a few hundred miles with almost no stopping, good mpg should be easy to reach as long as the engine is well serviced and the carb is set correctly. My 47mpg was with a tired and slightly smokey 1098, so engine condition is much less relevant that driving conditions.