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Small Engine Big Car


Conan

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31 minutes ago, Semi-C said:

Similarly, it’s believed that Ford threatened it’s Italian customers with a 940cc crossflow engined Mk2 Escort. You would think if any exist they’d be pretty easy to track down due to their inert performance.

IIRC, the Mk1 Escort was available in Italy with that lump. 

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I remember many years ago driving a Mercedes 190D with the 2.0litre nonturbo diesel engine and automatic transmission. I'd never driven anything so slow and I owned a 900cc VW Polo at the time so I knew a thing or two about slowness. Fortunately it wasn't the W123 200D with 55bhp and a 0 - 60 time of 31 seconds with manual transmission. The automatic version of that could probably have been measured in geological timescales.
Similar to this I drove a friends w124 estate an E220 I think that was converted to diesel using a non turbo 190D and autobox in Ireland and ended up in Caterham being used by a bathroom fitter as a workhorse. Junctions took planning and good timing for getaway.
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2 hours ago, willswitchengage said:

Citroen allegedly made a Netherlands-only BX 'Dommage' trim level in 1985 with the 954 cc engine, but there's almost no record of its existence.

I know they made a 1124cc version for markets with tax related to engine size at least had some grp panels to keep the weight down.

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19 minutes ago, Squirrel2 said:

At a company I used to work for the standard service engineers’ issue car was the 1.8 Carlton.  Heavy car with underpowered engine. They used to joke that they were ‘DEAD fast!’

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Squirrel2

My Dad's first Carlton was a 1.8GL which managed to mostly behave itself, including a holiday  to the Loire valley. 

The only major problem it had was a relay in the fuel injection circuit, which lead to it "kangarooing" as my Dad called it.  Not much fun when you are doing 70 mph the fast lane of a motorway.

While it was being sorted we had to all squeeze into a Mk2 Astra on a journey to see my Grandad.

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Just now, Richard_FM said:

Has anyone mentioned the 652cc bored out Citroen 2CV engine which was fitted in the Visa & LN yet?

I'm not sure if these were sold here, & only went to markets which favoured smaller engines, if you weren't in a hurry to get anywhere.

ah good shout! 

 @Six-cylinder owns a RHD 652cc Visa so I think they where sold here new!

 

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26 minutes ago, Squirrel2 said:

At a company I used to work for the standard service engineers’ issue car was the 1.8 Carlton.  Heavy car with underpowered engine. They used to joke that they were ‘DEAD fast!’

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Squirrel2

When my parents moved to Milton Keynes from London (when I was 12 months old), they used some of the money from selling their London house to buy an 18 month old D-reg Passat estate (D177BRP, I think). 1.6 8v carb, so 70hp? Maybe 80. 

This was their very first car and, to them, it was amazing. However, a number of years down the line, I was joined by my sister, and suddenly it was four-up in the Passat, with luggage, and it became exceptionally slow. The Passat was able to swallow a ludicrous amount of luggage, after all.

Anyway, for a brief period of time my dad worked for Lego, and was given a company car in the form of a brand new Vauxhall Carlton 1.8GLi. Compared to the Passat, he said, it was an absolute rocketship.

His job with Lego didn't last long, but eventually he ended up buying a second car for the family (because my mum went back to work), which ended up being a 1982 Audi 100 2.3CD, which (from memory) had a five-pot and around 140hp.

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This bloody thing!

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Which VW decided it was reasonable to propel with the same 1.6 engine as the previous generation Transporter...which wasn't exactly rapid to start with!  Something like 40bhp as I recall.

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It's the first thing I'd driven where the term "can't get out of its own way" really did apply!  0-50ish is about a minute.  Trying to pull out of a junction or onto a roundabout would be downright terrifying!

Did sound nice though.

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I've no idea how they are even remotely driveable. I have the same engine in mine which is 2300kg fully laden, and it's OK on the flat. Full throttle acceleration will allow me to keep up with general traffic, but as soon as there's anything resembling a hill I'm in trouble. I really can't imagine the misery of having another 700+KG to drag about.

 

I used to think all the bigger coachbuilt vans were 2.5D, but it turns out quite a few of them have the petrol engine.  I don't imagine the diesels are much better!

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Simca did 777 & 844cc engines in the 1000 and a 944cc engine in the 1100. Neither were huge cars but still pathetic engines for the size.


I personally think the small engine big car “economy” model is a con. Road tests of the 1.0 ecoboost mondeo certainly appear not to reach the diesel challenging fuel consumptions the makers promise, 40-45mpg being the norm according to most reviews, something easily obtained in an NA 1.6-1.8

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10 minutes ago, bunglebus said:

2.0 Cortina was faster and more economic than the 1.6

I can well believe that. My grandad always told me the smallest engine isn't always the cheapest to run, he told me the mk3 & mk4 Zephyr 6 was more economical thank the Zephyr 4, particularly when an overdrive was fitted, mainly because you didn't have to bury the loud pedal in the carpet to get it to move. Being a trader, motor engineer and a member of the Institute of the motor Industry from the 1950s to the 1980s grandad knew what was good, bad, thrifty or thirsty when he was in the trade.

Same rang true with the A-series Metro (1.3HLE being the most thrifty) and the Samba (1.1GL/LS) often vying for most economical car of the year, with a 1 litre engine available in both.

When mum's Jag XF (2.7 diesel) went for a recall a newer 3 litre diesel was loaned, and that was a hell of a lot thriftier by 3-4mpg urban and 8-9mpg on the motorway, though that may also be in part due to the latter having an 8-speed box keeping it in the economy band!

Anyway I digress. Sorry for derail

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A bigger engine with more torque at lower RPM can putz along at higher speed, with taller gearing and the engine turning more slowly. Draw in less fuel per distance that way.

In the antithesis of this thread but in that vein, that's how I could get mid 30's mpg from a car with a 5.7 litre engine in. Fit a bigger, lazier engine and overall economy will rise if you want to do more than drive the car at 20mph around a city centre.

 

Phil

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12 hours ago, Zelandeth said:

This bloody thing!

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Same. 

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1.6 litres of noisy aircooled misery without the power to face down a moderate headwind. It was probably merely slow in its original guise as a Belgian army minibus or whatever but loaded up with a full camper conversion and with a massive fibreglass roof that made it half as tall again, it was punitively slow to get anywhere. Drove from Kent to Manchester one time and I thought the journey would never end. 

I checked the MOT status and weirdly after being SORN for years (and I assumed rotten and forgotten somewhere) it appears to have a current MOT and a replacement 2 litre engine. If anyone spots it out and about please let me know: SKL 248W

 

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