Old-Skool Diesels Thread

[strangehighways]

Right. Please can anyone who reads this list their diesel experiences and any dirty derv beasts you want to own/have owned.I want to own/drive the following diesels:-- Ford Granada MK2 diesel (they do exist but are so rare I wonder if a single one is left. I remember reading in What Car from the early 80s that it had a top speed of 75 mph!- Ford Transit mid 90s and earlier.- Ford Escort 1.6D. If anyone can find one of these for sale in the UK I will be surprised. I know there are a few vans around but I can't find any cars.- Citroen Visa D - It's a Citroen Visa! It looks horrific and with a diesel engine it truly would be the worst car imaginable.- Vauxhall Astra Mk 1 D- VW Golf MK 1 D- Ford Sierra 2.3D - would love an early 3 door in beige.- Peugeot 205 D turbo - This is actually a great car, and I want to own this because it is genuinely good.- Talbot Tagora DThe list goes on and on. Listen to this beast starting..

[Albert Ross]

From your list, I have owned a few...Sierra 2.3 D Mk2Pug 205 1.7 D LHD (No turbo though)Mk1 Astra Diesel. great for filling the road with smoke at 5:30 AM on a shift.................!!Escort Mk4 van (ex Post Office) 1.6DAnd many more besides.

[FredTransit]

Came to diesels quite late, about a decade ago when we converted our first pinto petrol transit to a DI diesel. Since then only have had DIs, had one York but not for long.

[Milford Cubicle]

I think Citroen Visa diesels were pretty highly rated when new. If only for the engine.I have owned a few non-turbo diesels, including a Nissan Primera 2.0D which was the most sluggish car I've ever owned.

[bones96]

ive had H reg sierra sapphire 1.8 td M reg escort 1.8td and also driven my mates mk2 transit beavertail recovery truck with a york diesel in it

[strangehighways]

From your list, I have owned a few...Sierra 2.3 D Mk2Pug 205 1.7 D LHD (No turbo though)Mk1 Astra Diesel. great for filling the road with smoke at 5:30 AM on a shift.................!!Escort Mk4 van (ex Post Office) 1.6DAnd many more besides.

What was the Sierra like?? I am hoping you will say it was slow, noisy and crap!! I want one.

[wuvvum]

Citroen Visas are great, and not actally that slow with the 1769cc XUD engine. I've not had many old diesels really. I had a Citroen CX DTR Turbo estate that sounded like a skeleton wanking in a biscuit tin but went like the clappers, and a couple of Volvo 740/940 TDs with the old Volkswagen LT engine - pull like a train, smoke like a Deltic at full chat. I had a 305 diesel but that was an XUD engine which is pretty refined really - my current daily 406 uses basically the same engine. I'd love a 504 or even a 404 diesel some day.Most of the other diesels I've owned have been commercials - had a couple of Freight Rovers, one with a Land Rover engine and one with the old Peugeot Indenor - both noisy, smelly and glacially slow. Had two Dodge 50 recovery trucks, one with a 4.236 and one with a Phaser, and a Commer Walkthrough burger van again with a 4.236. Couple of Ford D Series too, both 6-pot versions. Everything else I've had in diesel flavour has been much more modern and refined.

[bigstraight6]

I've had two Peugeot 306 oil belchers, a 1997 non-blown and a 1994 blown, which did actually blow up when the cambelt failed no such worries with our current diesel for the last three and a half years, a 1994 BMW 325 TD with a fantastic straight 6 chain driven donk!......

[wuvvum]

Oops, forgot to include the three Rover 825Ds I've had - 2.5-litre pushrod VM engine, best towcar I've ever owned. I suppose I could also include the Scorpio Ultima TD - more modern but still with the VM lump.

[Guest]

Wuvvum, what was in the Rayton Fissore Magnum you had (and where did it end up) ?

[warren t claim]

Ok here's my few,Escort 1.6d. Not bad, Amazing economy and not too embarassing to live with.Nissan Bluebird.Ex taxi, 250,000 miles and VERY slow! Not very economical, had to run on red to make it worthwhile.BX Estate non turbo.OK to drive but blew it's brains out after being driven flat out for 75 miles!Pug 405 non turbo.My first taxi! VERY unreliable, the only thing that didn't go wrong was the engine.Montego turbo.Excellent! 50mpg and very nippy. Only got rid because it was up to it's age limit and no PAS.Xantia 1.9td.Put a hole in it's block with just 120,000 miles on the clock! Just before the Xmas rush. Nice to drive though.Pug 306 non turbo.Very good on fuel and nippy as well. Pity it snapped it's cambelt at 65,000 miles. uber pricey to get fixed and no end of electrical gremlins.Mondeo 1.8td275,000 trouble free miles. Only needed a change of injection pump once.

[Milford Cubicle]

Those Rover 825Ds are great, I'd love another one.

[wuvvum]

Wuvvum, what was in the Rayton Fissore Magnum you had (and where did it end up) ?

That was a 2.5 Fiat SOFIM engine out of an Iveco Turbo Daily. The earlier Raytons did have the VM lump though. I sold it on eBay to a chap who was going to use it as a runaround on his farm - I think he was in Essex somewhere. Was a shame really as it would have been a great car once it was sorted, but the bodywork really was too far gone for me to do anything with it. You've just jogged my memory re another old diesel I had though - a 1982 Range Rover with a 2.5 Peugeot TD out of a 505. Painfully slow.

[M'coli]

Metro 1.4D. No power, great ride, great handling, ended my ownership with a great hole in the headgasket...

[pogweasel]

Mmmm, grim old diesels. GR8 4 HOLDING EVRY 1 UP. Worst I've had was the SIII Land Rover with the 2.25 dizzle. Utterly appalling. Mind you the comedy bonnet-vented tractor exhaust belching soot didn't help. I think the rest of the deeezel stuff I have run is all new-ish. Had a stint with a 1.8 na fiesta van, I actually rather liked that. Then into the realms of OMG TURBO stuff, inc Astra Mk3 (with the Isuzu unit), that was really good, and the Mk4's which really really weren't. That said, my mate had a 2.0 one (as opposed to the GM 1.7 I had) and that went like stink. Also we've had 2 Focus TDDI's - all the comforts and techy stuff of a modern car, coupled to a stinky, rattley non-common-rail lump that whilst unrefined in current terms will run to the moon and back several times over. Current is a Renner Kangoo with a dreadful common-rail DCi thing. It's well thrashy, and the vehicle itself is wank - handles worse than a marina on bald crossplies.

[warren t claim]

Mmmm, grim old diesels. GR8 4 HOLDING EVRY 1 UP. Worst I've had was the SIII Land Rover with the 2.25 dizzle. Utterly appalling. Mind you the comedy bonnet-vented tractor exhaust belching soot didn't help. I think the rest of the deeezel stuff I have run is all new-ish. Had a stint with a 1.8 na fiesta van, I actually rather liked that. Then into the realms of OMG TURBO stuff, inc Astra Mk3 (with the Isuzu unit), that was really good, and the Mk4's which really really weren't. That said, my mate had a 2.0 one (as opposed to the GM 1.7 I had) and that went like stink. Also we've had 2 Focus TDDI's - all the comforts and techy stuff of a modern car, coupled to a stinky, rattley non-common-rail lump that whilst unrefined in current terms will run to the moon and back several times over. Current is a Renner Kangoo with a dreadful common-rail DCi thing. It's well thrashy, and the vehicle itself is wank - handles worse than a marina on bald crossplies.

Sell the Kangoo and get something like a Rancho or a Tercel 4wd thingy. In metallic brown.

[VWPowered]

Mk2 Golf 1.6D - pants

Mk2 Golf GTD - much better (still pulled like a train at 430,000kms)

B4 Passat 1.9TDi's - Have one for parts and a daily for the misses and cant fault it, well apart from the fact i have to change the gearbox and a CV boot (will just swap the shafts instead ) not bad for a €700 motor thats now done 470,000 kms

 

Rover 418 SLD Tourer - great but not so great peugeot lump, snapped cam in three places..

 

cant think of any other diesels i've owned so nothing thats made a real impression but then again i'm more of a driving man than a fuel watcher

 

edit 2.4D VW LT (1983 99,000miles, good battery always starts on the button but never goes anywhere )

 

1997 Transit 2.5Di, Army Green, now sat in my barn as secure storage

[pogweasel]

Sell the Kangoo and get something like a Rancho or a Tercel 4wd thingy. In metallic brown.

LOLOLOL. I would love a brown Rancho. HOwever, you do not own a rancho, merely keep it in trust for future generations of shiters. I could not bring myself to subject such intense shite to the sort of abuse meated out to my 'survey wagons' - beasted up & down motorways, thrashed round country lanes, left to the mercy of construction site traffic and generally filled with damp equipment & damp blokes at this time of year - it wouldn't last a year!I am contemplating something more hatchbacky, maybe a Clio/Festier/106 type van, but finding a turbo'd one at sensible money is hard work!

[warren t claim]

Sell the Kangoo and get something like a Rancho or a Tercel 4wd thingy. In metallic brown.

LOLOLOL. I would love a brown Rancho. HOwever, you do not own a rancho, merely keep it in trust for future generations of shiters. I could not bring myself to subject such intense shite to the sort of abuse meated out to my 'survey wagons' - beasted up & down motorways, thrashed round country lanes, left to the mercy of construction site traffic and generally filled with damp equipment & damp blokes at this time of year - it wouldn't last a year!I am contemplating something more hatchbacky, maybe a Clio/Festier/106 type van, but finding a turbo'd one at sensible money is hard work!

C15 Visa! In white. Just add turbo!

[Rusty Pelican]

Next door neighbours got a C15 diesel van , ready to pounce when and if he sells it

[Guest]

Something like a white Fabia estate with some white sticky-backed plastic covering the rear side windows Pog? Guaranteed futureshite

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Mark 1 Mondeo TD's are great cars. They go well and are economical.The Austin Maelstrom with the non blown Dorothy Perkins lump was as tough as boots, went okayish and was okay on fuel. The Montagu with the turbocharged Perk was really very good for it's time.The 2.3D Sierras were fucking awful. What were they thinking? I would imagine the 2.1D Grandads were indescribable.I would love to have a go in an Austin A60 Cambridge 1.5 B Series Diesel.

[j-j]

I had a NON turbo Diesel AUTOmatic Xantioid that was disgustingly slow! It was tremendous with ironic sporty front fogs. Slower than a week in the klink but had a really nice unmarked velour interior.It was ace around town but terrifyingly slow on the motorway - struggled to get out of its own way! not that loud though..latterday shite and chuffed down straight veg oil back when that was cheap

[VWPowered]

ahh i forgot we had 2 21's both 2.1 non turb's, one saloon phase 1, one nevada phase 2, both sluggish, slow, uninspiring cars to live with and drive but both would do 1200kms+ on a tank of diesel

[Barry Cade]

I once had to drive a Mahindra 2.1D from Edinburgh to Inverness, in winter,in the dark. The alternator light was brighter than the headlamps. It had bucket seats with 4 point harnesses,and being over 6 feet tall, this made my head contact the plastic roof..which flapped like a flag in a force 9 at over 20 mph. It had no heater. 190 miles of utter,utter hell. The headache lasted 3 days.Current ride is a Merc 190D 2.0. 72 beeaitchpee. Love it!

[Richard]

a couple of Volvo 740/940 TDs with the old Volkswagen LT engine - pull like a train, smoke like a Deltic at full chat.

I'm trying to work out if mine needs attention or if "they all do that sir". Mine seems quite slow and smokes a bit when it's off boost, is that normal? Once the turbo kicks in it goes well enough.The most inappropriate diesel I've ever had was a seven seat Renault Savanna with the same 1.9 non-turbo they put in the Clio. It was surprisingly sprightly and refined and consistently managed 45mpg even the way I drove.Since 2001 I've had nothing but diesels but none of them were proper old-school.

[barrett]

I had a Citroen CX DTR Turbo estate that sounded like a skeleton wanking in a biscuit tin but went like the clappers

that made me crack up!on topic, wasn't there a rover SD1 D? 2.4 or something like that. doubt there are any left, but surely thats a bit of solid gold diesel shite?

[brammy777]

I had a Citroen CX DTR Turbo estate that sounded like a skeleton wanking in a biscuit tin but went like the clappers

that made me crack up!on topic, wasn't there a rover SD1 D? 2.4 or something like that. doubt there are any left, but surely thats a bit of solid gold diesel shite?

There was a diesel SD1 on ebay a few weeks back, was very nice indeed.That said theres apparently less than 10 left.I just realised, i have only experianced Vauxhall Diesels.Vectra estate, Frontera and Brava. Im guessing thats not good.

[stormee]

For me a 1978-1980 PassatGLD or LX-D please! There's exactly one of them left, I bet!Would be the best money box, almost no tax and max. MPG!

[Milford Cubicle]

Yo Richard you need to wind the boost and fuelling up. Remove the exhaust back box to make it more responsive off-boost too.Speaking of shite diesels, has anyone tried the supercharged Mazda diesel of the mid '90s? They never really took off, but I imagine they have pretty seamless acceleration unlike the contemporary turbo diesels.