The only issue I seem to have is with refueling the vehicle. NJ is a full serve state (no self serve at the pump). I have to argue with the attendant for about a minute about filling it with diesel. The local station to the shop is no issue. They are used to seeing all the Fieros and modded German cars we build.
Dave
Paul Graz was at a WaWa a few weeks ago that sells diesel and noticed the diesel pumps were labelled as "self serve." The Valero I usually go to has gotten used to me pumping it myself. While I used to like having t pumped for me and not getting the smell on my hands, my impatience finally won out. When I had my Cummins, the attendants wouldn't even approach the pump - they just assumed self-serve.
sorry I wasn't able to make it up to see the car on Sat. Spent all day hanging sheetrock...
Not much of updates to list. I've been driving the TDI home everyday and we have been using it to run errands at the shop. Yesterday we added some Dynaliner to the underside of the decklid to insulate it. It didn't really need it, but I thought it may keep some of the diesel noise to a minimum.
I plan on doing a walkaround video today and posting up a video or two this weekend. We plan to put a few hundred miles on it this weekend again to make sure that all the bugs are worked out.
Dave
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 05-08-2013).]
Sorry about the video delay. I am having issues editing the Gopro footage. Either my netbook can't handle the length of the video or something else is up. I've used that netbook prior, but it is giving me issues.
So far, all but one final issue has been resolved and we expect to have that issue resolved today. All of us take the car home for a day and drive it. Then we discuss any improvements over breakfast and work out the bugs.
The car is very torquey and a blast to drive. Our errand running and city fuel mileage is around 35mpg so far and I can't wait to see what it gets on the highway.
All the bugs have been officially resolved and here is a video of me driving it around my town.
I plan to take a walkaround video soon to show the work that we had put into the build. If all goes well on the next 500 miles, the car will be available for sale. I will document the fuel mileage, 0-60 times etc.
That was cool. Any idea what your going to be asking for it? Im gearing up to work on mine again, but first have to get another engine in a Suburban that takes priority.
Nothing new to report other than that we have been driving it daily with no issues so far. We plan to do a long highway run this weekend with it to see the fuel mileage. The Formula didn't have cruise control, but the wiring is there to hook it up in the TDI ecu.
I plan to have the car ready for sale after this weekend and I will email and pm everyone who sent me emails and pm's with interest.
Ryan and I took it for a long run this morning and we achieved 55.2 mpg on our run. He took the car for the rest of the weekend to put another few hundred miles on it. At 60-80mph the car is actually quieter and smoother than the stock Fiero. I said to him that it didn't feel like I was in a Fiero anymore. I guess the liquid filled engine mounts are doing their jobs
Dave
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 05-11-2013).]
Wow 55 MPG in a Fiero Formula. The best of both worlds. A sporty handling car with fuel economy! With that type of economy why would you want an electric car with limited mileage per charge? Guru I foresee a problem for you. People are going to want you to do this to other Formulas and GTs. 55 MPG sure beats the 21-23 I get with an 87 GT, and I have to run 93 octane which is about the same price as diesel here in Michigan. Hmmmm.
Steve W Grand Rapids, MI 87 GT 3800SC
[This message has been edited by solotwo (edited 05-12-2013).]
Wow 55 MPG in a Fiero Formula. The best of both worlds. A sporty handling car with fuel economy! With that type of economy why would you want an electric car with limited mileage per charge? Guru I foresee a problem for you. People are going to want you to do this to other Formulas and GTs. 55 MPG sure beats the 21-23 I get with an 87 GT, and I have to run 93 octane which is about the same price as diesel here in Michigan. Hmmmm.
Steve W Grand Rapids, MI 87 GT 3800SC
Steve, the sad part is that we compared the tdi to a stock 2.8 with the auto trans and the tdi is actually quicker off the line.....and it can do a burnout like you wouldn't believe.
quote
Originally posted by CoolBlue87GT:
Nice, good job. So about 500 miles to a tank on the hwy ?
Did you guys figure how accurate the fuel gauge is ? Is 1/4 empty, or is E actually empty ? Does the VW hardware/software give it a low fuel warning ?
How much of a drag is the A/C on the car ? Was it on for the hwy 55.2 mpg test ?
500 miles to a tank is reasonable.
The fuel gauge is accurate. It is full when it reads full and it is on empty when it is empty. There is the ability to add in the low fuel light (if I recall). I don't believe I hooked it up, but I can.
The a/c was off for the test as it was 60 degrees and rainy out. The a/c compressor doesn't bog down the engine at all, so I assume that the mileage loss won't be substantial.
We had to modify the VW cooling system as the engine wouldn't come up to temperature at all. I took the stock VW thermostat and cut it out to be free flowing. We then added an in line thermostat to the upper radiator hose (it uses a SBC 195 degree) and the engine now comes up to temp properly and the fuel economy jumped to the 55pmg once that was done.
All the bugs seem to have been worked out and now we are just making some slight changes and testing the reliability of it. If it is anything like my VR6 swap, then we should have no issues. We put almost 30,000 miles on it right after it was built.
All the maintenance has been completed. Timing belt with water pump, filters, fluids, glow plugs, brakes (including new rear calipers and stainless braided hoses, alignment, heater core, turbo, and much more.
I belong to a network of ONLY German repair shop owners all over the country and I can find a shop that will work on the car anywhere it gets sold to.
Dave
[This message has been edited by bmwguru (edited 05-12-2013).]
Has the glow plug technology changed over the years ?
With my Jetta & Rabbit, I remember waiting 15 - 20 sec for the glow plug light to go out before starting. I also remember hearing that when the light has gone out, the plugs are still powered for 10 more seconds or so to aid with starting.
[This message has been edited by CoolBlue87GT (edited 05-12-2013).]
Yes, The ALH tdi engine doesn't use the glow plugs unless it is below 40 degrees outside. Some people have soldered in resistors to aid the startup, but that is normally because there was another issue causing the hard start such as a bad coolant temp sensor, injection pump timing not in spec...etc
My tdi will start in temps well below freezing, even with 300k on the engine. Ive replaced the glow plugs twice snd the harness once. It's happier when I can plug it in (I added an aftermarket coolant heater), but its not required.
Do you know of a shop in PA that will give it inspection stickers? That would be the biggest hurdle for me, especially if I wanted to daily drive it. My bone stock '88 325is won't pass the dyno emissions test on pre-OBDII cars required in my area (the tests in PA vary quite a bit depending on where you live). I doubt a diesel swapped car would.
Now the $64,000 question: how much do think you'll charge for a conversion like this? To be honest, this appeals to me more than the Smyth G3F kit car.
[This message has been edited by Ian F (edited 05-14-2013).]
Ian has a point there. In our part of PA a car this old with OBD1 only has to pass the gas cap test for emmisions. I guess you could sneek it through. Are the gas caps different for gas to diesel? If the hole in the filler tube is the only thing modified, it should go right through. With the right shop of course ------------------ Mark Hoagland 86 1/2 GT 3.4 5-speed 355 nose and tailights REAL bright yellow
84 SE Convertible
[This message has been edited by foxgapfiero (edited 05-14-2013).]
Newbie here - I'm also doing an 88 TDI swap - mine is a GT, 5spd - I just started a new thread on it. It's an ALH TDI out of an 01 Jetta, 5spd.
First of all, thanks, this build thread has been a tremendous help and I have done a lot of things similar, but some different. A couple of differences, other than the obvious transmission type difference, is that I want to keep the stock Fiero gauge cluster, and I'm going to keep the battery in the stock Fiero location. I'm not using the VW battery; I was able to fit a larger than stock Fiero group 78 battery.
The kid I bought the Jetta from spent some bucks hopping it up - has the larger Garrett 17 turbo (it may even be the 17/22? hybrid), larger intercooler, and tuning.
I've got the drivetrain in, and am trying to finish cleaning things up to start test driving it, which leads to a couple ?s for you:
I've also noticed it doesn't want to warm up, and I've also removed the EGR. You mention modifying the TDI thermostat - could you just remove it altogether?
How did you add a thermostat to the upper rad hose - are you using an aftermarket in-line housing? Is it installed at the engine or up by the radiator?
How are your heater hoses routed? I've currently got one coming from the TDI port with the coolant glow plugs and the other routed to the back of the engine (stock TDI heater core return). I plugged the Fiero heater core return that's on the pass side coolant pipe.
Thanks and I hope to be joining you in driving one soon.
Newbie here - I'm also doing an 88 TDI swap - mine is a GT, 5spd - I just started a new thread on it. It's an ALH TDI out of an 01 Jetta, 5spd.
First of all, thanks, this build thread has been a tremendous help and I have done a lot of things similar, but some different. A couple of differences, other than the obvious transmission type difference, is that I want to keep the stock Fiero gauge cluster, and I'm going to keep the battery in the stock Fiero location. I'm not using the VW battery; I was able to fit a larger than stock Fiero group 78 battery.
The kid I bought the Jetta from spent some bucks hopping it up - has the larger Garrett 17 turbo (it may even be the 17/22? hybrid), larger intercooler, and tuning.
I've got the drivetrain in, and am trying to finish cleaning things up to start test driving it, which leads to a couple ?s for you:
I've also noticed it doesn't want to warm up, and I've also removed the EGR. You mention modifying the TDI thermostat - could you just remove it altogether?
How did you add a thermostat to the upper rad hose - are you using an aftermarket in-line housing? Is it installed at the engine or up by the radiator?
How are your heater hoses routed? I've currently got one coming from the TDI port with the coolant glow plugs and the other routed to the back of the engine (stock TDI heater core return). I plugged the Fiero heater core return that's on the pass side coolant pipe.
Thanks and I hope to be joining you in driving one soon.
Joe.
I modified the VW thermostat to be a slight restriction and added a thermostat to the driver's side. The hotter it runs, the happier it runs. I try to keep it running at 90-95 degrees centigrade.
I used the VW expansion tank and ran the heater lines just as they were in the Jetta. The exception was the heater core return because it is an 88. It was easy to do.
We didn't go with a performance build as we have $10,000 of our own money sitting in the car currently and we plan to sell it with somewhat of a profit when it is done All the maintenance is current for the next 60,000 miles other than the 5,000 mile oil changes.
I wasn't necessarily looking for a 'hot rod' TDI - I always thought my 99 and 03 had plenty of performance stock.
So far I'm not too fond of the tuning, based on the little I was able to drive the wrecked Jetta, and with my first test run in the Fiero. It seems very smokey, maybe due to turbo lag associated with the larger intercooler and longer intake piping. I'm hoping that will improve once I get it to run at correct temp. I need to get my boost and EGT gauge hooked as well, to see what it's running.
Ours was smokey at first, but now there is no black smoke at all. It runs like a stock Jetta with a bit more pep. I plan to take a few more out of car videos for you guys
I listed the car on ebay. I'm really not in a rush to sell it as I enjoy driving it, but I'd like to recoup the money that I put out, so I listed it. We have been using it everyday to drive customers home and run errands.
Here is the link to the auction. I kinda rushed the listing and plan to add interior photos to it.
So who won the car? Dave, do not answer. I wanna see the guesses.
Well, I'm not to good at guessing, but it looks like a bunch of guys were interested !
quote
Originally posted by pHoOl:
I look forward to seeing this swap done as well... always thought a diesel Fiero would make a great handling daily driver.
quote
Originally posted by DougC:
I've been wondering if a swap like this would ever be done... I'd love to have a fiero that smells like french fries
quote
Originally posted by 852m4se:
looks great dave. cant wait to see it done and performing in person.
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Originally posted by Fierofreak00:
DEAL!
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Originally posted by Ian F:
Looks great! Can't wait to see it in person.
quote
Originally posted by Dotrenrew:
That is probably one of the best swaps I've read about on here.
Now I want one.
quote
Originally posted by sleevePAPA:
rolling coal in a Fiero, now thats freaking awesome!!!!
quote
Originally posted by thismanyfieros:
Thats just effin cool.. Nice work Dave...
quote
Originally posted by FieroMaster88:
I would love to have a Fiero with this swap!
quote
Originally posted by FieroMaster88:
I want this car! The wife would kill me if I bought it tho I'm sure.
quote
Originally posted by Purple86GT:
I want to see that thing driving!!! Being to owner of a TDI and several Fieros, this has to be one of the most exciting swaps I've seen!
Now for some injectors, a tune and a VNT 17! :P
quote
Originally posted by Burning Oil:
That was cool. Any idea what your going to be asking for it? Im gearing up to work on mine again, but first have to get another engine in a Suburban that takes priority.
quote
Originally posted by solotwo:
Wow 55 MPG in a Fiero Formula. The best of both worlds. A sporty handling car with fuel economy! With that type of economy why would you want an electric car with limited mileage per charge? Guru I foresee a problem for you. People are going to want you to do this to other Formulas and GTs. 55 MPG sure beats the 21-23 I get with an 87 GT, and I have to run 93 octane which is about the same price as diesel here in Michigan. Hmmmm.
-Jason
