1970 VW Baja 1.6 Diesel Engine Conversions

[Ratfink11]

Hi all,

looking for any info on 1.6l diesel conversions such as provided in pics below.
Any suggestions welcomed.

[Ratfink11]

Examples listed in gallery....

[enjoyther1de]

Cajon pass killer!
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HBB took me to BBV.

[Ratfink11]

[TDCTDI]

With the exception of running all the plumbing, it's a decent conversion. I would suggest additional support of the frame horns & even an extra mounting point to the rear cage to keep the extra weight of the engine from fatiguing the frame horns.

The only other issues are that the water outlet on the back of the cylinder head will interfere with the firewall, but this is used for the heater core so just drilling a 2" hole in the firewall for it to enter the cabin actually works to your advantage. And the other is that you will need to route a fuel return line back to the tank. For the fuel return line to the tank, I drilled a small hole in the bottom of tank just a few inches from the original fuel outlet, then I removed the original fuel fitting from the bottom of the tank, flipped it over (using the 90* bend in it to direct the returned fuel down in the tank) & brazed it into the hole I drilled. I then made another fuel outlet "tap" by brazing a washer to a larger piece of brake line that matched the diesels pump inlet that could now be fastened in the original outlet location on the tank.

Kennedy Engineered Products makes the adaptor, and, as I'm sure you know, the diesel uses the same mounting points as the 4 cylinder gas engine.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[dustymojave]

[Ratfink11]

Thanks for the info.
Not familiar enough with the off-road class and didn't get the reference. Most of my time off road is spent in the mountains...

[TDCTDI]

Unfortunately no pics are available of that car. I did use a vanagon rear heater unit with the blower motor on the drivers side under the rear seat, I was even able to pipe it in to the drivers side rocker so I could still have defrost.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[dustymojave]

So TDCTDI...That was your Baja with the diesel?

Ratfink, where are you located? enjoytheride is another SoCal offroader like me. Nothing to do with offroad racing or anything like that. He WAS referring to driving in the mountains, but on a major hiway. The Cajon Pass (pronounced "Cah-hone" - means box canyon) recently burned in a big brush fire. 35K acres. Burned a lot of rural homes.
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Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.

[TDCTDI]

No sir, I had an orange one that I built about 15 years ago & it was much less attractive.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[TDCTDI]

The IDI diesels & turbo diesels were a much simpler engine than even the air cooled engines, no points, spark plugs or wires to foul or fail, no need to adjust carb/s (& no flooding issues at severe angles) or even valve adjustments. The only additional thing was the cooling system. But most importantly, is the need for additional support for the extra weight of the diesel, the frame horns failed on mine.
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[dustymojave]

I've had frame horns fail on a Baja from supporting a VW aircooled magnesium case engine. Support is a good thing.
_________________
Richard
Offroading VW based cars since 1965
Tech Inspection 1963 - 2012 SCCA/SCORE/HDRA/MORE/MDR +
Retired from building Bajas, Fiberglass Buggies and Rails in the Mojave Desert. Also Sprints & Midgets, Dry Lakes, Road Race cars. All types New and Vintage
SoCalBajas Member
Kicked Cancer's A$$...1st and 2nd round...Fight ain't over yet.