As there's now a project diary section (thanks Chris) I thought I'd document my car. And so should you

DISCLAIMER My se7en contains a diesel engine - gasp, the horror etc. If you wouldn't fit a diesel in a kit car, then I'd recommend not fitting a diesel in a kit car



END DISCLAIMER

Here's where it all started back in 2004. I rented a barn from an old chap. The rent was something daft like £20 a month.



Engine and gearbox fitted:




Passed SVA in 2006



Fast forward to 2012 and I started to do an engine swap. XUD9TE, mechanical injection diesel:



This happened pretty quickly. A gearbox from an LDV pilot bolted on, and wiring is as simple as it gets





I then got everything lashed up - temp fuel lines, coolant hoses, rad, intercooler etc (MR2 intercooler)



After everything worked, I got it all sorted and passed MOT





Then came the first drive


It was great fun, tyres were cheap and old so traction was limited. When the boost kicks in it's hilarious.

Then I went to the last Newark kit car show:



I got the flathead screwdriver out and upped the power a bit, and modified the governor for higher revs. This made it better all round, but I was still at a moderate power level. Probably around 120bhp. I hit a cooling wall, my radiator was in a poor position and wasn't getting enough air flow. I decided to rethink the whole thing, fit a bigger rad, bigger intercooler. But before that, a bigger turbo and a supercharger were glued on.

I also I found one of these at the scrapyard:



They share engine ancestry, so the intake plenum fits (RWD) and so does the cylinder head. So on they went:









Now I'm getting around to fitting a new intercooler:



A bigger radiator will be fitted soon, then I can start to up the power a little.

Look forward to seeing a Dyno reading

Liking the evolution of it

I've only ever seen one derv powered kit car,it was some sort of MEV with a focus TD lump going around curborough,he ended up sideways quite a lot due to the torque

How have you worked the twin charger plumbing?

I've just gone turbo straight into supercharger, no bypass or blow off valves etc

Sounds brilliant

This is genius.

I think this is a great project.

I'd be really keen to see the power and torque curves!

Keep the updates coming.

A short write up of a Scotland roadtrip from August. What better way to test your car just after MOT and 4 years off the road than 1000 miles in a week?



We set off at about half 9. We pushed back departure 24 hours due to a couple of issues that needed sorting - leak off pipes, oil breather, installing a battery isolator and fitting a 12v + USB socket (proved to be very handy). The morning we left @ half 9:



An hour later in a layby off the A1:


The front right brake was binding slighty. Nothing major, and it was freed off in no time.

Co-op @ Balloch. The first of many 'Irn Bru Extra'



On the way up to Fort William




We took a 12v VHS player. Film Night was a regular campsite feature




Great roads


Old machinery at the roadside




The view from Applecross towards Skye


Applecross campsite








Ready for the return over Applecross pass


Top of Applecross pass
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What a great trip. The only real mechanical issue was the gear selector housing shearing off. A local garage in Lochcarron helped me out and welded it back up. Otherwise it was disappointingly faultless. I had my photo taken on the motorways and dozens of conversations with friendly folk asking what it was etc. Walkie talkies with a motorbike helmet adapter kit was brilliant, used all the time. I never knew how good a road trip was for figuring out what you want to improve on your car. Diff gearing needs sorting out soon as it was a little high on motorways. I measured fuel economy once from Greenock to Inveraray and was getting 46mpg.

The support car was a '97 Citroen ZX. It shares the same turbo'd XUD lump as my MK. 217k on the clock but she kept on going the whole trip. A great support vehicle! When I do a Scotland trip again it'll have to be 2 weeks minimum. 1 is nowhere near enough

Awesome!
Applecross - Skye - Rasaay all beautiful parts of the world

bet it was a more fuel efficient drive than the last time I drove there

Hi Benzine..
Cool....
How did ypu end up with such tall gearlever?

And your detail of the tach (?) with the connecting rof is trally cool.
Best regards
AA

NICE!

I'm a diesel fan myself, been driving diesel tin tops for many years.

Good to see something a bit different in the kit world.

Looks a great trip. Specailly with minimal shakedown, that's a result !!

quote:

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Originally posted by Angel Acevedo
Hi Benzine..
Cool....
How did ypu end up with such tall gearlever?

And your detail of the tach (?) with the connecting rof is trally cool.
Best regards
AA

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