The 1.6 liter VW diesel will rev to about 5,000. Now, it is quite loud at that point, and the fuel economy degrades (best at about 2,000), but it will do it. I think the new TDI VW diesels are redlined at 4,500 rpm (with peak fuel economy at 1800). There's a discussion forum vwdiesel.net that has more than you probably could want to know about the VW diesels, both new ones and the old ones.
I have heard (from a friend who has two MG's) that you can put the rover V8 engines in them, so I suspect the Isuzu diesel would work. Should handle the weight, as well as have space to work with. I saw a 2.2 isuzu, with transmission, for sale on ebay about a month ago. Or maybe it was the 2.2 Mazda/perkins. Can't remember. You can get the 2.0 and 2.5 liter nissan diesel's new (for industrial applications) even. Being a 1979, you are probably exempt from any emissions testing, which could be a problem putting an industrial diesel in a newer car (ironic that emissions regulations in the US actually hinder us from saving the planet -- keep it clean locally while screwing the rest of the world....) Zeke On 9/19/05, bob allen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > here is an engine swapping question for someone with more expertise than > me (easily done); > > I can get a nicely redone 79 (?) mg midget without an engine. A guy > apparently did a restoration job, then blew the engine. I had > considered putting a vw diesel in it. My mechanic said he could > manufacture the motor mounts/ do the install, but we have to go with the > mg tranny, a four speed. After further discussions I asked what he > though the engine rpm would be with this combination at 60 mph. He > guessed abut 4000 rpm, which seems cranked up way to tight. I then > though about a datsun/isuzu (if i could even find one) with > transmission, but I fear this combination will be too heavy. any > thoughts? _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
