• Please be sure to read the rules and adhere to them. Some banned members have complained that they are not spammers. But they spammed us. Some even tried to redirect our members to other forums. Duh. Be smart. Read the rules and adhere to them and we will all get along just fine. Cheers. :beer: Link to the rules: https://www.forumsforums.com/threads/forum-rules-info.2974/

So Ugly, it's cute...

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
Most of them rusted before they were off the docks. I was offered one for free back in the 1980's that was sitting in a garage since the early 1960's and turned it down. It had about 3500 miles on the odometer, but was more like Swiss cheese than metal. The only thing that rusted faster than those cars was the Chevette....
 

OregonAlex

New member
just a can of Kubota... ahem.. I mean Kioti Orange II and it is one awesome machine. its an Animal....... yahoo!!!!!

I am sure the Kioti jokes will die off from me eventually..sorry if I offended any fellow Kioti owners on forumsforums.com today.
 

DaveNay

Klaatu barada nikto
SUPER Site Supporter
So that's what these Kioti tractors look like!

I'm a Deere guy, so I've never seen one of 'em.
 

AndyM

Charter Member
Junkman said:
The only thing that rusted faster than those cars was the Chevette....

I actually had a Chevette with no rust on it, and I'm still kicking myself for selling it three years ago. That was a great car, it had the Isuzu diesel engine in it... I actually had a gas station shut off the diesel pump once when I put the nozzle in and tried to fill up... they didn't believe you could get a diesel engine in a Chevette.
 

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
That diesel got about 56 MPG from what I remember. I had seen a few around here, but they just rusted apart. I would love to have one just for the novelty of it. I miss my diesel and the Kioti just isn't a substitute.... :wave:
 

OkeeDon

New member
We're pretty serious about buying a Sprinter-based RV conversion, Sprinters are made my Mercedes and have a 5 cylinder turbo diesel. Betsy was asking me why, if the Sprinter gets such terrific fuel mileage (around 24 -26 as an RV) and yet has enough power to pull around itself and up to a 5000 pound trailer, why more cars don't use that technology. I explained that at one time they did, mentioning the Chevette diesel as one example (along with the Rabbit, of course). I also explained to her that those diesels were pretty nasty in an environmental sense, and people developed some pretty negative attitudes towards diesels. I further explained that people resist change, and now that modern diesels are among the cleaner engines, people still don't believe it. Finally, I explained that car companies are leary of selling something they have to explain, so they just don't take a risk with the diesels.

Of course, that's here in the USA. In Europe, they have no problems convincing people they should have small cars with diesel engines.
 

AndyM

Charter Member
There's an Isuzu I-Mark diesel on Ebay right now with 74,000 miles. They had the same engine as the Chevette diesel.

The bidding is at $1500 with 2 days left... I'd bet that it reaches $3000 before the auction closes.
 

Junkman

Extra Super Moderator
The rest of the world is using diesels almost exclusively. The reason that diesels have a bad reputation in the US is people still remember the problems with the GM conversion of a gasoline engine to diesel used in the Oldsmobile, Cadillacs, and a few Buick's. Back then, GM also used a lot of other brand diesel engines in other GM cars, but they didn't gain popularity. I had both the MB 5 cylinder with and without turbo. It is a great engine. The turbo had a particle trap that would clog and then take out the turbo. MB made a deal with the EPA to give a lifetime warranty on the particle trap and turbo. Then, around 1995 they changed that to a one time more situation. After that, you were on your own. The last particle trap had a 12,000 mile warranty. When mine was replaced, it was time for me to get rid of that car. No way would I want a $3500 repair if it went again. UPS is using the Sprinter and they have found that they don't carry weigh well. Other than that, they are great vehicles. My present Benz is gas and I wouldn't give a plugged nickle for it. I like the car and don't have any problem with it, but the mileage isn't what it was with the diesel. I guess that if I can afford the car, that I can afford the gas. I would like it better if the dealer gave good service, but with MB, they use lousy service as a selling point to get you into a new car. I have less problems with the rolls....
 

JimR

Charter Member
That Datsun is one ugly car.

I remember the GM diesel very well. It was an Olds 350 converted to diesel. The head bolts were too weak on the 1978 models to keep the ehads tight and they had head gasket problem. 1979 model came and the head bolts were stronger. Then the lower ends didn't hold up. 1980 model year had a newer designed lower end if I recall correctly. Another major issue was getting more than 50k on the injection pump. The diaphram inside the pump deteriorated and plugged the fuel return line. This caused the motor to spew black smoke like it was on fire. You couldn't accelerate over 1500 rpm's. I owned a 1980 Olds Delta 88 Brougham. It did get 32-33 mpg on the highway with the air on. Two injection pump rebuilds was enough for me. The fix was easy if you didn't mind pulling off the intake manifold to get the pump out.
 
Top