914Driver said:Thanks Kieth, the vehicle type wasn't relevant to the question; wasn't burying it on purpose.
Does the vehicle effect/affect the answers?
Dan
Arguably, yes. A Vixen is just cool. And to some extent, they were/are held back some by the engine choices that were available at the time. I would not consider a well executed engine or drive train swap to be off the table when looking at a Vixen.
They're really cool, and I'd actually be a little more worried about the Renault transaxle than the engine. BMW was building some of the more reliable stuff in the 80s. Parts availability is weird for that low production engine, but you can usually plan for all the major things. Buy oil and fuel filters online, I've never seen them locally.
HundredDollarCar said:Some people go to the extreme of deleting the emissions systems, either in part or in whole, and unleash significant amounts of horsepower and even more torque (downside being questionable legality in some states and possible diesel exhaust smell). Most that go this route say it transforms this platform.
My 335D e90 is along these lines. It pulls like a freight train. Inline six 3.0 M57 twin turbo diesel. Right out of the box they make a healthy 265hp/425ft.lbs, but with the aforementioned tune and deletes it makes 350hp/560ft.lbs now and I still knock down an average of 34mpg over the 40K+ (mostly highway) miles I've put on it. There are more aggressive tunes/mods available to push them further if one were wanting to (and if you live in a state where things like this aren't scrutinized). The recent diesel tuner crackdowns by the EPA is seeing this market shrink fwiw. The downside is yes, diesel exhaust smell at idle or with wind blowing from behind the car at a stoplight.
That's neither here nor there at this point. The camper at hand is sweet!
I'm on the UK BMW facebook groups. Maybe it's just that diesel's are more popular over there, but there appears to be constant issues w/ them, as opposed to gasoline counterparts.
Edit: Nevermind. Went back and read the thread. Buy it. Don't worry about the diesel that's in it. Just buy it.
Later versions of the Vixen have a "high top" lifted fiberglass roof, not the Westfalia type opening of the early model; but they also sported a 3.8 GM V-6 automatic that overheated often. The early model appeals to me because it will fit in my garage, no other RV does that, even the tiny ones.
Thanks for the help, I am making moves to buy it.
Dan
Note that emissions deletes are not of "questionable legality in some states", they are clearly illegal at a federal level and have been since 1974. The EPA is making mobile emissions sources an enforcement priority for the next three years. Be aware of this if you decide to remove emissions components. This is for the newer BMW diesel owners.
914Driver said:Thanks Kieth, the vehicle type wasn't relevant to the question; wasn't burying it on purpose.
Does the vehicle effect/affect the answers?
It sure does to me. If you're dealing with an engine that's going to be a little more challenging to live with, you need a good payoff. The shenanigans of my BMC A-series would not be acceptable in a daily driver, but I'll tolerate them in my classic Mini because that engine is a large part of what makes that car possible.
I know this thread is about a Vixen, but it gives me an itch for a 524td as a daily driver.
I once saw one of those M20 derived diesel engines in a Lincoln Mk VII in the junkyard. My first thought was that this was the weirdest "keep the car on the road swap" situation ever, but it was definitely not a hack job. I later found this was a bizarre bid to help Ford meet CAFE standards. Certainly one of the oddest junkyard finds I can remember.
Is that Lincoln still there? I really want the FoMoCo valve cover.
Cactus said:Is that Lincoln still there? I really want the FoMoCo valve cover.
That was years ago, and it had a BMW logo on the valve cover.
It was probably crushed long ago. I've sometimes wondered if any parts off it would have been useful for building an S50 powered Mustang.
I'm trying to remember the Ford/BMW deal back then. I want to say Ford contracted for a whole bunch of engines, BMW built them, then Ford backed out because the mood changed in the buying public, or BMW built a bunch and then stopped selling diesels in North America so Ford bought some...
Can't remember the details. I think part of the story was a warehouse crammed with engines, though.
Streetwiseguy said:I'm trying to remember the Ford/BMW deal back then. I want to say Ford contracted for a whole bunch of engines, BMW built them, then Ford backed out because the mood changed in the buying public, or BMW built a bunch and then stopped selling diesels in North America so Ford bought some...
Can't remember the details. I think part of the story was a warehouse crammed with engines, though.
Hard to find any info on that one online. All I can find is the following:
1. The M21 diesel only showed up in the '84-'85 Lincoln Continental and Mk VIII.
2. It's unclear how many were sold, but the usual figure is around 1500 total before Ford pulled the plug.
Cadillac ruined diesel cars on these shores for most people. The M21 engine was the smoothest, most efficient diesel engine available at the time. In the Lincoln it uses the same zf automatic that the BMWs were using. The only parts that you might want to put into a mustang are the engine mounts, and honestly you're better off making your own.
1500 Lincolns sounds about right. They weren't popular. Nor were 524tds.
I knew someone in highschool that had one of those diesel Mk. VII's. It was not good in any way that a car could be good. I can't even make myself excited about doing some kind of M20 stroker build. The only engine that makes sense to my brain in those cars is the 5.0.
In a BMW that's half as heavy, that engine does ok. It's not efficient enough to justify over a 2.7 eta engine though.
Gotta drive it, a Vixen weighs 5100 lbs.
Cactus said:Cadillac ruined diesel cars on these shores for most people.
Not Cadillac, it was Oldsmobile, with the Olds 350 diesel, 4.3L V8 Diesel and 4.3L V6 Diesel (RPO code LS2!), although they did put them in some Cadillacs. Cadillac's great idea of that era was the V8-6-4, which nowadays is commonplace but was a little to ahead of its time back them. Now we are really getting off the topic.
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