have I lost my mind??
 

my wife is wanting an older Firebird. but she has also looked at Volkswagen diesels, because of the fuel economy. so I have come up with a real strange idea. I think yall have guessed it, a first gen bird with a VW turbo diesel. I'm willing to bet it would be the only one in the world. many will say the bird is to heavy, but a friend bought his wife a VW beetle & that damn thing was around 3900#'s. no it would not be the fastest thing on the road, but it would be peppy & get great milage.:whoo: lets hear why it wouldn't work.!

other than smelly and slow?
Im hard pressed to come up with a good argument against it
anything is reversable if you want to change later

I would look around for a 6cyl Perkins, plenty power and weight about the same as a Pontiac motor.

I have been beaten in one of my other 350 PONTIAC POWERED LEMANS by a VW TDI. It may be slow in a big car but It would definately get good mileage.

Aren't VW's front wheel drive? Would that be hard to convert? If it works let us know I will buy a FB and do the same, would be a great commuter car. I think you would have to get used to all the shade tree mechanics telling you there is something wrong with your car. Would defintely mess them up though.

yes they are FWD but, if there is a will there's a way. as for the weight, a 67 bird weighs less than a new TDI Beetle!!! I do not know if I will do this but it shure would be a great daily driver!!! 40+ mpg out of a 1967 model car?.!

How about doing a drivetrain transplant from a Turbo-diesel truck? I bet it's get great mileage in a Firebird and still haul as$. Then you would also have the big aftermarket support they get. This might also help make the swap easier? Being that you'd have access to programmers etc.

several reasons why that idea wouldn't work. but here are a few.

1) to heavy (would never get traction with 3/4 nose weight)
2) to large I don't think you would get it to fit without heavy modification.
3) mileage would not be feasible, maybe 24 mpg?

Dodge cummins turbo diesel comes in 5.9 flavor. that shouldnt be too big to fit but then again it is uncharted territory here.:eek:

The curb weight on a Beetle TDI is only 3,005 pounds. The first-gen birds outweigh it by at least 500 pounds. Would definitey be the slowest thing on the road with 1.9 liters and 100 HP.

Peppy?:noidea:

Those newer VWs don't stay out of the shop much from what I've read. A new VW (diesel or gas) would be close to last on my list if I was buying an econo car.:(

Put together a nice OHC 250-inch Pontiac six for it, twice the power and should get better than 20 MPG. At least it won't make people gag when you open the hood.:eek: