VW diesel into a saturn sl

[ORCoaster]

Why do you guys hate on Saturn for being a throw-away car? Do you think our beloved Volkswagen's were designed for anything more? LOL.

Disposable after 5 is different than after 25.  The American/German difference

[maxfax]

Saturns were a decent little car until they got mashed in with the other GM corperate junk in the late 90's.. (The L series aka Malipoo) Still terribly boring to drive though..  The real Saturns are just hitting the 20 year mark, and much like our VW's the ones that were cared for are still going strong..   I can't really say that the European throwaways (or high end stuff for that matter) were really engineered that much better, but they do receive a lot more love...    I drove a Crown Vic for close 350K and never replaced anything but tuneup parts, tires, brakes and shocks..  The alternator finally went so the car went too..

[R.O.R-2.0]

I think he meant buying a new saturn shell every couple years and moving the vw drivetrain?

yup..

keep the drivetrain VAG, and just swap it into a different disposable shell every couple years..

screw maintenance, just replace the whole car, and keep the engine!!

lmfao..

[lovinthedeez]

Funny thing is I scooped up a first gen saturn wagon for $200 bucks a few weeks ago and have been thinking about the same thing...


Pending on what neck of the woods you are in, shells are not all that easy to come by.. It seems that MK1 and 2 VW's gas or diesel are grabbing at least a grand with a good body and not necessarily running..

I think only a wagon could pull that off.  go for it

I'm gonna put a 1.6 in the benz, will it still be able to go four wheelin?

[ORCoaster]

Hey I know that Observation point.  Biscuit Fire in middle of the Wilderness?  Oh, roads in Wilderness kind of a conflict there eh? 

[lovinthedeez]

nope.  top of mount ashland, seven thousand something.  that's the doppler.  The other picture is looking south towards the trinity mountains in CA.  Lots of fires out here right now.  siskiyou national forest.   .  It's all national forest roads....people expect a big ol truck coming and see a shiny benz roll through....hahahahaha

[R.O.R-2.0]

Funny thing is I scooped up a first gen saturn wagon for $200 bucks a few weeks ago and have been thinking about the same thing...


Pending on what neck of the woods you are in, shells are not all that easy to come by.. It seems that MK1 and 2 VW's gas or diesel are grabbing at least a grand with a good body and not necessarily running..

I think only a wagon could pull that off.  go for it

I'm gonna put a 1.6 in the benz, will it still be able to go four wheelin?

wish i could LIKE this comment!!

[maxfax]

That's one sexy W126.. Had one the same color with Euro spec headlights..  

I don't think mounting the VW drive line in the ole 'urn is going to be too difficult.. A cross between MK1 and MK2 mounts should do it.. I wish the car I have had a manual trans though, that'd make things a tad easier I think.. Oh to find the time to git er dun...

[rs899]

I have thought seriously about getting a Saturn wagon, if I could find one in stick version cheaply.  Max, if you do the swap , I hope you document it.

[bbob203]

the forum thread I read on it the guy chopped the axles in half and welded vw inners to saturn outers. that and mounts would be about your only obstacle esp if you ran an 02a it'd be even easier. might have to cut out the oversized saturn engine cradle as well.

[maxfax]

I've looked at various small wagons to do a diesel swap, I've had it down to Saturn and Escort wagons..  Cavalier's are heavier, and a tad harder to find..  Escort wagons aren't terribly cheap around here.. I got the 'urn for $100.. Wasn't crazy about the auto, but the price is right and I know the history of the car.. Well cared for and clean, heck the R12 A/C still works...  I'd almost consider putting a new trans to it, but it has a lot of miles, and burns oil...

the forum thread I read on it the guy chopped the axles in half and welded vw inners to saturn outers.

That's sort of what I figured would have to happen.. Didn't think about that massive cradle getting in the way, but I see how it could..   Ideally I need to find a manual trans car to swap some parts from..  I could probably adapt the VW shifter and pedals to work too I suppose..  Probably less work to just find the manual trans parts, or just find a wagon that is already 5 speed..

[mystery3]

Why not get a Fox? That'd be plug n play if I'm not mistaken other than the manifolds, pan and a few other details for mounting inline?

[bbob203]

pretty much every saturn I ever owned 4 of them burned oil like gas... not really but close. you can mitigate some of it by doing a piston soak with mmo ussually can reduce your consumption of oil by half at least for some reason on these cars carbon builds up real easy on the rings and or cylinder walls and causes the rings to not seal as good. no matter how bad a given car burned oil the thibg always got upwards of 38mpg most of the time.

[maxfax]

Why not get a Fox? That'd be plug n play if I'm not mistaken other than the manifolds, pan and a few other details for mounting inline?

In this neck of the woods, A rust bucket Fox (when one surfaces) typically brings about $500 and up..  If it's in tact and doesn't need another grand sunk into it to make the carcass road worthy (before swapping in the diesel) it's a steal at $1000..  

I paid $100 bucks for the Saturn.. No rust, clean interior and exterior, everything works except the auto trans..   The lack of rust to begin with is the biggest seller for me. If I'm starting with a rusty car they never get any better...

pretty much every saturn I ever owned 4 of them burned oil like gas...

 
Valve seals make a world of difference on them too..  Seems like they made them out of crap for a lot of the mid 90's OHC engines...

[mystery3]

Foxes are cheap and predominately rust-free out here. One in reasonable shape with a blown motor or tranny wouldn't set you back more than a couple hundred dollars.