Pinzgauer Diesel...Conversion...I have one....It seems OK

[Dreadnought]

For Erik..........I, ll try to get some accurate Data about my MPG as I get used to her. But my real reason for having a diesel, is that I LOVE DIESELS, No Plugs, no points, no carbs, just change the oil regularly. (I bought my first diesel car in 1974 as a soldier in Germany (nice little Town called Lippstadt) and since then I have hardly had a petrol engined car. (I have converted my "69" Landrover to diesel and might even one day convert my wifes "70" MG Midget to VW 1600ccTurbo diesel, thought I suspect that if I do commit this heinous act I will never go to heaven!!!!!) Our other car is a Renault Kangoo Trekka 4x4. 1.9Dci

[David Dunn]

Was your Pinz conversion done using the original gearbox, or one that was original to that diesel engine? With knowing the max rpm on the engine and knowing the gearbox, I can calc the speeds in the gears . Back in the late 80's I had to figure this info out on Lo Pro medium duty truck for service work, with an auto trans. Back then the auto boxes were 4 speed, geared for gas engines and larger tires... The 32" to 36" dia tires of the Lo Pros and the lower turning rpm of the diesel heavily hampered builting a heavy truck for hi-way and in tuwn driving. It wasn't until the 90s when Allison brought out their "world class" 6 speed auto that medium and heavy duty truck diesels and automatics trans became viable.


Dave

[Dreadnought]

Dave this conversion uses the Mercedes gearbox with a fabricated linkage, which uses part of the original linkage with sections welded in etc. My only complaint about this box is that although a 5 speed, it is configured as a crawler 1st to the left and back (with reverse forward from that position) then the rest of the box in a straight "H" pattern. As it is really geared for road use there is a large gap between the 2nd and 3rd gears (counting crawler as first) I always wondered why sprinter drivers seemed to be "thrashing" their engines away from rest, its because they needed to build up revs for that big jump to the next gear, this engine seems to be a high revver and doesn,t feel or sound stressed if pushed up the rev range (one of my jobs is to buy and wire in a rev counter) I have had to make a couple of adjustments to this conversion, (bit of bodywork touching the g/box and trans,mitting a lot of transmission noise but now that is done, she is quieter than my Landrover, this engine is very sound and ticks over quietly, I must tell the Pinzmeister that when ticking over it reminds me of way back in 85 some German Army G Wagens were parked outside my office I remember those suckers took some starting in the minus 20 temps but when they were warm and ticking over....thats what this Pinz conversion sounds like, you can hear that distictive Mercedes sound. (Ive used Allison Autos in Municipal vehicles, they are smooth (but highway trucks over here now mostly have this new fangled system of computer controlled gearchanges/clutches so you get the same functions as an auto, but without the losses associated with torque converters.)

[Dreadnought]

Firstly I have no more pics yet, but I will soon post pics of the engine in situ and views from underneath. I hear your cries of whats the gas mileage??? how loud is it, its diesel fer crissakes so it has to be loud!!!! wrong...firstly, Pinzmeister has done a great job insulating the engine bay, (you,ll have to ask him what the stuff is, its shiny on the side towards the engine) I have never driven a petrol (gasoline) powered Pinz so I don,t know how noisy that engine is, I have heard some of the you tube vids and they sound LOUD....but after 60 kph, surely the transmission drowns out any noise from any type of engine, either way I think this conversion would give official Pinz Diesels a run for their money. If anything at all is wrong with it, it is the big gap between 2nd (1st being crawler) and 3rd, and this fault is because the gearbox is road oriented. I put on my 7.50 x 16 G90s today and the change in the way she handles and feels on the road is astounding, surefooted and very safe, it was raining today and I went out to a "Landrover challenging" lane to see what she is made of, I,ve no need to go on about the capabilites of the Pinz she just laughed at the dep mud and potholes up a long incline through a forest that has had recent use by forestry vehicles (This lane is the local one that the really serious Landrover types use to test their latest "air Lockers", big mud tyres and winches) I just increased tickover a little and she plowed on through. But on the 10 mile drive home in wet rainy conditions, she felt fine and much safer than on the Maloyas, being thinner than the maloyas these G90s are going to look very small to you people, who need big wide tyres!!!! I,ll post pics as son as possible. Cruising speed now seems to be about 85kph showing on the clock, there seems to be no appreciable increase in revs from the engine (I will fit that rev counter soon) I did take her up to 100kph showing on the clock for a few long stretches and I,d say by the feel of her she would sit at 100kph all day, on the maloyas she would wobble and dive a bit if I crossed any white lines, or if the road surface was uneven, on the G90,s there is none of that, but there is a noisy drone at around 80kph which I have never experienced using G90s on Landrovers,(maybe the weight distribution is very different....I know she needs more weight on the back end. Please feel free to ask any questions.....oh and gas mileage, I haven,t any figures yet, (I,ve been enjoying her) but it seems good so far...I don,t think the guage is particularly accurate near the full mark. (only reads 3/4 full when fuel is at the bottom of the filler neck.)

[ScottishPinz]

This is all very interesting, and could lead to more business for the diesel conversion, glad you find the change of tyre such an improvement, will be great to see pictures.

The Pinz fuel gauge is great, you will never run out of fuel, it is so pessimistic!!!! I still carry a spare can though

[Dreadnought]

Scottish Pinz, I do hope your travels bring you this way sometime soon, I think it would be good for the forum, if we could compare our similar vehicles. Yours slightly newer, mine converted to Diesel, you could mark all the downchecks on mine and I could at least compare performance. Is yours as good underneath as mine??? I couldn,t believe how well the underseal has stood up to forty years of life (although mine has done only 37,000 Kms (hardly run in)). I see your Saltire....mine will carry the Polish eagle (for my wife) with a small union Jack on the drivers side for me. We too will be driving to Poland next year....but going off to somewhere near Rzeszow near the Russki border looking for cheap land. (and it is)!!!! (I,m looking forward to driving those forest tracks without seeing signs for restrictions every half a mile.) I hope I can bring some MPG figures soon (accurate ones - not educated guesses) but I really am having too much fun getting used to her. I,ll let you know how it goes with these G90s, who knows, they may wear out in 3 months, but they do last well on Landrovers and are a very safe and civilised tyre. What are those you are running? A guy in a local villiage who does a lot of shooting and has a Daihatsu fourtrack has similar, but I did hear they are not very civilised on Landrovers??? a bit entertaining in the wet? More of this nonsense soon!!!!

[Erik712m]

Dreadnought, Sounds like your very satisfied with the conversion. To bad there's nothing like that on this side of the pond. I've been a fan of Pinzmister back when he was part of C.U.V. I keep watching the exchange rate as I wanted his hardtop conversion.

[ScottishPinz]

Dreadnought
My 710k had 27000 km when I got it, only rust spot is the seam above the wheel in the back. I have treated a bit of surface rust from stone chips etc on the lower doors and it is now on its second coat of paint from me. (brush it on by hand)

The first big trip we did was Poland 2007 visiting my girlfriend's sister in Hel
http://bagstraining.co.uk/Europe/Photos.html

Seems we have a Polish other half as well as a Pinzgauer in commen!

Tyres on mine are Greenway (company went bust last year) Macho
http://www.flickr.com/photos/85306730@N ... 969546951/
They have been good but wear fast on the road which is where they inevitably get used most. When money allows I will get BFG in the larger size of 285/75R16.

Travel plans are more likely to take us north now but your welcome in Scotland (we will be at the RAF Leuchars Air Show)

[Dreadnought]

For Erik...I have seen those pinzmeister hardtop conversions, he had some bits and pieces lying around when I first visited, they looked very good quality. For Scottish Pinz, before you go to Big Fat tyres, I am really not kidding when I say that the G90 7.50R x 16 transformation was, well like driving a different vehicle, I thought I had play in the steering, somewhere, no I didn,t!!!!!!!it was just those Maloyas sending the Pinz diving left and right everytime they encountered so much as an ant walking across the road. Every morning I drive the same 15 min drive up to the ridgeway taking my dogs for a run, I had to be awake on that "B" road on the Maloyas....now she runs straight as a die, doesn,t wander or dive. (I think I will put a couple of jerrycans in the back corners, she could do with some weight on the back wheels). Yahey..for Polish wives, they are good are they not, mine helped with a complete Landrover Stripdown and refurb, and now wants to be in charge of sorting the little bits of surface rust on the Pinz, she is good with an angle grinder. (Have you looked on some of the sites selling old farm houses and land in Poland. Jeez if I sold my house here I could afford to buy the equivalent of Salisbury Plain over there. (I,m going to have to learn Polish, but I have a little bit of German (7 years British Army of the Rhine) and I lived in Cyprus in the early 70,s and got by with sign languge and smiles, so Poland can,t be too bad) whatever we do we are going to buy some forest....my old grandad used to say if you own wood, you,ve got the means to keep warm, the wood to build a house and food and animals live in the wood so you won,t go hungry. The invite is open after we move to Poland as well, do come visit and compare Pinz,s. (The move actually hinges on a lot of things like actually buying somewhere, then renting this place out, so not until next summer at least.)

[Dreadnought]

Fanially here we have some of the pinzmeister,s work, The mercedes 2.9 normally aspirated diesel in situ in my Pinz. The normal engine cover has been replaced by a taller square section frame covered in thin steel sheet, this inside of which is covered with an insulating and heat reflective material. The engine cover is located by several 'riv nuts' with screws and probably takes a bit longer to access, because the larger engine cover necessitates moving the seats out toward the doors by an inch or so. (no problem to me but might be a problem to someone who is well built) (I,m giving away a secret here...pinzmeister is of a 'wiry' build and they say pioneers always build their prototypes to fit their own frames) the passenger seat is re-located slightly higher but in normal fashion, so is easily removed. I devised the final 'bolted down' location of the drivers seat to suit me, other diesel coverters could do the same. The engine cover as devised by pinzmeister is a pretty snug fit in most dimensions, but some small interior space savings could be made by shaving a few angles and making the frame fit the engine even more snugly. As for the tyres, they will look small and wierdly thin to you who have big rock crawlers or mudders, but they must suit our conditions (she was unstoppable on Salisbury Plain Tank testing area - where they practice cross country driving the Challenger 2) salisbury plain is mostly white chalk covered by rough grasses (that chalk can be as slippery as blue clay when wet and it is much harder than clay) more pics of a day out on the Plain at a later date. this link to my flikr pics: http://www.flikr.com/photos/pinzgauer710k

[Dreadnought]

OOps I forgot to say that on top of the larger engine cover, there is an easily removeable cover for minor checks, oil etc. I think the oil filter which is of the upright paper filter type, covered by an unscrewable plastic lid, is also changeable without removing the lager cover. Sorry about the copper pipe, this is temporary and is the water pipe to a small but powerful heater which I have located behind the drivers seat (it was advertised on E bay as a compact heater ideal for a 'cobra' replica type kit car, it works well so far. I will make the engine bay all neat and tidy when I get round to it, I just wanted a heater that had been 'shaken down' ready for winter. As of now, the only thing I would change is to fit the Turbo version of this engine, NOT for more speed, she has plenty of that and must be comparable to the gasoline version, but simply for storming up hills, she will slog away, but I,m sure that a turbo would help with hills and acceleration, also perhaps a six speed box (I don,t want much do I) perhaps in a few years I might actually get around to doing these modifications

[HOOPS PINZ]

Guys Im using Simex jungle trecker 2s 34x11.5x16 on my Pinz good match Ive also taken 2 rear springs out which improve the handling.

Ive tried the Goodyear G4s before but was disappointed with them there are better tyres out there the pro comps are also excellent.