Ranger Biodiesel Swap - Flywheel Adapter Fabrication Part 1

The crankshaft to flywheel adapter, bellhousing adapter, and engine mounts all needed to be custom-made for this build. I designed everything, drew up blueprints, and sent the bellhousing adapter design to a machine shop for fabrication. 

I decided to manufacture the crankshaft to flywheel adapter myself in my home shop, but first I needed to develop custom tooling in order to hold tighter tolerances necessary for a correct balance. 

To maintain correct centerline alignment, I first modified a machinable fixture collet with several concentric stepped ridges, that would perfectly correspond to both sides of the finished adapter. In this way, I could remove and reinstall the adapter multiple times and maintain perfect alignments every time. 

Next, I drilled a center hole and bolt pattern holes into the piece, and tapped them all with the correct sizes, to give me multiple methods of fixing the adapter to the plate during machining. With the fixture complete, it was time to start manufacturing the adapter.

 

Ranger Biodiesel Swap - First Start (Video Post)

 The first start and run of my Volkswagen 1.6NA swapped 1999 Ford Ranger. The process required several hours of bleeding air from the fuel lines and purging old diesel residue from the system, and now it runs perfectly! It's been approximately 20-25 years since this engine ran, and it was eager to clear out the cobwebs.

Ranger Biodiesel Swap - Spare Engine

I purchased a spare 1.6NA engine on Facebook Marketplace for parts, but ultimately saved a lot less than I thought I would. Unfortunately, it had been left out in the rain on a wooden pallet, and was completely full of water. I salvaged the cylinder head, intake, exhaust, vacuum pump, and lower timing cover, and scrapped the seized block.

The real prize was this lower timing belt cover, which is surprisingly hard to find and was missing from my engine. I shaved some ribs off the front to improve clearance with the alternator belt, painted the front of the engine block, and reinstalled all the parts.