Skaði needs a new engine

A warm welcome from Ange, Chris & Oakley (& Skaði & Bowser!)

As many of you will already know, when I (Chris) began the build of Skaði in the workshop in Sweden last year, the plan was always to swap out the 50-year old motor for a more modern, reliable, powerful, economical diesel.

In the early days of the build (even before we left Australia!) I spent many many hours researching the swap and purchased a donor motor, had a mechanical fuel pump built, purchased a turbo and a bunch of other things.

Unfortunately the build in Sweden took two months longer than we planned/hoped for due to a few circumstances such as lack of skill/knowledge, naivety to the scope of the project and a total brake system overhaul (which sapped about 4 extra weeks).

With a Northern winter approaching, being exhausted and reaching the end of our budget, we decided to hit the road with the tired original motor.

Some of the issues we have faced with the Volvo b30 engine on the road so far was due to us wanting to spend as little money as possible on it as there would be no return on investment. However, replacing the plugs & points, rotor, distributor cap, alternator, filters and fuel pump has enabled us to stay on the road.

After a 6-month break from the build and a bunch of cinematic vlogs for you all, the time has now come for us to head to Northern Germany and begin the engine swap.

This is of dire importance now as the tired engine is showing many signs that it is on it's last legs. It is smoking heavily downhill, consuming up to 3l of oil per driving day and losing power ("power" being a relative term!). I fear the oil pressure at idle is also compromised.

We haven't spoken much about the engine's economy and power until now but here are some figures:

Skaði can't push through a mild head-wind or up gentle slopes, leaving me rowing through gears or abandoning some roads all together (mostly avoiding motorways). Our top speed in a head-wind is in the 60's.

Due to the terrible fuel economy and lack of power (to the point of it being almost dangerous), the engine must be swapped out anyway. I don't wish to "bag-out" the Volvo b30 as I'm sure it was a great engine in a Volvo 164 back in the day but it's truly not up to the task for a 4.1 ton, 6-wheeled, full-time global overlander.

Hopefully this has answered some of your questions and demonstrates just how desperately our beloved Skaði needs a repower.

We do not expect money from any of you, however we would be incredibly grateful if you donated towards the build. It will enable us to not only film another short build series but then continue providing top-quality travel content afterwards.

Our aim is to hopefully get to Iceland to fully test the new (second-hand) diesel motor.

I have addressed the reasons for my choice of diesel motor and gearbox in a YouTube video if you are interested but briefly some of the benefits include:

We will be showing full transparency and listing each and every cost for the engine swap and providing invoices for as much of it as possible. (Link here : https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1EB9wEqhR8m09mrlwLQPVWSXGy_Z_8Cdw?usp=drive_link)

We do not wish to make money on this in any way.

The total cost of the engine swap to date is 5511 €. Here is the breakdown:

A heart-felt thank you from our little family, your generosity is greatly appreciated.