The Story of Mike-13's Zil-131

[Mike-13]

In this topic I will share my adventures of the Zil.
Everything I make, change, do or travel with/on the Zil I will put it in this Topic.

Hope you like my adventures.

Mike

[zoltan]

Are you planning on converting to LPG Mike? I have LPG on my Gaz and it makes a huge difference to how much I use it

[Mike-13]

The first real trip....
After the MOT was approved I hoped to make a little test drive.

Tjhe first 5 km went great.
After that the Zil was holding back......
After the Zil broke down it was up to me to find out what the heck was wrong....
The police had arrived to secure the upcoming traffic.

It took me not long to find out it ran out of fuel
So I tried to switch to the other tank....there was at least 20 liters in it....
But no pressure by the fuelpomp.

Called out for a friend of me with a Dodge Ram 2500 Hemi
He wanted to help me by towing me to the petrolstation about 1 mile up ahead.
And off we went, slowly and with the police on our tail for safety.

As the Zil was fueled up..........she instantly came alive and purred like a lion
And off I went to make that testtrip.....

Drove it for about 35 miles and I enjoyed it very much
All went well, except the powersteering didn't work

And for those who wants to see the pictures.....here are some

Mike

[Mike-13]

Are you planning on converting to LPG Mike? I have LPG on my Gaz and it makes a huge difference to how much I use it

Well... we are still doubting to convert to gas or build in a diesel engine.
Both are better than the fuel engine.

But because we are planning to make a trip around the world (in about 5 to 10 years) the question remains what is better, cheaper and easy to get everywhere.....?
(that includes all of the enginecomponents

The Dodge-camper we drive now is also a fuel/lpg engine.....big advantage is that if anything breaks, I can fix it myself, no garage needed.
But with a diesel, I'm not that sure if I can fix all of it without help.

[Abrs]

Think you'll find quite a few threads on here discussing the pros and cons of the various fuel types and engines, but I think it basically boils down to a few basic factors; how much time and money do you want to spend?

I've got a lpg converted 131 at the moment, I agree with Zoltan it certainly makes taking the truck out for a spin a bit less painful, that's not to say they still aren't an expensive vehicle to run even on lpg, on the upshot these engines will pull you along in a fairly sprightly fashion and a good top speed is only limited by how daring a driver you are ;) However as a round the world camper I'm not sure it's the setup I would want to use, lpg is great where you can get it but it adds an extra layer of complexity to the venture, not to mention this type of setup often isn't the most reliable in harsh conditions, also being a petrol engine there's a lot more servicing involved. In my opinion a diesel is a much better option if you plan on going on long trips, my first choice for a diesel engine would probably be the Cummins 5.9 6BT or 6BTA (aftercooled), these engines are very very common and quite good on juice, they can be found in everything from lorries to tractors, boats, generators, etc. probably the most common application they can be found in the UK is the older Leyland Daf FA45 lorry, if you use one of these it will most likely come with a ZF S542 transmission which has an overdrive on top gear, the ratio works out not far off what would be needed for a decent top speed with the Zil axles. Another plus point is these engines are very easy to work on and are fairly compact making them ideal for fitment into a Zil, they are also very easy to upgrade if you want to gain more power i.e. in the daf 45 they come in various power outputs up to 150hp, however the exact same engine in it's marine guise which is fitted with a bigger turbo and larger injectors can easily produce 330hp, in fact some crazy yanks modify their older dodge rams to get over 500hp out of that poor little lump! Not sure how long it would last though like that . The ZF box is also another common item that seems to end up in all sorts of other vehicles, it is possible to obtain a top mounted gear lever & housing making a zil conversion a bit easier. Parts for the Cummins 5.9 are about the cheapest of any similar sized diesel engine, and they have dealer networks worldwide! As for not being able to fix it yourself, there are only a few components that are 'non-user' serviceable by the side of the road, namely the injectors and the injection pump, however both are easily changed with basic tools, in this case it would probably pay dividends to carry spares if you're venturing into the wilds unescorted.

[zoltan]

If it helps your decision making I am opting to convert my Gaz to diesel precisely for the fuel availablility that ABRS states, I'm spending far too much time planning my routes around LPG stations.

ChrisClemson on here has a Cummins BT6 in his Zil 131. Not sure what box that has to it though

[Rob Reznik]

filling up with LPG in places like Kazakhstan at 20p ltr and Russia 25p ltr is nice but there are other things to consider. Availability of the fuel - some Countries don't have it and others do but only in major cities or like Mongolia, the Capitals. You will use more fuel if on LPG so will need bigger tanks (don't forget you can only fill to 80%). You will also lose power which can be a problem when, for example going up hills.

Petrol is an alternative but just think of the cost involved in a Zil when you are likely to only average 50ltrs/100km and the size of fuel tanks you will need - depending on where you are going you should look for a range of AT LEAST 800km's but preferably more.

Yes you are right - when a Diesel engine goes wrong its not usually so easy to fix on the side of the road, but there is less to go wrong with one in the first place? The standard Zil engine isn't the most reliable of engines.

And don't forget that the UK (I think) is the only Country where Petrol is cheaper than Diesel.

Apart from the sound of the V8 I can't think of ANY reason to use it to power an expedition vehicle - just my opinion ;) .

[Zbig Kolacz]

I would definitely vote for a diesel engine. I have converted my everyday car to lpg, but as far as I know, lpg is not great for older engines. It is burning at higher temperature, and it's "drier" than petrol. This can result in burned out valves and other problems.
Due to lpg one of the pistons cracked in the original engine of my "STAR". The petrol stations with lpg are not that popular either.
On the other hand, if you don't mind loosing the original engine, diesel will give you good reliability and even better MPG.
The only thing to remember with diesel fuel is, to use "winter diesel" in cold conditions, as the normal one gets solid.

Regards

Zbig

[Mike-13]

Thanx, all.

I think about buying something like this and swap the engine in combination with the automatic gear.
It seems that the REO engine is quite strong and will fit quite good in the Zil enginebay and if all is well the PTO will also fit on the existing axle.

any thoughts ??



Troostwijk Auctions

[paulob1]

that has the cummins 250 engine in it, it is a lot bigger than the 6BTA engine and no where near as fuel efficient. My diesel zil easily manages 18mpg and I am sure could do 20 if i were to take it steady. the only issue with the gearbox is that the 5 speed with overdrive means that at 35-40 mph you need to change up to fifth, with any load it will balk as the revs are too low and she will lose speed so you change back down, and she then revs to 35-40 mph and screams at you, you change up and she balks etc etc and so on and so forth...without the load she will pull happily to over 70 mph..

so swhat I was thinking of doing was to..

fit a slightly bigger turbo and injectors...aim for 210 bhp...this will not overly affect reliability but will hurt fuel consumption a bit. However it should allow us to pull more easily past 40 mph on the hills. I should add that when I say loaded I was hauling a 4 ton trailer with around 4 tons of stuff on it plus about 3 tons on the back of the truck as well. so she was proper heavy...

[Abrs]

You don't need to change the pump or injectors to get to 210hp, you can gain a lot of power by just making slight alterations to the pump, and if it's the Bosch VE it's supposed to have enough capacity to take it to around the 300hp mark along with a few other modifications, changing the turbo for one like the HX-35W with a larger housing is also another simple modification, if your engine came of the Daf 45 it has the little H-1C fitted which has no waste gate and is not ideal if you want to upgrade.

[marcus]

6BTA is quite tunable to 220 without the intercooler which is a struggle to fit in the Zil. Any bigger block and it gets quite tight as the original V8 is quite short. I put a MAN diesel in mine, 150hp, no turbo, nice easy drive empty but struggles with a 10 ton load behind her. Seems to use as much diesel as petrol though.

[Mike-13]

..

[Mike-13]

So, there are 3 Zil's in the Netherlands.
How big is the chance that 2 of them will be standing together.....

As it seems the garage in Lopik does the maintenance for the Zil from the "museum of ethnology" in Leiden

So that day I had the opportunity to put these Sisters next to each other for the photo.

How cool is THAT !

[paulob1]

cool indeed.

[Mike-13]

And today I went to a militairy market with my friend Willem and his M35 Reo.
Made all the people look

[Mike-13]

Today the Zil went to the storage.
At least we have a dry place so we can work without rain and wind
From here we will strip the inside of the box completely and take all the non-usable parts off.

I will make a for sale topic with all the parts if anyone is interrested Link over here

[Mike-13]

Well,

Got some work done on the Zil.
I have taken a lot of parts out of the unit to make room for the new interior.

Also took out the heaterunit with the tank on the back/outside.

The for sale parts are over here !

And....some pics

Here are the new hoses for the CTIS




The old situation versus the new.....empty one

[Mike-13]

Got a little done today.

Removed the old air hoses of the CTISs and cleaned the connections.
Fitted the new hoses.

And I've removed another box, creating more room.

Still one BIG box to go.
The generator box in the back, plans are to have that removed next week.

"Keep you posted"

[ChrisClemson]

ChrisClemson on here has a Cummins BT6 in his Zil 131. Not sure what box that has to itthough

It's got an Eaton 6speed gearbox allegedly (I still have no clue about it), but first gear is not used.
According to my gps the max I've done is 53mph, and I wouldn't like to go any faster with that weight really!