I recently swapped the engine from my '75 240D into another '75 240D that had a much nicer body; the only difference between the two cars is that the "new" car has a manual tranny and the "old" one is an automatic. My mileage has apparently jumped from 25 up to 30 mpg during my typical daily useage. I expected a mileage increase due to better efficiency of the manual tranny, but not this much. Is this typical? Does the manual car possibly also have a different differential ratio that could account for better fuel economy?

With your automatic didn't you have to floor it all the time off the line? I'd imagine you don't have to do this with the manual. My wife has a 5-speed in her turbodiesel. It is a nice driving car.

I have to floor it all the time with the manual transmission as well. I have gotten a lot of practice in quick shifting the past couple of weeks...

Goose

I forgot this is a 240 without a turbo.

A friend, Bob Sowle in Avon, Indiana put a turbocharger on his 240D engine. He purchased the turbocharger from a company in California and installed it without a wastegate. He said that the faster he'd drive it the faster it would go. He claims to have had the car up to 100 mph which is belieavable.

My wife's car is a 2.3 liter diesel with a Garrett turbocharger and a 5-speed. It is good for about 20 mph in each gear.