Fiat in Suriname?

Got a bit surprised to see a Fiat car in Suriname. That was a Fiat Palio Weekend made in Brazil, with plates from French Guyana. The engine was the very same TD70 that I got to know about 16 years ago in a trip to Uruguay. It does surprise me that Fiat doesn't have in Suriname the same strenght it has in other regional South American markets, since they have a fairly good relation of ruggedness and low cost. In many other countries, not just in South America, I already got the chance to drive Fiat Palio rental cars and they felt fairly good.

Isuzu 4JG2 in Ford E-Series wagon, anyone?

Though we all agree the stock drivelines fitted to Ford E-Series vans are somewhat boat-anchors with na awful fuel consumption, it may feel uncomfortable to get rid of the automatic transmission. It's a matter of compromises, and this time the swap of an Isuzu 4JG2 engine and a 5-speed manual transmission out of an Isuzu NKR truck was found out to be the best option. For a 2009 E-150 with the 35-spline Dana 60, the 5.38 differential gear ratio might be sufficient.

Cardboard gaskets?

Came to see a Chinese copy of the Yanmar horizontal-single engine, fitted to an air compressor, for oil leaks. All of its gaskets had been replaced with pieces of cardboard, but it kept running for a while until I could get there and replace them with a more conventional material. I know, some people might be unfavorable to that, but I am still comfortable using asbestos.