i-CTDI from Scotland
I'm currently living in Scotland and driving a '07 BMW 120d. Yes, 177 hp turbo charged 4 cylinder diesel. It's fast and can get 50 mpg. Very sweet. It's really going to suck to sell it. Importing it to the US just wouldn't be worth all the headaches.
I'm going to be moving back to the US in a couple months (likely Houston), and have been looking at the very limited diesel options available in the US: VW Jetta TDI, Audi A3 TDI, BMW 335d, and Mercedes Benz. For various reasons, I don't really like the choices. Either the cars are too small (I'm 6'5" tall), or they are too expensive and don't have enough utility.
So, I'm considering getting an i-CTDI engine from a local scrap yard and bringing it back to the US with me to do an Element swap. My thoughts are to use a Element SC with a manual transmission.
With as many E-heads on this forum, I'm looking for some guidance, to see how much work this is, versus buying and living with one of the cars above.
1. Could someone recommend some tuner shops in Houston that could help with this project? I'd definately need some help with sorting out the wiring.
2. Any thoughts on if the Honda Accord (US Acura TSX) i-CTDI or the CRV i-CTDI would be better to use?