To evaluate the effectiveness of various means to combat the negative health effects of ultrafine particles emitted by internal combustion engines, a reliable, low-cost instrument for dynamic measurements of the exhaust emissions of ultrafine particulate matter (PM) is needed. In this study, an ordinary ionization-type building smoke detector was modified to serve as a measuring ionization chamber and utilized for dynamic measurements of PM emissions from diesel engines. When used with diluted exhaust, the readings show an excellent correlation with total particulate length. The instrument worked well with raw and diluted exhaust and with varying emission levels and is well suitable for on-board use.