Got Diesel ?

a chevy 6.2 diesel would bolt into a 2nd gen. It would fit a 1st gen with doghouse mods. You could also go for a 6.5, which are about the same engine, but they have a turbo and made more power.

They are cheap and you might get in the upper teens for mpg

kookykrispy wrote:a chevy 6.2 diesel would bolt into a 2nd gen. It would fit a 1st gen with doghouse mods. You could also go for a 6.5, which are about the same engine, but they have a turbo and made more power.

They are cheap and you might get in the upper teens for mpg

Thanks KookyKrispy. Do you know what vehicles came with a 6.2 / 6.5?

80's chevy vans, trucks blazers and suburbans got the 6.2

90's trucks vans, blazers and suburbans got the 6.5 turbodiesel. The military uses this engine in all the Hummvees. They are not powerhouses, but they are reliable.

Here is a page where a guy put a 6.5L non-turbo in a 77 corvette with a 700r4 trans and claims to get pretty good mpg

http://www.thedieselpage.com/readers/vet.htm

Here is an '83 chevy van for sale with a "strong engine" 6.2L diesel for $700:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/3241311635.html


Here is the EPA website report on what kind of gas mileage that van got http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=27471

A 6.2L trucks or vans are kinda slow, but it would be an cheap, easy swap and you would get decent MPG. If you coupled it with an overdrive transmission and 3.36 rear gears, you might be getting pretty good fuel economy... probably around 20mpg. Maybe even better if you turbo'd the 6.2L. From what I understand all the turbo stuff from the 6.5L turbo will bolt onto the 6.2

Here's a 6.2L truck with under 100K miles for $1000... thats the engine to swap in right there:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/3242485042.html

To Each -His own - for my 5Cents worth -id do something americak 9engine wise) to the van -yet if im driving that much ??for work purposes-id guess? id look for something that sells for under 3 grand-or less?/ =low mileage & was some old folks car that gets decent mileage. Drive that until it gives up -save the van

we all buy these vans to make them what we want and
how we want, in other words different strokes for
different folks. I say go for it and show us your results
so we can awe in your sucess.

kookykrispy wrote:80's chevy vans, trucks blazers and suburbans got the 6.2

90's trucks vans, blazers and suburbans got the 6.5 turbodiesel. The military uses this engine in all the Hummvees. They are not powerhouses, but they are reliable.

Here is a page where a guy put a 6.5L non-turbo in a 77 corvette with a 700r4 trans and claims to get pretty good mpg

http://www.thedieselpage.com/readers/vet.htm

Here is an '83 chevy van for sale with a "strong engine" 6.2L diesel for $700:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/3241311635.html


Here is the EPA website report on what kind of gas mileage that van got http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/Find.do?action=sbs&id=27471

A 6.2L trucks or vans are kinda slow, but it would be an cheap, easy swap and you would get decent MPG. If you coupled it with an overdrive transmission and 3.36 rear gears, you might be getting pretty good fuel economy... probably around 20mpg. Maybe even better if you turbo'd the 6.2L. From what I understand all the turbo stuff from the 6.5L turbo will bolt onto the 6.2

Here's a 6.2L truck with under 100K miles for $1000... thats the engine to swap in right there:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/3242485042.html

THANKS for all the info! kookykrispy

Tho I'm a big fan of diesels, have an old reliable Mercedes diesel, I really can't imagine my teeth not coming out with on right next to me in the doghouse. One of the reasons to get them in the back of buses to wear out the driver. Good luck tho and please post pics if you do it.

I was thinking of going the other way for better milage. The 4 cylinder block fits right up and the, I think '86 and below boat engines, Mercruiser, OMC and etc. put out about 120 to 140 HP with decent torque because they had better cams and big valves (EPA is different for boats).

So, if you really want less fuel consumption you might try putting in at 3.0 boat engine (maybe get externals from the 2.5 engines they put in S-10/15's and probably make more mpg with about the same power than the old L6's. Also, since I think the newer engines, especially boat engines, are set up for higer RPM's than our old truck engines, they would probably do much better on the highway. And think of all that room you'd have up front to move the radiator back for better airflow.

I think the overall physics of a lighter engine and better performance would be great on the commute.

Good luck either way, Mark

Diesel?? You will instantly become every ones friend= @ stop lights, with neighbors when you start it up & let it warm up in the mornings & especially at all the stopped traffic in the summer =Rattle =rattle & smelly diesel fumes too - not thinking that diesel fuel will always now cost you more than gasoline does per gallon. That will do great things for a nice ol van = everyone will want to come up for a look . Just my old opnion= why not just get a gas turboed motor for mileage?

Cummins 4BT

/thread

if milage is what you are after, try modern fuel injection
from newer model car or truck, I have a 91 350/700r4
throttle body injected motor in my 68/108 and I get 19 mpg
on the highway and 15/16 in town and the dependability is
fantastic, it is a daily driver for me and the only time I
have had the engine cover open for, is to change and check
the oil, nothing else

If I hit the Lotto, I have several engine swaps I want to try.
4BT, 4.3 V6, 6.0, Northstar, Duramax, all for different reasons.

A diesel G20 would make an awesome tow rig.
Newer diesel are not as noisy as the old 2 stroke Detroit diesels

Iveco cabovers run Cummins 4BT diesels and aren't that noisy.

we have done a 4.3/700r4 in a 69 dodge shorty and
he gets 20 mpg highway and he loves it, it is a tbi
injected motor also.

A 4.3 V6 or 350 V8 swap is fairly straight forward- Chevy into Chevy.

If someone want something unique, that's going to take more research.

But If I were to do a diesel swap into an early, I would go the 4BT route simply because there are GM pattern bellhousings out there in stepvans and Iveco trucks.

Is it going to be easy? no, you still need to make a 24 volt starting system, diesel fuel supply, motor mounts, exhaust, linkages, heat shield for turbo, etc...

But the effort will pay off when you have a drivetrain no one else has...

my factory 153 four cylinder has almost a foot of room from rad. to motor box
https://vintage-vans.forumotion.com/t25741-putting-65-g10-pics-in-correct-forum#104976

Gotta love the Diesel nae sayers. leaking smoking smelly loud... We're not talking a mid 90s 5.9 cummins here.

We don't drive these things to be like everyone else. Im not afraid of using the parts I can get a hold when wherever I can get ahold of them. Foreign or not. Tried and true is where it counts.

I'm in for an Isuzu turbo diesel 4 banger. Rebuilt one for a guy out of a Trooper. '86. Would be a nice fit... Not sure about trans. Would have to find what 2wd isuzu trans shared the bellhousing.

Givin what I had to go through putting the american made chev 6 in my van. (missing "van only" crossmember, missing "van only" transmission, missing "van only" this that and the other thing) It would have been just as easy mounting the turbo 4. Given you have moderate fab skills.

Im all for it. I've been into diesels since completing the diesel tech course at our local Community college. There's a reason gasoline engines are finally starting to use technology that diesels have had for 100 years...direct injection equals better efficiency...

Just my 2... maybe 3cts...

panelmanrd wrote:we have done a 4.3/700r4 in a 69 dodge shorty and
he gets 20 mpg highway and he loves it, it is a tbi
injected motor also.

Cool set-up. Definitely something you don't see very often

That's the bitch with the Dodges, getting a 4 spd auto in there requires thinking outside the Mopar box.

itruns wrote:

panelmanrd wrote:we have done a 4.3/700r4 in a 69 dodge shorty and
he gets 20 mpg highway and he loves it, it is a tbi
injected motor also.

Cool set-up. Definitely something you don't see very often

That's the bitch with the Dodges, getting a 4 spd auto in there requires thinking outside the Mopar box.

A518/618?

RD installed a GM engine/trans in a friend's A100 using new cross members. Nice, reliable and relatively inexpensive set-up.

Dodge put the engine behind the front axle. Even though the A100 auto has a special stubby tailstock, the drive shaft is still very short. The OD unit on the end of a Mopar trans makes it even longer than the typical 727. Anything is possible, but the A518 in a A100 isn't going to work unless you move the engine up or put a subframe in like the wheel standers had.