4-53T swap curiosity

[K5dreamer]

Ok, so right off the bat, no im not looking to do this any time remotely soon, and i realize a better swap would be a 599 6.5TD, so the only real reason to do it would be the coolness factor of the two stroke diesel.

That being said. Anyone have experience with this swap? does the 4-53T bolt up to an NV4500? what engine mounts do you use? does it clear the factory hood and firewall? what suspension mods would be needed to handle the weight? so on and so forth.

Id think putting 2" taller springs up front than in rear would level out the truck even with the excessive weight of the engine. IE - 6in springs up front, 4in springs out back.

I just have this mental image of the ultimate neandertal trail rig, all mechanical, no computers, 4-53T/NV4500/LoMax 205/CV shafts/K30 axles with detroit lockers/ 44in boggers.

Im sure there are other forums with good info, just wanted to see what the guys here thought. feel free to hypothisize and voice opinions.

 

[blazinzuk]

something that will probably help a bit http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=212269&highlight=detroit+diesel

From what I can see the biggest problem is the overall height of the engines.

Other than that I haven't really looked at hooking one up to a nv trans if I ever did the swap I would use the big truck trans too

 

[K5dreamer]

EDIT - oh yeah, thanks for the link, im reading it at work as I write this.

the height can be worked around, ive seen the 4-53T in silverado pickup trucks and the like. in a worst case senario a cowl hood and 1in body lift would ease things up a bit.

As for the bigger tranny, youre talking something like a spicer or ranger right? I knew if i wanted to go apechit and put a 6v53T in there (ive seen one shoehorned into a F250 tow-truck/snow-plow on youtube, freaking epic) id need one of them thar big rig trannys.

but the power rating of the 4-53T is right around that of a 599 6.5TD, less hp actually. Last time i checked the N rated 4-53T was 170hp/440lbsft or somewhere in that neighborhood. Figured the NV4500/NP205 would be more than capible of handling that, and would be easier to install, and not nearly as heavy as the big truck trannys.

 

[ARAMP1]

There have been several swaps of the 53 series Detroit Diesel into 73-87(91) GMs along with older and newer trucks. The inline 53 would be the most practical. It is small enough to fit in without major modification.

Detroit made SAE and automotive style bellhousings for the inline 53 series motors. The automotive styles had SM420/465s bolt pattern.

If you're like me and just had to have a Detroit in your truck (and you'll know you've reached the all new low of Detroit madness when you are constantly searching youtube videos and re-watching vids you've seen over and over), I would suggest checking out the following two sites.

Detroit Diesel Forum
4BT Swap Forum (has a Detroit section)

Heres a couple pics of a truck with a clean swap. As you can see, it fits pretty well.