diesel

[nimrod1949]

This may be sacrilege on this site or not possible but has anyone looked into swapping out to a diesel motor in a 67-72 K5? I believe a Cummins/Isuzu 3.9l might fit and give enough power with excellent fuel economy.
[FONT=&quot]Thank you for your thoughts[/FONT]

 

[bigblock72]

I've seen a couple of 72 pick ups with a B series 4 cylinder. Certainly wouldn't be my first choice as they aren't exactly smooth runners. If I did the work I'd go straight for a B series 5.9L. They can be made to fit with some firewall surgery (minor), and with the cost of 91-98 dodge pickups coming down you can find a complete drivetrain for pretty reasonable. The first gens have the bonus of having plenty of room in front of the radiator for an air to air.
Bottom line is if you're gonna go through the work and expense of doing a diesel swap you just as well do it all the way, you'll gain power and probably not loose any apreciable fuel milage.

 

[BKinzey]

Quite a few people have put a 4BT into Chevy trucks. Power is on the low side (130hp stock) but the mileage can't be beat. 30 - 35mpg Google: Chevy, 4BT, conversion or the like and I'm sure you'll find plenty of info. I've read lots of claims about 300hp with a modded 4BT. Didn't find much on how to do it and a few cautioned don't expect longevity with a 300hp 4BT I think if you were conservative with the mods, like 200hp, you might find a good compremise.

 

[ugly]

I asked my local diesel shop about a month ago and he said about $7000.00 for them to do the swap. I have no idea what motor, since I was not interested after the price. I'm no mechanic, so I would not do the swap myself. I wanted to run the diesel on waste vegetable grease.

I did however have my 454 built to about 450HP. waiting for the dyno to confirm.