The wrongest of the wrong

[dremu]

I'm scanning some of my backlog of sales brochures now that (1) the server is back up and (2) I've no wife to yell at me for it /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif ... and for 1980, GMC is pushing the 5.7L diesel for the pickups.

Ooh lawd I'd forgotten that the Olds 350 diesel was available ever so briefly. Eww.

I know, let's put it in a 3/4-ton with a TH700R4 behind it... eww...

yes, I know there are good 700's. There are NO good 350 diesels, however (IMHO, ymmv /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

 

[dyeager535]

I've been curious to know if any of those were available with the 465... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[HarryH3]

While wandering through a junkyard last week I came upon a pickup that had a Goodwrench version of the 350 Diesel under the hood! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif Who in their right mind would have ever bought another one of those engines? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[dyeager535]

Hey, thats gotta be pretty rare! They probably only made 1 crate replacement 350 diesel. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[84_Chevy_K10]

[ QUOTE ]
While wandering through a junkyard last week I came upon a pickup that had a Goodwrench version of the 350 Diesel under the hood! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif Who in their right mind would have ever bought another one of those engines? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, I found the exact same thing in the junkyard. Must have been someone's project, because it had a brand new battery tray in the one side. That's how I scored my other battery for the dual battery arrangement. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[rjfguitar]

The 6.2 and th700 is a good combo (IMHO). Those diesel 350's were junk. I can't believe they were offered in a fullsize! /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif

 

[dremu]

Dorian, what clever thing do you intend to do with a BOP SM465, pray tell? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

-- A

 

[imiceman44]

[ QUOTE ]
Dorian, what clever thing do you intend to do with a BOP SM465, pray tell? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

-- A

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I don't know about him but a 455 Olds would be good. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

 

[dyeager535]

Nothing really, but anyone that wants to put an Olds motor in one of these trucks with a manual transmission would find one of those bellhousings invaluable.

FWIW these motors weren't that bad from what I can discern, especially the later ones. There are still a few of them kicking around, but just like any other "oddball" engine, the 350 diesel wasn't understood (and thus not cared for) by the owners. I can't think of any other US automaker that was putting diesels in cars or trucks in 1979, but I was 5 at the time, so I can't say that was the case.

The blocks, cranks and rods are all extremely beefy pieces, and if anything, the 350 diesel was what GM used as a test bed to improve the later diesels in their vehicles. You do hear of a lot of problems with these motors, but most of them appear to be with the diesel system itself, not the short block or heads.

You can make an immense gas race motor with the 350 block as a foundation, but it costs a LOT of money to offset grind cranks and so on. With .125" overbore possible before even needing to be sonic tested, you can imagine how strong these blocks were.