Were there alot of C-10 diesels?

[Big Paul]

Hey all, I don't have my S-10 anymore. It caught fire about 3 weeks ago, total loss. I think something to do with the wiring at the blower motor or the fan itself caused it. So now I have to look for something else.

A friend of mine told me that his neighbor has an '83 C-10. I believe it's a shortbed, I saw it, but at 11pm and it was tucked into a small driveway so I only saw the front end of it.

I guess it was a factory diesel, and now has a Buick 350.

From what I saw the body looked good, looked to have original paint but was in good condition. Again, from the small portion I GOT to see. Didn't see the interior or get to look at the engine.

Good thing, if it was a diesel, no smog. And my friend said the guy is only asking $1500. Details are sketchy and I want to get a better look at it, see how it runs etc... I want to make sure I get a good, reliable truck. Don't wanna POS sitting in the driveway.

Anyway, were these C-10 diesels common? A guy I went to school with has an '82 C-10 that was a diesel. Also if I can remember right a friend of my grandpa's had an '82 GMC C-15 with a diesel, although his was a longbed. I'm not too sure if it was a half ton though.

[old Rusty C10]

i dont know if youd call it common or not cause the vast majority were definately gas and most of them were 305 motors. the diesels were ok but if it was converted to a gas engine as long as it was done right thats cool. My concern would be why a buick motor. why not a chevy motor? seems as though every buick RWD motor ive ever run into winds up goin for bearings so id check the oil and the lower end for a bearing knock

[RockHQ]

Sorry to hear about your S-10

The c-10's have had a diesel since 1977, 1977-1981 having the olds-built 350 cubic inch engine whilst 1982-1993 have the 379 cubic inch detroit diesel/chevrolet built engine. I don't have any production numbers readily available but i do know that the 1977-1981 models with the olds diesel were never built to a great extent whilst the 1982 and later models are far more common as the engine is whole lot more reliable and has more useful applications.

In Europe the diesel models are far, far more common than in the USA since most of the countries have ridiculously high petrol pricing and a diesel engine is often the only atleast semi-economical way to go. I'm a mechanic at a GM dealer, and would say that 70% of all fullsize vehicles (vans, pickups, suburbans, blazers, etc) i do work on have diesels.

Now about the truck you went to see. If it was really built 1983 it should have had the 6.2 liter diesel (379 ci) which has a chevy transmission bolt pattern. To me it would make no sense to drop a buick 350 into it since the transmission would have to be swapped or an adapter plate would have to be put in between the two. A chevy SB would be a direct bolt in.

[1FaastC10]

at any rate Paul, if its a good running truck, snatch it up and sort out your drivetrain later. i'm assuming since it was a factory diesel you wouldnt have to have it smog tested, which means you can do just about anything to it, right?

[Big Paul]

Yeah Jeremy, no smog if it was a factory diesel here in CA. I honestly don't know if it's a Buick 350, I was told that it was. The owner could be stupid. Easiest way to check is the distributor.

If it is a Buick engine, and it runs good, well that won't bother me. Could hop up the Buick. Or just get it running good until I get money for a crate and transmission. Since I could do anything I wanted, I could stuff in a big block. A hot SB aint bad though. If it is a decent running truck that's not in bad shape i'll try to go after it. Don't wanna plan anything though.

RockHQ, I was thinking the same thing, if it was an earlier diesel it would make sense if you wanted to switch it to gas you'd use a BOP engine.

Who knows, i'll have to check out this truck and talk to the owner.

How can I check the year of the truck by the VIN? Checking the engine is a no-brainer, just the location of the distributor. Really don't have to check for rust, unless it wasn't a CA truck before. I think I have a good idea of what i'm looking at for a good truck.

[1FaastC10]

Paul, if it is in fact a Buick 350, dont waste your money hopping it up. Buick had terrible problems with their oiling system. if you need to put a little in it to get it running and reliable (tune up, gaskets, etc) then go ahead and do what you have to do. if its a Olds engine, you should be fine with hop ups, plus a 455 will bolt right in there. personally, i'd run whatever it has until you can afford a small block and a 700R4, and you'll have a decent driver. if its got a BOP TH350 in it now a 200R4 is a direct bolt in, which would give you OD.

[mike reeh]

well well well look who came crawling back. Big Paul. Guess its some sort of "sign" that your S10 burnt to the ground eh See even God himself prefers 73-87 fullsize.

I wouldnt test him again, he might not be as forgiving as he was this time.

mike

[Big Paul]

Hey Mike, it's my destiny to be in here with you clowns. I thought God liked all Chevy trucks? :p

Jeremy, Caddy 500!!! or a Buick 455. Although I have been piecing together a combo on paper with the Goodwrench crate.

I'll hopefully get a look at the truck this week. The Buick engine just sounds so stupid to me right now. If I pop the hood and the distributor is in the back i'm gonna go off on somebody. Gullible idiots some people are. Oh well, I haven't seen it yet.

[KShortell]

Back in the 80s, a friend of my Dad's had a neat truck, a 1984 Chevy 4x2 SWB diesel. It was a dark blue Silverado with the rally wheels. He kept the injectors tuned so it didn't smoke.

The best part was that he got 28 m.p.g.!

[the baron]

Hey , Big Paul ,

My 1979 C10 long bed used to be a 350 Olds Diesel , before a swap occured , I have now a 350 Olds gas engine in it , the swap happened back in 1994 , long time before I bought it...

I think that Buick's engines had the distributor in the front , it is at least what I had on my 300ci V8 1966 Buick Skylark.

My Olds engine have the distributor in the back , PITA to go there to check the contacts , if you'd ask me ( I have short legs...)

Whatever engine it has , I would buy the truck you saw , even the 350 Diesel Olds seems to be a reliable engine , when properly maintained

go to the following site :
http://members.tripod.com/~A350Diesel/350tech.html

this site will explain you everything about the 350 ( 5.7) Diesel , if it is what you have in it...

cheers

The Baron

[arveetek]

Paul,

All of the above info is good. If it indeed is an '83, then it probably has a regular Chevy engine in it, for that would replace the factory 6.2L diesel. If it's a '81 or older, then it could be a Buick engine, for it would replace the factory Olds 5.7L diesel.

As far as how common they are, there's a bunch of '82 and up Chevy diesel half-tons out there. Just go to www.thedieselpage.com and you'll meet a lot of 6.2L diesel owners.

There aren't that many 5.7L diesel half-tons though. Not many made, and not many left with the original engine.

[navybear70]

My first truck - 78 longbed Scottsdale - started as a diesel, and my latest truck - 80 stepside Scottsdale - started as a diesel. The 78 had an Olds 283 w/350 heads. ...yes, you read right. The 80 has a 350 but I'm not sure what make. I know its an 87 or newer because of the black ribbed valve covers (dist. in the rear) but thats all I know.
The truck might have another advantage. Look under the bed, you might see a 12 bolt rear.
Watch out for the wiring though. Some people just cut all the extra wiring and LEAVE IT DANGLING EVERYWHERE!!!

But I'm not upset.

[Big Paul]

Hey guys, I looked at the truck more today in the daylight. Door panels are "gross" and scraped up, and the dash has some cracks. It has a vinyl seat, looks good, floor looked good, cluster and gauges looked good too.

Body is straight, bumpers look good, has some scratches and 2 gouges in the front of the hood. It does have a non-Chevy engine in it. The distributor is in the back, but it has the WIDE intake manifold and funny valve covers like the BOP's had.

Has a flat front passenger tire, and needs a new battery. The guys wife told me that the engine was rebuilt. That's good if it's true, don't know how many miles are on it. Gotta talk to husband and see.

The engine bay and all looked clean, not clean , but everything was orderly, and didn't look thrown together.

Now a question, how can I tell the year of the truck by the VIN tag? What numbers and what digits am I looking for? Also, did the TH400 (assuming thats what it would be) behind the 6.2L diesel have the BOP pattern as well? I know some of them had a Chevy and BOP bolt pattern. Could this be? I'm still trying to figure out why the Buick engine if it really is an '83.

The grill didn't have a Chevy emblem or a piece of trim on it, just blank. I don't know if this is a repro grill or it was something with the diesel trucks with the blank grill? I think it has a factory tach (didn't open the doors, but my friend said he saw it when he looked at it), and it's a Silverado.

[apstguy]

Those diesels are not fast. My 305 beat it no prob (that's bad). They are good engines though. No 81-87's came with factory tachs.

[the baron]

Paul ,

my C10 has a TH400 with the B.O.P. pattern , but a 6.2 Diesel won't fit on it.

TH400 was a common feature on Chevy trucks fitted with the 350 Diesel...

You can easily identify if it is a TH400 you have in that truck , just crawl under and take a look at the cover , it should have a cover shaped ( almost ...) like the Texas State

the Baron

[arveetek]

Paul,

If it's an '83 that had a 6.2L, then it came with a 700R4.

But if it's been changed to a BOP engine, then the tranny's probably been changed as well.

If it's an '81 or older, I'm not sure which tranny they used behind the 5.7L diesel.

No diesel pickups left the factory with a tach before '92.

[Tom]

I bet they took the motor mounts from a 5.7L deisel and swapped a olds 350 in there, not a buick....

[the baron]

I bet for that option either...

Paul ,
take a look at your valves covers , they should be painted in a greenish blue , if they are , it's a Olds engine in it...

if they are in their original colors , of course

The Baron

[Big Paul]

Baron, it did have greenish blue valve covers. Must be an Olds then?

This damn truck is confusing.

The truck is definately post '81. So when did they change from the 5.7 diesel to the 6.2 diesel? '81? How can I tell the year of this truck from the VIN? Someone?

I have one thing figured out. The drivetrain has been changed completely. No matter what engine was in it before, or what year it is.

Anyway I can tell for sure if it's now an OLDS 350?

I'm all pissed off cause I got an idiot friend telling me a bunch of BS that he doesn't know about and no matter what I tell him that I learned he's gonna disagree.

[arveetek]

The 5.7L Olds diesel was installed up until 1981. In 1982, the Chevy 6.2L diesel came out and was used until 1992.

I don't know why anyone would install an Olds drivetrain in place of a 6.2L. It would require a lot of fabbing up of motor mounts and such. If it had a 5.7L diesel, an Olds 350 would have bolted right in.

Yes, the VIN will tell you the year of the truck. Get the VIN and we can help decipher it for you.

[Big Paul]

Awesome, i'll get the VIN as soon as I can. Maybe we'll get a little farther.

[Tom]

get a digi pic too if you can of the motor!! And chek out the shape of the tranny pan so we can figure that out too.

[RockHQ]

Big Paul, my Olds 350 has red valve covers&intake manifold. Well now they're mostly covered with dark sludge and rust, but there's a spot or two of paint left Mine is a 77-80 block, but of course it could have been painted different by a PO.

An Olds V-8 will have the distributor in the back of the engine, but the shaft doesn't go through the intake manifold (like Chevy) . It also has an oil filler tube on the front of the block, above the water pump. The starter is on the driver's side of the block. The valve covers are held on with 10 or five bolts, on some engines (like mine) only 5 are used but the covers have holes for 10 bolts. Weird huh?!

A Buick V-8 will have a front mounted, angled distributor, sort of like Cadillacs, and the thermostat cover faces forward.

A Pontiac V-8 will have the oil filler in a valve cover, a rear-mounted distributor and i believe the intake manifold is radically different from the rest. Something about the intake runners maybe??

Good luck,

-Axle


OT, but there are more members with ex-diesels here than i thought.

P.S I'm positive i don't need to tell anyone here how to identify a Chevy V-8

[Big Paul]

I know it's not a Chevy, I would have known as soon as I saw it. It does have a distributor in the back. I'll have to look at the engine again to be sure if it has the filler tube in front, i'm not sure, didn't look at it too long. I was looking through a catalog today and saw some aftermarket valve covers for an Olds, the valve covers on the truck looked to be the same. I think these are the 10 bolt versions.

Tom, I don't have a digi cam or else I would have snapped some pics already.

[Slonaker]

The Chevy pickup on this page has an Olds 455. The pics might help you identify what the truck you are looking at has.

http://www.daleholley.com/86truck/new_engine.htm

Slonaker