chevy 6.5 98 what is it worth and what is the mpg estimate?

[1970 C10 MJW]

i have a 97 k1500 5.7 and i would love to trade up to a diesel, what do you guys think? 6.5s are good motors i know that but are they underpowered? what kinda mpg? i get 15mpg in my 5.7... would you guys pay this much? i know it needs a lil body work but im not super concerned
http://southbend.craigslist.org/ctd/3333904036.html

[jerrymp]

K2500 4X4 you will get 12 to 15 mpg consistently. The price seems high to me, but you are in a different market than me. What does NADA or Blue Book on line tell you?

This is not a powerhouse. 10K is pretty much its max pulling ability. 160K miles is a little over half life expectancy. Well maintained 6.5 will make it to 250K.

But if you don't know about things like blowback, cracked block(a common thing) and crossover cooling, how to check for them, you might be buying a pig in a poke. Buying diesels, especially the 6.5 requires a different skillset than buying a gasser.

The 6.5 is an easy diesel to work on and the parts are relatively cheap. And like anything, if you put a lot of money into one, you will get more power. A guy in eastern washington makes a lot of power and races a 6.5 at Bonneville. But he pours money into the thing and even puts concrete in the block to beef it up. But it will never be a PowerStroke, Cummins, or Duramax.

[1970 C10 MJW]

ok thank you, the blue book here lists it at 4000 and some change