A diesel in a 56?

[Dusty4]

OK, so this idea might be a bit out there, and not so hot rod, but my truck is going to work for a living, and put on about 17,000 miles a year, so great fuel economy would be a real plus. Anybody have any ideas of a diesel engine that might work out well? I only have experience with Mercedes, which are great, but a little spendy... thanks, Dusty

[DavesRide]

If you got to do it go with the new Duramax Chevrolet. I will cost at least 10 grand, @ LEAST. A tuned Duramax has been known to see 12's at the strip. High dollar project my friend. Do it and post for the rest of us. I have test driven many 07 and 08 Duramax trucks and they ain't nothing like the old Bangers. If you are gonna tow then get the noisy Cummins. Both are very expensive and are gonna cost in maintanence. The injectors for the D-MAX which are always getting changed are a few thousand by themself. They go bad without warranty and you get to buy some more let alone the tech want to charge to diag and repair. Gas for me Bro.

[mylow53]

i've dreamed of my dodge diesel "cummins" in my 53. but i talked to a guy that does the "ford cummins" dodge engine in a ford... and he said the ford swap is pretty simple since the cummins is an inline 6 cyl. but the weight would be enormus.. i did some mesurements and the cummins 5.9 will fit in a stock engine compartment. or at least real close. you may need an inch or so since the engine is a tad longer than the 235. i don't know how much these weigh by themselves but my dodge 4x4 2500 weighs 8,000lbs (4 tons) empty. you may have stearing problems. thats if you could get your suspension off the rubber bump stops...
if you do the swap i want to see pictures.....
GT

http://www.fordcummins.com/

[entourageguy]

You might want to keep an eye on this thread. He's putting a diesel in his 52 'burb.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=249457


Brian ...

[chevyrestoguy]

A DuraMax in an older truck would be freakin' awesome. Expensive, but awesome. The cost of a totalled late model truck would be high. I figure that buying a total would be the only way to do it. That way you can use everything diesel related that's on the truck. If you had to piece it together, that would be very costly.

[Jebb1978]

Originally Posted by chevyrestoguy

A DuraMax in an older truck would be freakin' awesome. Expensive, but awesome. The cost of a totalled late model truck would be high. I figure that buying a total would be the only way to do it. That way you can use everything diesel related that's on the truck. If you had to piece it together, that would be very costly.

If you take this advice, and it sounds like good advice. I would try to adapt your truck to the frame of the totaled out truck. That would also solve your weight issues....

Just a thought.

[robin58]

If you don't necessarily want the latest and greatest in diesels, you'll often run across listings on eBay for the 6.2L variety. Mostly they have been pulled out of HumVees when they were upgraded to 6.5L motors. They usually run around $250.

[gumps10]

4bt My friend.....
Not as heavy as a 6bt Can make decent power and more reliable than a 6.2/6.5
Go to 4btswaps.com...
Lots of info there