...just wondering if anyone has ever put a diesel engine into an old custom or hot rod. It seems like a lot of products have been coming out for the late model diesel engines to give them some top end horsepower. Since they already have buttloads of torque, I was just wondering if anyone has ever attempted this combo....thanks.
Back on subject, if a 1000 pound engine (with all the necessary fluids) is put in a 3000 pound hot rod, and it happened to perform fairly well with great mileage in a 7200 pound truck, it can only perform better in the rod.
Wiring on anything is fairly straightforward if you get everything from the donor vehicle diesel or not, especially if you have the donor vehicle next to the recipient, then you factor in a tiny bit of forethought into gear ratio and tire size with a brand new limited slip/posi- the power to weight ratio is almost doubled in this situation and you will also have mileage.
Do it right and yours with the diesel will get as much or more attention than most any other vehicles in a show.
What ever happened to "dare to be different"?
When I judge other cars in a show, I give very little attention and no votes to the "cookie cutters" and they get no votes from me, these are:
1. Anything Ford with a Chevy engine in it.
2. Anything brought in on a trailer when over 90 percent of the rest were driven there.
3. Anything that doesn't get taken off the trailer, but gets a registration number anyway.
4. Any vehicle not taken off the trailer under it's own power.
5. Any vehicle that the owner knows nothing about.
6. Certain makes and models that have been overdone (first gen Camaro), this catagory would have to have something that catches my eye for one of them to get my vote.
7. A small community show that gets a long distance out of town club coming in just to get the longets travelled award, and the club participation award, and they all vote for all their own club members cars' and no-one else's.
I will give the little guy more of a chance than someone blatently showing off a couple dozen trophies and plaques.
A diesel hotrod is anything BUT "cookie cutter", give it a shot and have some fun being different.
If your looking for a mileage motor, and want to cut some weight, look into the 4bt Cummins. Same engine as the Gen1 5.9, but 2 less cylinders.
There were a lot on the market. Takeouts from the railroad industry, I believe. I do some custom exhaust work, for the diesel shop in town. He priced me one, with a 5-speed, installed for $4000. I was thinking about it, for a daily driver.
There is a guy at the diesel site I frequent, that is makeing 500hp out of a Gen1 5.9 turbo, with a modified VE(rotary) pump. Yes, he had dyno numbers to back it up. One of the moderators over there, just bought a 92 Gen1 truck, with 600,000 miles on it. Says it runs like a champ.
I heard one time that the late 5.7 Olds diesels had roller cam. No facts to back it up, just a rumor. I considered putting one in my 86 Camaro, when the 2.8 died, but replacing the freshly overhauled tranny, and other considerations, left me with a crate 2.8.
Might check out the new engine that Freightliner is putting in their Sprinter class trucks. I believe its a 5 cylinder, Mercedes/Benz.
I did some searching and found some small diesels that could work in a rod..Someone who is really interested in putting in a diesel could do it if he wished..
Most of the diesels I know of are not cammed for high RPM but are made for continous duty so are lightly stressed..if someone was to put in a different cam and do some adjustments they could be made into a screamer..Specially the turbo models..
Probably not me will do this but someone somewhere will..someone who thinks outside of the box so to speak..
I've been wanting to do this for a while. I saw a 50 merc with a cummins 6bt in it, it fit well. the owner said he averaged about 33 mpg and could cruise about 85mph. If I were to do it, I would go for the cummins 4bta. its a little smaller and lighter weight. Some of the disadvantages are the weight, the initial cost of the motor is higher, a tranny with good ratios for a diesel car is difficult to find. But, you would get awesome milage and perfomance and you could make the diesel motor look very unique. I say go for it. I'm keeping an eye out for a good deal on one. and when it comes my way it'll make it into my Hupmobile.
heres a pic of the cummins in the mercury
Personally I love the idea! Hey, maybe not from a practical standpoint... I do not see it being for everyone at the drag strip, but why the hell not? So what if it's not the most efficient idea... hotrodding began as the most outrageous in-efficient thing in the first place!
I don't know about the tracks that you guys go to, but up here we actually hold drag strip diesel competitions. There are more than a dozen guys running some VERY powerful diesel rigs here. One of them went mid-11's in a Ford powerstroke, most of them mid 12's with both dodge cummins and chevy duramax. Hell, the track held high school drags for me senior year, and the kid that won it was driving a single cab 2500 ram 24v cummins that went 13flat so many times in a row that he won! Awesome truck, he had a fat single stack pipe running straight up through the bed of the truck.
I figure if these things can put 7000lb trucks down the track so quick, why wouldn't they put a lighter chassis down a hell of a lot quicker?
Once again, maybe not froma competitive standpoint, but i think uniqueness is what makes hotrods cool and garunteed a diesel one would turn some heads!
I always thought that would be a cool idea. You could even look into a used deisel from an older military vehicle.
Have any of you seen the video of the guy running 11's in the 1/4 with the truck? I'll see if I can find a link to it. If I remeber correctly his power output was something like 1200HP and like 1600TQ.
Here's a link the the Cummins powered dragster that ran 7.98 @ 167.43. There was also a 40's Ford pickup on Ebay a while back that had a Cummins in it.
I've always been a diesel fan and always wanted to stuff a diesel into a big wagon since I saw a 59 Olds 4 door with a 3208 CAT blow by my Mustang going up a huge mountain in the Rockies about 15 years ago...( Iknew it was a 3208 because he had 4" tailpipes spewing black smoke and a 3208 decal on the trunk lid)...I could never catch him to pull him over to see how he did it, but I said that day that one day I would make the ultimate hotrod hauler wagon!.....Anyway! I finally finished it three years ago: A 6.2L diesel powered 1969 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser!..mated to a 700R4 trans and now I am about to swap the 3.08 diff for a 2.45 for extra mileage...I have not done any mods to the engine other than a complete detailing and a air intake scoop rather than the stock air filter which gives it a loud "intake rumble" when you hit the accelerator. I'll be looking at putting a Banks turbo on it in the next few years but due to limited space, the turbo might stick out of the hood...should be a neat look!...It has Dual 2 1/2 exhaust with 3 1/2" tailpipes for that diesel look..the body is gloss black and dechromed except for the bumpers and window moldings. shaved rear doorhandles and tailgate handle and lock...limo tint on the windows, a set of "in the coil airbags" and a set of 50's on Cragar S/S wheels...It looks ******, and gets over 30MPG towing a trailer!...Haven't been to the 1/4 mile track yet but should this summer...It takes off real nice off the line but lugs abit in third as a stock 6.2L will....
.....madmax2012 , very nice job on the 6.2 . Just a idea for you, if you find an old air cleaner off about a 56 olds with that dual inlet , it would look cool on there, and even get a set of old Rocket decal's on there and it will really confuse a few guys. Do you have the " J " code intake manifold on there ? , has no egr in the throat used on 3/4 ton and up , adds 15 hp from what I remember looking at specs. Plus the throat stays nice and clean if you have the other intake and didn't block off the exhaust. Again, nice to see I'm not alone in the GM diesel department. The 3208 cats out here we call a throw away motor as this 2 ring piston job didn't stand up well in farm tactors and was nothing to fix when they blew up short in life. But in a auto they probably would really go not bad. As far as the banks turbo on the 6.2 , never saw one here that was good, engine wasn't designed for it and they just blow up. J code intake, big exhaust pipes , and pump tweaking would be the limit I would go. Again, you have a nice ride.
being a Dodge Cummins Turbo Diesel fan, I guess I couldn't see a 40 Ford Pu with a 5.9 CTD in it. The motor weighs in excess of 1100 pounds so you would probably have to have "duallies on the front end instead at the rear just to carry the weight.
Now and old Cab over would make a nice tow truck and hotrod at the same time.
I could see making a rod out of a mid 70 or 80 chev crew cab dually with 5.9 CTD and a 6 speed. Make a great truck and be 1500 pounds lighter than my Dodge dually. It would pull the 5 er like it wasn't there and get great mileage to boot. Not to mention the challenge of the install. If a 12 valve with the mechanical pump were used the instal would be easier. but a 24 valve with a complete wire harness would be ok too. Make sure you have a good lift pump system. A 2WD with the big Hoosiers street radials on instead of the dually would be cool. Maybe just go for it and make it dually Hoosiers...you might be able to get 72 inches of rubber on the ground!!! With a good chip and big injectors you could boil those hides...the smoke show would be great...black storm clouds from the stacks and billowy white from the tires....what a storm. LOL
mean time my DCTD dually gets 20+ mpg with a 4.10 gear and starts at -20 f
and with a little nudge I can create and artificial eclipse of the sun or moon LMAO
I'll just throw this out here. When I was stationed in San Diego we used these generators that had detroit inline 6 diesel's as the primary mover. We got bored after deployment and decided to rod one of them for sake of wasting tax dollars (thanks W). Anyway we scored a supercharger off a monster 20k Hyster forklift, fab'd a manifold, Added a 3 belt pulley for the cooling fan and pitched the blades WAY in. Completly shoddy work to say the least. So we finally fire the thing up and lay into the throttle. The thing spolled up QUICK. Real quick...sending the govenor weights flying off thier bars, allowing the mechanical fuel pump to speed up, allowing the supercharger to shoe-horn more air into the engine, yadda, yadda, yikes. Flames coming out of the stack, saw several gaskets walking east carrying suitcases, and a roar so mind-shattering the worst scotch hangover would cower sucking it's thumb in comparrison. Ready for this...no fuel shutoff. We're in a panic. I'm regressing to like a 3 year old...I just want my mommy. A quicker thinking lance corporal grabs the flailing intake hose and plants it to his hip. The engine chokes and slows and after about 10 seconds or so cough's out only after smoke screening the bay in thick black carcinagen. Hero with the intake hose has a softball size hicky on his hip nearly purple and slightly swollen.
Diesels without computers love overspeed.
Did they ever fix the fiber(?) thing in the pump?. I can remember working at a small truck repair shop and we had a few people that would come in with the olds diesel not wanting to run. We would pull the (return?) line off and blow the fiber stuff out of the check ball and they would be fine till it started again. If I remember correctly the didn't have a fix for it then.
Wasn't the pump some funny name? Rotomaster or something. I was told the made forklift stuff.
This has really got me to scratching my head. My 56 ford f100 is still in the thinking stages. I was think at first about a 300 6cyl, then saw someone talking about the small buick 215 alum v8 and then this comes up.... Whow. I don't need a 600 ft. tq. engine. I want something I can drive. If I pull somethiing it might be a 6x9 single axle trailer. If I need something I will borrow the brother in laws 4x4 hi-tq crewcab dodge.....
Lots of tranny options that could be used with the 5.7 olds. 5sp or 6sp even. It is giving me a headache thinking about it. Come on guys help a brother out.
Did they ever fix the fiber(?) thing in the pump?. I can remember working at a small truck repair shop and we had a few people that would come in with the olds diesel not wanting to run. We would pull the (return?) line off and blow the fiber stuff out of the check ball and they would be fine till it started again. If I remember correctly the didn't have a fix for it then.
Wasn't the pump some funny name? Rotomaster or something. I was told the made forklift stuff.
.......Yes PapaG the flex ring did deteriate over time and ended up plugging the return check valve. A newer polyurethane flexring was the update which lasted longer but still would break up. Then a whole new mechanism was made to replace the flexring and works well. The pump was made by Roosamaster.
The 5.7 is only 105hp and something like 205ft lbs of torgue , not a workhorse, but it will move any vehicle down the road easily and get great fuel economy. In 1981 gm made a dual pattern 350C automatic trans which can bolt up to the olds or chevy engines. So when people had problems with their diesels they could just throw a chev gas in there without a major expense, or use a olds gas V8 also.
Thanks for the reply nailhead. I was close on the pump name...
I am not sure if it would be better to start a new thread or keep going, so I'll keep going on this and see what happens.
What about the Olds 5.7 vs the 6.2-6.5 Chev diesels. I have not touched a diesel except for a VW 1.9tdi in a while, and missed out on the 6.2-6.5 diesel
so I am not sure the size or in's and outs of these engines.
I am really leaning toward the diesel swap... The power of the 5.7 would work ok for what i want to do. 30mpg would be real nice too.
.......the 6.2 would be the best choice if you have the room for it, as it is a little bigger than the 5.7. Parts for the 5.7 are getting very hard to track down, whereas the 6.2 is readily available yet. If you seen the post with the 6.2 in a 69 olds wagon he is getting 30mpg. They are a louder running motor compared to the 5.7 , but no where near the cummins which you can hear 2 blocks away. A 6.5 is ok if you can get a 97 or older block cause they had more nickel content thus stronger, and the ultimate is a early 6.5 like my 94 that has no turbo charger to worry about and gets as good milage as a 6.2. But downfall is the darn electronic pump on the 6.5 which can be a headache. Vans with 6.5's had no electronic pumps and are just like a mechanical 6.2 which is perfect , but rare to find. Although there is nothing stopping you of putting a 6.2 mechanical pump on a 6.5 cause you are rodding it and don't need the electronic nightmare hookup and maintaince. Example : a $750 electronic reostat foot feeder for the 6.5 or a simple $20 cable from the pedal to the pump----which would you rather have ? I'm going to use the 5.7 in my 49 cause like I said earlier I am different under the hood from what you always see in the shows, plus I have alot of stuff for them and they run well for my needs here. I have a couple of 6.2's also in my graveyard and will go into another project down the road later. And if you go the " rattler " way under the hood you will always see that it will draw attention at the rod runs and shows, not to mention the economy you'll get driving it around at today's fuel prices. GM also had a 4.3 V6 which was the 5.7 with 2 cyls cut off , these diesels ran around 40mpg in the pontiac 6000's etc. There are other diesels out there that a guy can use as was mentioned up top, just gotta use your imagination and see what you can find out there for sale.
Are all the 4.3l the same physical size? I have read a little about some differances in the FWD and RWD, looks like the heads ahd bellhousing and crankshaft end are the big differances. good info.
....the Olds 4.3 V6 , 263 cubes is basically a 5.7 V8 (350 ) with 2 cyls cut off. The bore and stroke is the same for both diesels , 4.057 x 3.385. The 4.3 is approx 23" from end of the serp. crank pulley to the end of the block that mates to the trans, the 5.7 is approx 29 " .
Thanks for the info.... I will be looking around the junkyards and want adds to see what I can find... I will be doing this one way or the other...
Hum 4.3l in a Luv truck for my son...
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