I suggest staying away from any of the 70-80's GM diesels. They were
glorified gas engines that GM tried to adapt to diesels and were very
unreliable. I worked on many of them in the late 70's and was not
impressed. In my opinion they are more trouble than they are worth (not to
mention they may be getting hard to find parts for). I saw several
Caterpillar 3208 V-8 diesels in some F350 (1-ton) pickups (custom installs I
helped with), but these were very heavy and at the time there was no
economical auto trans capable of handling the torque and power.
Any of the 90's and up diesels are fairly well built, but are also heavy
(that's why you seldom see them in anything smaller than a 3/4 or 1-ton
truck). The Navistar "PowerStroke" V-8 (built for Ford) and the newer Isuzu
DuraMax diesels are good performers, but due to their torque, must be
carefully matched to the right transmission so as not to prematurely
wear-out anything behind the engine.
You may need to do some special reinforcing of the frame and make sure you
have a front suspension that's up to the task for the extra weight.
I'll admit having a diesel in an old truck would be unique, but do your
homework and good luck!!
Carl Ham
'56 Chevy TF Stepside
Pontiac, IL
>From: GremlinGTs@aol.com
>Reply-To: GremlinGTs@aol.com
>To: oletrucks@autox.team.net
>Subject: [oletrucks] Off-topic : opinions on early Chevy 350 diesel motors
>from 70s-80's
>Date: Sun, 26 Jan 2003 13:30:01 EST
>
> Ok, to make it <barely> relevant to the List ; has anyone ever put a
>diesel motor in their old classic truck ? :D Ok, that said, the wife needs
>a
>full-sized van, and found out about an '83 Chevy van that has the 350
>diesel
>motor in it. I've gone to a few websites on Chevy diesel engines, and know
>that this era ( '78 up to '85 ) was prone to blowing head gaskets, rusting
>injector pumps, etc. Has anyone on the list owned one, and have good/bad
>things to say? One of the diesel Forums had a running Thread about how
>they're junk, whereas the truly "diesel" guys who've driven both big and
>small trucks with them, said alot of times it's how the engine is taken
>care
>of ( MUCH more frequent oil changes at 1,500 miles, gas treatment to
>prevent
>wax buildup in cold, ignition timing CRITICAL, etc. ), so there seems to be
>good and bad about opinions. I'm not sure I want a diesel, especially if
>it's
>going to sit alot without use, and require more "attention" to detail ( I'm
>NOT detail-oriented, BTW ). So I want opinions on the Chevy 350 diesel
>itself, especially from the early 80's era, if anyone has relevant info on
>them as far as operation in cold ( I'm in northern Virginia, not North
>Dakota, LOL ), cost of frequent oil changes and other necessities, etc, vs.
>savings in fuel costs, no tuneups, etc. Thanks to any and all replies both
>for and againest. AMC ya,
>
>Jerry
>'55 Chevy TF Suburban project
>'78, 74, 72 Gremlins
>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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