Diesel Project Input Needed

[movindirt]

I am considering possibly building a 1973-75 Suburban using a turbo diesel for the power plant. It will be a daily driver and a tow rig along with some off road use so 4wd. What is good choice for latemodel diesel power? What tranny? What about using a Gear Vendor overdrive? My goal is to replace my Toyota pickup 4wd that only gets 16mpg at best. The extra size and ability to tow my prerunning with possibly better mileage is what is steering this direction. I don't know much about diesels but keep hearing about the great mileage they get, is it true? Any input would be great.

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[GMCrunner]

The easiest diesel to put in the suburban would be the chevy 6.5L turbo diesel. Most suburbans that come with diesel in the later years like the late 80's suburbans had the 6.2L but it doesnt come turbocharged. The 6.5L's arent real powerful because of how they are built (they have real high compression pistons with a turbo that runs low boost so the motor doesnt blow), some bright guy at chevy thought it was a good idea to do that. My dad has the 6.5L in his 3500 extended cab single rear wheel truck and he gets on average of 15-16mpg with 250,000 miles on the original motor. If you really want a high output diesel put the new 6.6L duramax in there but they are pretty expensive. Transmission wise i would say a rebuilt 4L80E or something that has four gears so you can use the torque of the motor.

[sickrick]

Cummins 5.9 with a turbo 400 trans. Get the transmision adapter from a box van that has the cummins 4 cylinder diesel.

[Ramsey_ElWardani]

Cummins 5.9 with a turbo 400 trans. Get the transmision adapter from a box van that has the cummins 4 cylinder diesel.

I would agree with the Cummings but use the same adapter with a 4L80E. Why limit yourself to a 73 - 75? Get a Diesel to start with and you won't have to worry about smog checks, just like the 73 - 75's and the later models are much nicer.

[movindirt]

Okay then would the Suburban I ask about in this thread: http://www.race-dezert.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18773 be a good start and I could just upgrade to a different motor when I have the funds. Thanks for the replies!

[Moss2]

I would agree the Cummins is the sturdiest motor for a swap if you are set on the Suburban platform. Make sure you sit down and add up what all the stuff is going to cost you in the end. Standard Suburban axles probably wont last to long with big tires and healthy diesel torque. I would save my money for a stock Excursion or 4X4 powerstroke van and put all that work into your prerunner or better yet a racecar.

[jesusgatos]

I've been thinking about getting an old 4-door 4WD F250 and putting an Cummins diesel in it. Replace the leafsprings with radius arms and coilovers, cage it and throw some deavers in the rear. Kind of a budget version of something like this.

[Devin J]

I've been around the cummins 5.9 b series now for about 11 years selling parts & tinkering, it is quite possibly the most superior midrange diesel from the original design to today's version. I have seen them in at Cummins Northwest ( where I used to work ) in dodge applications w/ 750,000 + miles running great - the pickup had issues , but the cummins was in tip-top shape .

A friend of mine (who is a Cummins mechanic) recently put an '02 ISB in an 1987 chevy six-pac. It took quite awhile, but well worth it. One thing I would look into is pulling a b series from a motorhome application , you will also have the advent of a allison transmission - which as we all know has proven its worth in automotive applications. You will also be able to easily adapt current allison options in the GM line with older GM as well.

Good Luck

[movindirt]

Came across this truck being parted out: 2002 GMC SIERRA HD CREW CAB 4X4 WITH 62k miles COMPLETE TURBO DIESEL AND A ALISON A/T

Would this motor, tranmission, tranfercase be a good choice in a Suburban. Don't care about having to make new mounts. I just don't know my Chevys that well do I don't know details like do both t-cases have the same front output? What would you pay for these parts? Thanks for any help.

[Ramsey_ElWardani]

Tony you should check out http://coloradok5.com/forums/index.php there have been a few guys that have done that conversion.