What about the weight of a Diesel?
With a 1-ton truck you have a limited GVWR of more than 8,000 but probably less than 12,000 pounds.
Working within the specs of my current project the issue looks like this to me. '54 GMC 1-ton with GVWR of 8800. With my upgraded rear axle and disk brakes on the front it may handle a little more, but I don't see a reasonable way to prove that to an inspector and don't see any change coming on the serial number plate.
I believe my Cadillac 500 with TH400 actually weighs less than the GMC 248/SM420 combination it replaces. The motor and trans together will be right at 700 pounds provided I actually do order the aluminum intake that drops 30 or 40 pounds while adding hp and torque.
The only weight numbers I recall for Diesel motors appropriate to a 1-ton are the 4BT at 745 pounds. That puts just the motor at more than my complete engine/trans combination. I've heard that the 6BT is maybe 1100 pounds but I'm not as confident of that number. I have no idea what the smaller Detroits weigh.
So compared pound for pound the 4BT is less horsepower and less torque per pound, and weighs enough it reduces my legal payload. I realize the 4BT and other Diesels can be modified to make more power, but so can my Cadillac or other gas motors that might be used in this comparison.
Do you agree that a high power Diesel comes at the cost of payload capacity in the context of a 1-ton truck? Or is there a trade off that turns it into an advantage I've ignored?
Until you both increase the power and start pulling a heavy trailer I don't think there is one. The Diesel advantage is clear to me in a MDT or HDT but for my old GMC 1-ton I'm not seeing an advantage.
