The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop driveline swap for diesel !!

Anyone wish to know what i have done please give me a shout and i will try my best to give you the run down. Bare in mind that we have different engines and transmissions available here in the uk.
Regards
tim (UK)

I certainly would like to read about it. I'm always interested in the transformation of Stovebolts. To me it's no different then the V8 swaps. And who knows, we all might pick up an improvement that we can use.As I said in my PM to Tim, post in this forum or even in the Gallery as an update to your previous posting.

Please tell us

Thanks,
Grigg

Got to go out for a while, will et back to you as soon as i can.
Regards
Tim

Here is a quick run down on my conversion. Although the donor parts may not mean anything to you guys across the pond. I wanted my 3600 as my sole vehicle and daily driver so diesel it had to be. The engine came from a British ford Transit Van 1989. It's a 2500cc direct injection type with bosch pump fitted. You may think "ONLY 2500cc" but believe me it's plentyful. I then coupled this up to it's matching gearbox an MT75-5 speed manual. Then we shod the truck with 16 inch rims and 750 x16 tires. Which worked out to be a perfect combination for the Bison diff. The original gearbox cross member was cut out and made into a bolt in type though it was purely left in for strength as we needed to make another crossmember up to take the new gearbox also a bolt in type so as to aid gearbox removal if needed in the future. Then the Ford Transit open drive shaft was used almost completely exept for the rear u joint. The original chevy u joint was cut away (diff end) with 5 inches of shaft. Then we obtained a 4 inch diameter section of solid steel bar which was machined down at each end to provide an interference fit inside both ends of the two pieces of shaft we had, therefore acting like a bung, which was then seam welded and sent away for balancing. The Ford open drive shaft also had a centre carrying bearing which i had to make a cradle for to support it. This was a shame as if only the bearing was 10 inches further forward the bolt holes would of lined up exactly with the original. And basically that was the hard work done. Then just run a return pipe to the gas tank from the diesel pump. Get rid of the regulator as the new engine had one built in with its alternator. Run a wire from the alternator to the battery for charging. Run a wire from the igniton 'on' position to the diesel pump stop solenoid. Pretty much job done now. The result is perfect gear ratios. power delivery is spot on, and as for economy what can i say but 28 thru 32 miles per gallon. (Thats the best bit). I also had to then do a few electrical modifications so as to make the 6 volt fuel gauge work on a 12 volt system. This was horrifying, it cost me 53 cents for a voltage reducer for the gas gauge from the local auto electrical store. A bit fiddley to solder the wires to the legs but well worth the effort. And then the usual wire wound resistor to reduce the voltage to the heater motor $6.23.
So there it is guys just a brief run down on my conversion. The only thing that has proven a negative with this conversion is that i now need to do a little soundproofing in the cab. But at that mileage per gallon whats a bit of noise (lol).
Hope you enjoyed reading my experience. Any questions feel free to ask.
Best wishes from the UK, and thanks for a wonderful website.
Kind regards to all,

Tim

I wish smaller and light diesels motors were made here in the states,the ones we have available can only be used in heavier trucks due to the weight of the motors. I would love to have a 6 cylinder diesel that was the same size or lighter and weight of a 235 or most modern 6 cylinder gas motors available over here.

I am building my truck with a 3.3 liter 130hp motor. http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2934403920101989507yNhfwE

It is an industrial Cummins QSB3.3 with custom calibration. The engine is coupled to a hybrid T5 with a custom flywheel.

Another choice that I looked at is the VAG TDi's

Tim
Tell us more about the Ford 2500 cc diesel engine: 4 cylinder? 4 stroke? turbo? power (HP or KW) and torque ratings? RPM? Is that motor only available in the UK? Is the 5-speed trans overdrive in 5th? Using the original radiator? And when can we see some pictures?

Hi Frank50,
The Ford engine i used is used in the 'Ford Transit' that was sold only in Mexico as far as i am aware. It was available in various body types from tipper to panel van to pick up or mini bus. It's a 4 cylinder non-turbo diesel inline engine. Power is about 85hp with good mid range torque. You can never over rev this engine, it will go as far as it does on the rev's and thats it.(More than enough). The early models used a Lucas CAV diesel pump which was prone to leaking, so i exchanged mine for a Bosch type pump. It was so easy to change i reckon my 12 year old son could of done it. There are no heater plugs as the engine is direct injection therefore start immediately even on these cold -4 mornings we have been having recently.
The cylionder block and head are all made of cast iron so no aluminum to steel corrosion to worry about.
As for the gearbox thats the 5 speed MT75 gearbox fitted as standard on this year of Ford Transit 1984 thru 1991. 4th gear being 1:1 ratio with 5th gear being the overdrive. The gearbox is very very strong and i know of no one having a problem with them. They are extremely light being made of cast aluminum, and have the added feature of being able to be used in left hand drive or right hand drive vehicles. You simply take out the rubber bung on the opposite side of where the clutch fork exits the housing. Unclip the fork and pivot ball and place it on the other side of the housing. and all the mounting holes for the clutch cable are machined in to both sides of the housing so as to give you the option of left or right hand exit for the clutch fork. I have to say that by putting the 16 inch wheels on my truck with 750x16 tires with this gearbox/engine using the original Diff has given me almost perfect gear ratios. I live in a very hilly part of the UK, and 3rd gear is just unbeleivable for climbing those hills. You can just creep up the hills slowly in 3rd gear without the engine laboring, or you can floor it and hold on tight without worrying about over revving that engine.
The most important thing though is the fuel consumption. 28- 32 miles to the gallon. Now thats got to be good ! And thats just driving around locally in the hill's. I guess that would improve out on the freeway.
All in all i am very pleased with the conversion, it's not a flying machine, but a VERY useable daily driver. It could easily make 85 mph, but who would want to do that in a 1952 Truck with 1952 handling characteristics. 60-65mph is quite comfortable with a good fuel return to boot!!!

As regards photo's i will have to go to my friends garage and put her up on the ramp so i can get you some shots of the work we done underneath.
Hope i have answered your questions.
Kind Regards
Tim (UK)

Shoot !!! Sorry forgot to tell. Yes i am using the original radiator.
Cheer's

I think they originally called it the Ford York engine, before they modified it into the direct injection version.

Thanks and we will be looking for some photos of your work.

I dont know how much smaller/lighter they really are but I work for a street sweeping company and we have Izuzu trucks. They are 1-ton cabovers with an inline 4 diesel. I am not sure of the specs but they are pretty strong and reliable.

Isuzu engines are Bullet proof for sure.

I thought Izuzu made the duramax for chevy?

I'm planning on building a Diesel stovebolt soon, with an Onan/Cummins inline 6 turbo Diesel that develops 120 HP at 3,600 RPM. It's got the same motor mount setup and bellhousing as a 292, as my engines (5 of them) came out of UPS vans, and they were interchangeable with 292's and Ford 300 6-cylinders. Big Brown would just install whatever engine was handy, but they used the Diesels mostly for highway trucks, and the gas jobs for in-city deliveries. They retrofitted for a different engine when Cummins had problems supplying enough engines. I've done a dyno run on one of them, and they produce exactly the HP they claim.
Jerry