The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 6.5 turbo diesel swap

would it be possible or practical to swap a 6.5 turbo diesel in place of the small block in my 1968 C-60? I've heard that the 6.5 isn't a great motor, but I don't really work the truck, and my reasoning for maybe using that motor is that, being a GM product, hopefully some of the mounts would be interchangeable, and less fabrication would be necessary. Let me know what you all think, if it's going to be a lot of work I'd rather get a better motor and make the fabrications count.

Have you seen the price of diesel fuel lately?
Scott

I think it would be a easy swap. The bellhousing fits the same. They all mount from the sides. If yours mounts up front you will have to get a crossmember kit. Chev. never put it in anything bigger than 1 ton. but it will stand up if you don,t work it to hard. We have a 6.2 in a rollback & go all over the midwest hauling cars & pickups. It,s the 2n,d engine in it & must have 3-4 thousand miles on it.

The later 6.5 were actually pretty good, they had all the bugs worked out by then.

If the reason that you want a diesel is so you can use WVO or biodiesel, I'd make sure you get one with a mechanical pump, not an electronic. Electronics have a harder time with these fuels.

here's some more info...I've learned that the 6.5 is externally balanced (unlike my smallblock), so it might not mate up to my spicer 5-speed directly...

also, the later ones with the bugs worked out were the ones with the electronic fuel systems. and I said "Truck" earlier but it's actually a full length school bus, and probably weighs 13,000 empty.

DURAMAX!
If your gonna spend time and mony get some real torq
one of my dream projects is 50 chevy 2 ton 4x4 with Duramax probably never build it but sounds cool on paper

>using mid 80s chevy 1 ton 4x4 running gear
10" lift 40 mud boggers
Duramax with $5k worth Banks Power upgrades
two 8" chrome stacks
nice aluminum flatbed
with compleatly stock body sitting on it expt for mabe chrome visor and set of pretty air horns<
have the baddest $40K truck around

usng the durmax is a good idea, let me make a bold statement though. i would use a cummins turbodiesel. for two reasons
1) it is a better motor than the 6.5 and i like it more than the duramax
2) it is independently built, so technically you would no be putting a dodge motor in.
i am a fan of the cummins, and it is an inline motor which personally i like way more, espescially in a diesel...just like the big rigs. i am now ready for scorn and ridicule, but i am gonna stand by my guns

Knox, you're entirely right about the Cummins being a better motor, and a true medium duty engine at that. I just wanted to use a GM product to simplifiy the adaptation. I probably will just keep the smallblock anyway, and drive it until it blows up. I dont think they started calling the GM diesel "duramax" until 2001 or so, that's when the new 6.6 liter engine designed with Isuzu first came out. The old motors didn't really have a name, but if they did it would probably be "powersmoke" or "Clattermaster"