The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Has anyone put a Diesel engine into a Stovebolt?

Hi guys,
I have an old VW Rabbit Pickup truck with a little Diesel motor. I have been experimenting with an aux. tank of WVO (Waste Vegetable oil) and it seems to work pretty well.

I'd like to try to put a diesel engine and drivetrain into a stovebolt. I'm thinking a 1940's or early 50's. I just need to find a decent one without an engine. Has anyone seen this done or attempted it?

Would I have to reinforce the frame?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to what type of motor I should put into the stovebolt (Ford/Chevy/Dodge)? Any help/guidance would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks guys!

Joe

I have seen one. The guy replaced the entire drive-train with parts from an Isuzu delivery truck. He did it all himself (and it looked it).
He had to have the driveshaft made at a shop. They used the rear half of a Chev driveshaft and the front half of the Isuzu drive shaft. If I remember right, he also got both trucks for free, cause neither one would run.

This isn't really an answer but I always thought a cummins turbo diesel would be cool. And still an inline! Don't know if it would go in, but maybe someone here does.

There was an old 4x4 article many years ago that showed what appeared to be a restored Chev Suburban Napcp, but it turned out to be a "Resto-Mod" With either a Cummins or Perkins 3cyl inline turbo diesel, and later 4x4 running gear from a 3/4 ton. It was Forest green in color, and was done VERY nicely. I wish I still had that magazine, as it was a pretty thorough article. Hope this helps, Garry K

That's cool!
Thanks for the replies. What about the idea of replacing the entire drivetrain with something different? Would this be easier than having to have a custom driveshaft made?

Also, a buddy of mine is convinced that a 1/2 ton frame would not support a Cummins diesel. Is this true? Would it need reinforcing?

I'd like to do this to either a 1946 or a 1954 half ton--whichever I can find first.

Thanks again!
Joe

The best fit would be the A series Onan/Cummins or a Perkins. The series used in the Dodge is too long and heavy for small to medium early Chevy trucks(up to 1 1/2 ton).

It seems like I have posted this 20 times this week. "Do a search on the archives and you will come up with lots to read."

That being said, I am putting a cummins 4bta out of a chevy P30 delivery van in a 53 one ton. If it works as nice as I hope, I'll be putting one in the 39. The cummins 4 cylinders are rather expensive unless you can get your local frito lay fleet manager to hook you up.

You might fit a cummins 6 cylinder in a gmc truck, but you need at least 39 inches, so it ain't gonna fit in a chevy without some hacking.

in a 1/2 ton truck, I would box the frame. A cummins 4bt pumps out 120 hp like your stovebolt 6 but it also delivers 300+ ft-lbs of torque at 800 rpm. Comparable with a v8

as posted earlier last week to a similar question... check out adelmans truck parts and ask for Brian if you call. They have aluminum Detroit 3-53s with SM465s and all electronics available out of DUKWs for CHEAP. Only 85 hp and a narrow powerband, but should scoot a 1/2 ton around on BIODIESEL.

don't forget to swap rear ends

Put a duramax in it. with a few bolt on parts they put down 500Hp and 900 ft lbs of torque! enough to twist the motor right out of the truck. If a 350 goes in a 8v duramax should.

I didn't even know that Cummins made a four cylinder motor, that's really awesome!

When you say "box the frame" are you talking about welding reinforcements around the mounts?

Also, what sort of transmission would you hook up to that? I definitely want a manual, but I also want a good overdrive for highway driving...What should I look for?

I have seen a whole series of pictures putting a Cummins from a Dodge pickup in a 1-ton. He cut the firewall to make it fit. The guy seemed real happy with the result.

Close the frame in by welding plates in

You can use an NV4500 from behind a dodge easily. I plan on using the SM465 that came behind it with a gear vendors unit so I can split gears.

You can use a New Process or Eaton Trans up to the SAE 3 Bellhousing adapter.

These engines came with
Turbo 400s and SM465s in P30 trucks
Ford T19s in Freightliner Step Vans

I don't think I want something that big and powerful, though....I know it sounds strange, but what about the idea of a straight 5 cylinder Mercdedes? Those are pretty tight and efficient.

I'm not looking for a tremendous amount of torque and exceeding power, I'm just looking for something that I can scoot around in and get decent mileage on the highway (I do a lot of traveling and it would be really fun to do it in style--in a Stovebolt)

Thanks for all the info guys!

My bookmarked link indicates that the page is now long gone, but I remember a page about a guy who put a small John Deere diesel in a '59 Ford F-100. I think he picked the engine up from some salvaged ag machine, but I don't remember anything about the engine specs. He did use a Clark 5-speed with overdrive out of a bread truck. As I recall, his assessment was that it was good on fuel mileage (about 20 mpg) but it was also very slow, and I think maybe 65 mph was maximum.

If you want a Deere engine, you will want to use Dubuque engine: a 4045T (four cylinder turbocharged) or a 6068D. The D engine is not turbo'ed. A Deere engine with a T is turbo'ed and and A is turbo'ed and aftercooled. Dubuque engines are very popular in a wide variety of industrial and smaller ag equipment.

Deere's other engine series are called Waterloo engines and are MUCH heavier than the Dubuques.

You can get a SAE #2 flywheel housing which would allow you to bolt up anything from an Allison automatic to a Roadranger truck transmission.

A diesel engine typically is governed out at 2300 RPM, so the vehicle needs to be geared accordingly.

The 4045T sounds like what Dan Miller had in his pickup. I'm positive it was a four and I'm pretty sure it was turbocharged.

It was a neat project... too bad the page is gone. I tried googling for his name and subject but I got about a million "Dan Miller" hits.

Personally, I don't think I could live with 65 mph as a top speed, fuel economy not withstanding.

Search this site for diesel conversions, there are plenty of threads already covering this.
I am putting a Detroit Diesel 4-53T in my 48 2 ton. check out the pictures in the link below.
Grigg