Diesel Repower Info Needed

[aramp1]

I didn’t know exactly where to post this, so it’s going in here.

I have access (was given, so the price is right) an 80s GMC truck and not sure what the size is (C7000 to C9000 I’m guessing) but it has a Detroit Diesel in it with a God only knows how many speed trans. I’m guessing the engine is either a 6V53 or a 6V71, naturally aspirated . The truck is a cement truck and hasn’t been driven in probably two years but drove fine when parked. I drove it in the mid 90s and it drove great. It belongs to my father and he got out of the cement business a year and a half ago and it’s just sitting there.

Anyway, I’m contemplating transplanting engine and trans into my 1 Ton Chevy (see pic...wouldn't it be a BEAST!?!). Hopefully, it’s the 6V53 which, even though heavy, is a bit lighter. I’ve seen a few done on diesel-central.com, but right now, I’m looking for references and information. Anyone have a good Detroit Diesel website or anything with repowering? Comments and opinions are appreciated. Thanks for the help.

ARAMP1

[Pickering Snow]

My diesel career started with detroits in the army and i know Capt Kel will and can add to this my personal opinion would be why?. The Detroits are two stroke diesels for the most part they scream to the high heavens trying to make power. Still to this day when i hear a old Detroit coming it reminds me of the army , i worked on the 6v's most were supercharged and in M113 personal carriers and also the v-8 detroit which in a m578 track chassis IE Howitser , and recovery track had a supercharger and turbo both powering a 27 ton track . Between the wet cylinder probelms and there lack of dependabilty i just dont see it being a good transplant.

Just a note a Ally tranny is a direct bolt up to a detroit.

Kel who i respect greatly runs one in his Commercial fishing boat iam sure he will chime in,

Tamms which is what the army called our oil sampling system caused me many late nights in Germany pulling detroits for bad oil samples , i was young and dumb and worked my butt off pulling pack assem after pack assem for bad oil sampling everything from metal contam to glycol .

[aramp1]

Why, you ask? :beatsme The donor truck is FREE. It ran trouble-free. I've heard stories about oil leaks and lack of power, but it really had no problems. And, it would be something different. I know free stuff usually ends up costing in the end, but I think it would be a great swap.

BTW, have any good sites or info I could have access to?

[John DiMartino]

Your not going to find much on that particular conversion because the engine really isnt a good choice for the conversion in most cases.The ideal engine for that truck is the Cummins 5.9 12V B,its efficient,built like an anvil,and easy,cheap to keep running/get parts for.I think it would be awesome to see you use the detriot,since it is free,and runs good.One other problem with detroits is they have a very narrow power band,as little as 500RPM sometimes,and they dont rev 1/2 as high as the sound like they are,since they fire every revolution,it sounds like they are revving 35000RPM,yet its really only 1750rpm.Your going to need to gear the truck accordingly.I just dont think your going to find much help on this swap as far as parts,and info.

[wyldman]

I agree with John.The Cummins 12V is the way to go.Swaps are pretty easy,and a lot of the stuff is a direct bolt in.

Even though the Detroit is free,your probably going to spend a lot more swapping it,and even then it will be a half-assed setup.Add in long term repair costs,and you'll be even further behind.

[capnkel]

I grew up around lots of detroits,anywhere from a 353-right though to 16-92tta.If thats a 53 series,plan on wearing earplugs,a 71 series is much less noisy,if it has a turbo,it won't be nearly as bad.
I have to agree with Fred and Chris,there are a few other engines that would be way better suited to putting in a 1 ton chevy.A cummins or a perkins would fit and work much better,not to mention it being about half or less the weight that front end would need to carry.The detroit dealer that supplied my boat engine has 2 dodge trucks,before the cummins was ever offered,one has a 4 cylinder 236 turbo perkins,the other has its big brother 6 cylinder 354 turbo,the first time i saw one i thought someone pulled in driving a massey ferguson tractor,i grew up driving a few of those too.
Im not saying it can't be done,but it just doesn't seem like a very good matchup to me,but if you did it sure would be different.:burnout

[aramp1]

Thanks for the opinions guys. Believe me, I realize the 5.9 Cummins would probably be a better choice. I've seen many; they're becoming a very popular swap. The two positives I'm looking at in the detroit is that it's different and avaliable.

I do remember the truck being fairly noisy. I'd look into some kind of muffler that would cut that down until I could get a turbo setup; maybe even running two mufflers if need be. Riding my Harley sounds and feels about the same as flying in an F16 with afterburner lit, (pipes gutted:rockon ) and I'm for sure that the truck isn't half as loud. So, I'm guessing the noise won't be too much of an issue for me (the law might have something else to say about that, although, I haven't been cited for my bike yet).

As far as the gearing, I'm going to first find out what transmission the truck has. I remember it having many speeds, maybe 13 or so. There are also other options like adding an old spicer three speed aux trans. I've got so much room behind my transfer case to play with. I could run the transfer case divorced, or I've even heard of some transmissions with a NP205 bolt pattern (Clark). I guess I'll just have to wait and see until I can get home and check it out.

[aramp1]

Here's a 93 Chevy 3500HD with a 6V53 going in. The last picture is of the Roadranger RTO6613 trans. Looks like it isn't too bad of a fit.

[John DiMartino]

awesome! keep the pictures coming.

[capnkel]

The 53 series are a higher reving engine than the 71 series,a 53 typicaly would max out 3200rpm in a truck i believe,a 71 would likely max out at 2500rpm.If the engine is not already turboed,you cannot just add one on,the pistons,liners,valves,and blower drive gears are all completely different,as well as the injectors.To make it into a turbocharged diesel won't be cheap,detroits are fairly easy to work on,but they stopped building 2 strokes a few years ago,parts recently have gone up in price considerably,with some items getting near impossible to find now.A couple years ago i could buy a reman head for $425.00,now its nearly double that.cylinder kits were $125.00 are now $300.00.As soon as i can afford to replace mine,there will be a 60 series detroit sitting on the mounts,put one of those in a 1 ton truck and then you would really have something to play with:smokin1

[aramp1]

The 53 series are a higher reving engine than the 71 series,a 53 typicaly would max out 3200rpm in a truck i believe,a 71 would likely max out at 2500rpm.If the engine is not already turboed,you cannot just add one on,the pistons,liners,valves,and blower drive gears are all completely different,as well as the injectors.To make it into a turbocharged diesel won't be cheap,detroits are fairly easy to work on,but they stopped building 2 strokes a few years ago,parts recently have gone up in price considerably,with some items getting near impossible to find now.A couple years ago i could buy a reman head for $425.00,now its nearly double that.cylinder kits were $125.00 are now $300.00.As soon as i can afford to replace mine,there will be a 60 series detroit sitting on the mounts,put one of those in a 1 ton truck and then you would really have something to play with:smokin1

So, to turbocharge it, the pistons would probably be lower compression, right? It didn't need a rebuild when it was parked. It didn't even leak oil, but that was then. I'd guess that if it was going to be rebuilt, that would be the time to add the turbo. Do these have the cylinder liners that come out of the block? What kind of truck is your Detroit in?

[aramp1]

awesome! keep the pictures coming.

That's pretty much all I've got of the pics. :(

[aramp1]

Here's another 1 ton I found. The owner transplanted a 4-53 though. The air tank in the second pic is for the air starter. :rockon

[aramp1]

Here's some pics of the fabricated rear motor mount. You can see the SM465 and one with the bellhousing attached.

[Ggg]

I can understand the be different philosophy. I agree there are much better candidates and you can still be different. Just the fact that it is available does not outweigh the cons on this particular engine. To make that n/a into a turbo is just way too much money and trouble. Also you can put mufflers from here to the sun and that Det. will not be quiet at all.
That Spanish Gold 73 Chevy with the 4-53 gets two big thumbs up for retaining the air starter.:drinkup

[ben@speedbarn]

I think a much better idea would be to put your body on the Cement trucks frame/drivetrain. That would be amazing...and unique!

[urethane dino]

throw some padding in the drum and have your friends throw a party in there as you drive around, you can drop Jolley rancher watermelon candies in there for them, as we all know watermelon is the only good flavor of Jolley rancher
Dane Cook