Chev. truck diesel conversion

#16

dieseldorf wrote: . . . and the LD28. No problems.

Are you the one selling off LD28 stuff on eBay, leftovers from LD build-ups?

#17

Sad to hear, Al. Thieves like that should be strung up.
I was given a '75 Chev 350 longbed to pay off a small loan. It has a bad rod bearing. Has Edelbrock carb & intake, duals but no headers, great sound other than the knock.
I found out it has a 14 bolt Chevy-made rear, supposedly the best one Chevy made (FWIW), appears to be about a 3.42. I have to assume at least one rod journal is out of round. Compression is 150-160 in all cylinders and I hate to have to touch the top end if it's not necessary.
Question: Can the crank be ground while still in the block? I had heard in the old days that this was possible even with the engine still in the vehicle, though in this case we'll be pulling the engine anyway.
I've been told no, but my son says he's heard it can be done.
Ray Mac.

#18

Not that I'm aware of, no.

If you're pulling the engine, then getting the crank out is not too bad. For a SBC, the water pump has to come off, then the timing cover, fuel pump, cam & crank gears & chain, but nothing else that I can recall. Don't need to futz with the distributor or carb or anything. Put it on a stand, rotate it upside-down, and have-at. It's a very simple engine. Replace the cam chain & at least the cam gear, which OEM is aluminum with plastic-coated teeth.

#19

OK. thanks, Al.
Ray Mac

#20

350 overhaul is now complete.
Will start a new thread since i have a carb question, I sorta stole Al's topic here.
Ray Mac

#21

Al, you should consider a 92/93 6.5 TD with the manual IP for your conversion vs. the 6.2 NA...that is if you can find one.

Also, sorry to hear about being taken like that. I can't understand why they wouldn't think you'd figure out that they weren't telling the truth about the engine.

steve a

#22

The 6.2l engines are plentiful. If I can manage it, I'd like a '92-on 6.2l, only because it uses a "real" rear main seal, but I'm not really all that picky. I'm not planning on having a perfect engine, and I will probably have to replace the head gasket (and install ARP studs) on most any engine I buy. Other than that, I'm just going to run it.

The truck it's going in is not going to be anything special; call it a wood-hauler (except I don't haul much wood, mostly generators and bad 6.2l engines at this point).

The 6.5l engines are commanding a premium I'm not willing to pay for a wood-hauler.

#23

put out a big pile of alumnium and get lay on some shotgun justice, that is a PITA.

Well the prices of scrap metal are pretty high, I keep stuff like scrap alumnium, batteries, copper and everything in piles so I can cash them in.

#24

kassim503 wrote:put out a big pile of alumnium and get lay on some shotgun justice, that is a PITA.

Well the prices of scrap metal are pretty high, I keep stuff like scrap alumnium, batteries, copper and everything in piles so I can cash them in.

Speaking of scrap, we extracted a bunch of 1.5" copper plumbing from one of the houses I've been working on and in the end took it to the local scrap yard. I was surprised when it fetched $200+ for the small amount we had. No wonder people are out stealing this stuff from new construction! It was something like $2.20 / lb. at the time.

steve a

#25

I scored a 1971 Chev C10 -- in lovely factory green/green -- today, for $200.

I have not actually gotten within 100 feet of it in three years, but I drive by it every day. It's to be the recipient of a 6.2l and 700R4 -- probably, someday, but not soon. I met the owner at the laundromat tonight, got to talking, made the deal. I should probably go look at the thing sometime this week, eh?

Half-ton Chev pickups back in those days had coil-spring rears. I loved my gold '69 C10 CST, but the rust was terrible, it was from Tennessee. I hauled a lot of cut-up cars (Corvairs and tail-fin MBs mostly) in that truck. Sold it in 1987, after a seven-year run. Looking forward to having another C10.

#26

Do you think you'll need to change springs up front for the additional weight? What is the current powerplant?

#27

Yes, and I don't recall -- it's been years since I was near it. I think it is a 350 and column-shift three-speed, but I'm not really sure.

At any rate, I'm sure 396/402 front springs will do the job for the 6.2l.

#28

I actually brought this to the shop two weeks ago, but have only put about eight hours into it.

(click on any image for larger)

The cab & bed have some pretty substantial rust. I don't care: it's green, inside & out. Except the steering wheel, which is blue for some reason.

292 ci & three-on-the-tree. The gasket between the intake/exhaust manifolds (heat riser area) is blown, studs broken off, and though there's not a leak at the crack, the exhaust manifold is cracked.

First thing is to get rid of that points distributor! Mark & I scavenged an OEM HEI distributor at the JY two weeks ago Saturday, $40 for the dist + cap + coil + wires. No problem retrofitting the HEI distributor. Minor bending of the fuel pump output steel line, and the usual bother with finding a 12v+ switched line (can't use the yellow resistor wire that fed the original coil, because it contains . . . a resistor!). Points dist. is a reman unit (now on CL for $20).

Manual choke conversion is FUBAR, but it fires up OK without a working choke.

Manual steering (blech), manual brakes but 1971 = first year with factory discs up front. Yes, you do need to stand on them.

At the JY Tuesday, the only pre-73 Chev truck in the yard was a green '69 with a 292. But someone already broke it's exhaust manifold. Scored a green floor mat with no rips (impossible!) and a green steering wheel though! Its padded green dash is better than mine, though still has cracks; I might go back for it.

Had to change out the RF turn signal socket base -- there's a repair part with the bakelite disc and new contacts for about $3. No screws broke off, amazing for the amount or rust on this thing. Every time I close the door, hood, or tailgate, more rust falls on the ground.

The tailgate had a rope around it. When I cleaned out the bed and removed the rope, I discovered the tailgate latch stuck in. Removed the handle assy. (hand impact wrench, and no screws broke off: amazing) and worked it in the vise with lube and pliers, re-greased it and reinstalled, and now the tailgate latches and unlatches.

As I said, I've only put about eight hours into it. I think I'll find another intake/exhaust 292 manifold set and swap them, rather than trying to replace that gasket and then having the whole corner of the manifold break off.

Plan is to leave it as a drivable truck for now, until the diesel engine/trans and front springs are gathered. It might be a while, so having the truck usable is a good idea until then.

Its first work task was to haul the Sentra carpets to the car wash & back today

#29

Just a comment here. I had a 1969 Chev Suburban C/10 1,000 years ago (1975) that I put a big block into. I did not change the front springs and it was just fine from what I can remember. It did not however carry around any kind of load to speak of. It was a V8 truck to begin with and had a 307 (gack) with 3pd in it. I had an M21 and used that in place of the 3spd. The truck had been used as a hearse in its previous life and may have had heavier springs in the front when it was ordered by whoever had it new. It did have 2 single "leaf" helper springs in the rear. From what I recall the front dropped about 2 inches lower than stock which was kind of the look I was going for back then anyway. I drove it many miles and had no problems with suspension, front (bottoming out) or rear. It lived entirley on the pavement too. I did however manage to snap the dirveshaft once on a 1st to 2nd shift, but I was young and stupid then. Now I am just old and marginally smarter.

How much heavier is a 6.2 from a 454?

#30

I am going to guess that the 6.2l is about 200 lbs (or so) heavier than a 454.

The C10 PUs in the '67-72 range had coil spring rear suspension. I thought the Suburban/Panel also had coil rears. The 4WD may have had leafs, and the 3/4T and 1T had leafs.

This truck is much more of a handful to drive than my old 69 C10 CST. With manual steering, plus that three-spd, I really have to plan my moves.

When it gets the 6.2l, it'll be PS. Until then, I'll live with it.

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Chev. truck diesel conversion

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