considering a LD28 diesel swap for a project, a couple q's?

[kookykrispy]

Greetings! I have a 1964 chevy van.

Its actually the van featured on wikipedia if you search 'chevrolet van'



I want to build this van for high MPG daily driving.

It has a chevy inline six, mounted in a 'doghouse' between the seats. I'm considering swapping in a LD28 with an automatic transmission. I also want to turbocharge the engine.

These vans weigh about 3100 empty, but closer to 3500-3800 loaded with all my tools etc.

The original chevy six uses a rear sump oil pan and pickup, so that will be one thing I need to modify.

My questions:

What are some of the things to look for/ avoid when shopping for a used LD28 engine?

Were there differences in the years? 81, 82, 83? or are they all essentially the same engine??

How is the 3 speed auto trans? Strong? Weak? Are there other automatic transmissions that will fit/work with/bolt up to the LD28?? (such as 4 speed/OD tranny?)

[asavage]

[I originally posted this to PM, then realized Joe'd asked here as well.]

Hi, Joe:

I'm interested in doing a LD28 swap into a 64 chevy van I have.

Great idea! I like it!

I saw you are close by so I figured I'd say hello. Seems like you have done quite a bit with these engines.

I owned my Maxima Diesel for many years, and finally sold it to Ray near Sacramento a couple of years back. Since then, my life has changed pretty radically, and I no longer work on cars like I used to. I own no diesels (just sold my '86 Camry Turbodiesel) and no Nissans (unless you count my partner's '06 M35). And I rarely log in here anymore; I'm only here to record a member's recent donation.

I want to find the best engine I can and then pair it with some kind of Automatic transmission and also turbo it.

The LD28 is a great old-school diesel with a large following. Have you read Chris' Chev Astro LD28 conversion?

What advice can you give me?

Do you have any complete running engines for sale or know of any around?

I do not have many LD28 resources anymore; I have a few, small items like valve cover gaskets that I'm slowly selling off, and a parts Wagon on Marrowstone Island that I gave to the buddy member Mark_Hartz to support his '83 Sedan I sold him a few years back. I can't help with sourcing an engine (I sold that good running '81 LD28 Wagon engine for $650 to a local fellow).

I have a brand-new injection pump still for sale. See this post. Most any LD28's IP will be worn out and need rebuilding, and that's generally a $600 job. If you have an LD28 that's smoking black under load, it need and IP rebuild.

I do have a couple of transmissions. The Maxima Diesel was offered in the US for three years, and each year got a different AT:

1981 : 3N71b (3-spd)
1982 : L3N71b (adds lockup torque converter)
1982-ish: L3N71bOD (adds overdrive, early version)
1983 : L4N71b (adds overdrive)

Naturally, the '83 is the most desirous automatic trans. All three are interchangeable in a swap, but the '83 is fatter in back and won't fit in an '81-82 Maxima at all (I tried). The entire floor plan is different in 1983 to accommodate the OD trans.

I do have a couple of ATs for sale. See this post. There are some good threads here on the ATs. A couple people hate the ATs; I liked all of mine.

The Sedan was offered with a MT5 as well, but unless you buy a donor car, you can't really do that conversion, as the diesel LD28 flywheel is now made of unobtanium. You can fabricate anything, but most of us want to keep our costs down.

The LD28 has been turbo'd many times. Do a search on "turbo" in the Maxima and LD- forums, and check out the various rigs in Users' Rigs too.