Thread: Diesel Chevelle?

Tweet

Man, that sounds like when I first got my Chevelle.........Wasn't trying to race it, but nobody told me that the transmission indicator was off, and for a powerglide, that's a big deal.........The radiator was bad too.........Ahh, 17 and used to small cars..........Man, some lessons are expensive..............So, do y'all think I should stick with the pwrglide?

Yo dude, no powerglide. The torque from a diesel is going to eat it up unless you really build it. Plus, not enough gears. A diesel pushin' 3 grand is doin' pretty well. I'd try to get a motor/tranny combo, O/D automatic that came with the motor.

I also talked to my diesel bud and asked him a couple of questions. The 62., 6.5 should be close to a bolt in operation. You might have to fab tranny mounts depending on what tranny you use, but the bolt pattern on the motor is standard chevy, so it should bolt to what ever tranny you want, including the powerglide.

These are for you too. A good link to a 6.2/6.5 page http://www.62-65-dieselpage.com/ and for everyone interested, check out this Corvette . Something else isn't it?

Oh, and before I forget, the first year 6.5 Turbo is all mecahnical. After that they get pretty electronic so you'd need a computer, but if you went for first yaer you wouldn't need to convert it or put a computer on it.

If you decide to go with a 6.2 as it's all mechanical I'll get my dad to tell you how to advance the timing and all sorts of other neat things. He worked on a bunch of them.

fine have your DIEsel stick it it where you want i really dont care. they will always stink. not start worth a damn in the winter and sound like s*it . they are a higher maintence motor then a gas i dont care what you say. my pop's used to work at a towing company as did i <yes i was NOT to young> and boss never had a diesel main reason wont start in the winter! btw the company was 14 trucks stong if you want a truck you might as well get an elcamino and put a 5th wheel with stacks on it, this is so redneck

Yeah, I figured that the pwrglide would be a bad idea.....I'll probably cut a deal with the local engine fellas (I mean they "put the yee-haw back in you motor and transmission" hehehe).....And gasser, if you insist on slangin' shizz, then hey snowbird, I ain't gotta worry about that cold weather junk 'cause I'm on the Gulf Coast.........So take your winter woes somewhere else.........Get an attitude or latitude adjustment before posting next........Thanks........

p.s.: Your pop's what used to work on things?....It's not nice to use possessives if they aren't, I mean ain't (I'm sooo redneck after all), called for........

Oh, and urotu, thanks for the links, I think they'll be good sources.......

Since the 6.5L came stock with the 700R that's what I'd be looking for in a "bolt-in" combination. Stay away from the 6.2L since they were only factory offered natually aspirated, around 150bhp or so. The 6.5L was most commonly found in the turbocharge form, 200bhp standard. As noted earlier the 6.5s were all computer controlled except the first year, but the rebuilt mechanical Stanadyne fuel pumps gave a few more horsepower and eliminated the ECU.

Pennisular Diesel produced a rebuild kit with new pistons which lowered the compression to 16:1 . Boost could then be brought up to 10-15lbs. The higher boost levels mandated an intercooler. I believe the kit was rated for around 300bhp of continuous marine operation. As a point of comparison the 330bhp marine big block Chevy is usually worn out at 700 hrs of operation where the 6.5LTD was good for 3500 hrs. A boat is one of the most brutal applications for a motor - clear the breakwater and put the throttles down for 5 hours at 4500 RPM. Spend the rest of the day trolling at idle, then turn around and race home.

As far as reliability, I put 190,000 miles on my 1994 crew cab dually 6.5L before trading it in on my 2003 Ford Powerstroke. In that time it received oil and oil filter changes every 3000 miles. The K&N air filter was cleaned every 10,000 miles. All other service was the same as a gasser. No problems during ownership.

With the 4" dia exhaust it had a healthy rumble on acceleration with a modest turbo whistle. These motors didn't make much boost, just 5 lbs or so. Nothing like the newer diesels with the VG turbos, these things sound like F-16s taking off when the exhaust is opened up.

Cold starts in the winter were never a problem, even in the local mountains where it would cold soak at nights to 5 degrees. A bit of blue smoke for a few minutes, that was it. The high compression (21:1) of these particular motors made cold starts easier than the normal 16:1 turbocharged engines. Since they came with block heaters, you could always plug in on those cold Houston nights.

Cheers and good luck , Mark (a true diesel believer if you can't tell)

I hear yah brother!

SKOLAIKS...any news for us?