Joined: Sun Oct 09 2005, 08:35PM
Location: Cleveland, Oh
Posts: 775
I respect whoever can pull off puttin a Diesel in a Cbody or Bbody or Monty. Not my cup of tea but respect the hell out of it for the creativity and time and effort. Not to mention the reliability of the diesel. If I wanted a diesel to tow I'd have a crew cab pickup. JMO.
CtownChris wrote ... I respect whoever can pull off puttin a Diesel in a Cbody or Bbody or Monty. Not my cup of tea but respect the hell out of it for the creativity and time and effort. Not to mention the reliability of the diesel. If I wanted a diesel to tow I'd have a crew cab pickup. JMO.
Absolutely! Whether I'd do it personally or not is irrelevant, you gotta admire the concept and the effort. Let's not let this discussion degrade into a religious debate... <span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Wed Jun 16 2010, 07:52AM ]</span>
Joined: Sat Aug 19 2006, 05:03PM
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2919
I didn't know about this blog before but I'll definitely check into it. If I had room/money/spouse approval for another project, I'd definitely do a diesel-in-a-C. Personally I think I'd look at a smaller diesel, like one out of a Sprinter van. As others have said, the C-body chassis is underbuilt for a Cummins.
The Oldsmobile 350 diesel was a great idea, just poorly executed by GM. My dad has a 78 Olds Delta-88 with its original 350 diesel. It is a great car to drive, good torque even though it's non-turbo, and excellent fuel mileage even without an overdrive. It's been fairly reliable too (knock on wood) although I suspect it's days are numbered now. Those engines were notoriously under-designed, and we probably have the last one in existence that's never blown a headgasket.
Joined: Thu Mar 01 2007, 09:30PM
Location: Houston
Posts: 1735
I don't have a problem with someone doing it - it's a free world. I just question the results the same as if someone put a blown injected 426 Hemi in a Dodge Colt. It sounds cool but what do you really have when you're done?
As for the HP output of diesels, we all have seen the games played with boost and injector timing and how it can make impressive numbers. Again, though, the cost associated with those gains in terms of price, driveability, reliability, and black smoke tend to nullify the argument.
I'll race you for pink slips - my stock 440 C against your stock 99 Diesel C. You won't be out of second gear by the time I cross the finish line. If we are going to start mods...well we all know where that leads.
The 6bt is about 1100lbs as it sits, so not really that much heavier. As far as expense goes. To get a 12v to 500HP requires that you spend about $2500. Less if you find a good, used turbo and injectors. So if you want to race with $2500 in mods to both..let's do it. I am building this setup for minimal smoke, but as far as reliability is concerned, you can't beat a Cummins. My shop tech's 97 has 245k on it, and has made over 600hp for over 5 years. Gets 18.5 on the freeway and put down 714 at the wheels about 2 weeks ago with some additional pump tuning. Its totally driveable--way more so than a cammed up, high-compression bigblock. In our experience, power levels below 800 will last forever. At 900-1000, we start to see problems.
So if a 440 weighs 800lbs, how is 1100# twice as much? Ford once owned a small portion of Cummins, but they sold that a long time ago. What HP level can you achieve with $2500 on a 440? My Stepdad just had Ray Barton build his for his Belvedere and it made 525 on the engine dyno. It cost a bit more than $2500 also. Look, I am not into having a pissing contest with anyone. You do what you want, and I will too. We will both have fun, enjoy our cars and hopefully excite some other people. If we ever meet on a deserted road or dragstrip we can race for beer and handshakes. I am thirsty.
Joined: Mon Oct 10 2005, 08:43PM
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 978
john66ny wrote ...
Absolutely! Whether I'd do it personally or not is irrelevant, you gotta admire the concept and the effort. Let's not let this discussion degrade into a religious debate...
AMEN.................oops, that's religious !tape !shame
Joined: Thu Mar 01 2007, 09:30PM
Location: Houston
Posts: 1735
OK..our friendly bench racing session is getting warmer!
No 440 weighs 800 lbs. I'll prove it to you.
A 440 C Body will out-drag a Cummins C for the same reason a 68 Camaro with a 327 4 speed will out drag a 440 C - less weight and a faster revving rotating train. It's just the way it is.
For fun, I dragged out a complete 440 and weighed it - you can see that the scale says 652lbs. This is a recently calibrated, certified for commerce industrial scale so I know it is dang close to perfect.
The engine is all stock except for a few pieces, all of which are heavier than stock save the aluminum intake. Plus, the engine cradle is attached and that weighs a few pounds.