Corvette V8 diesel conversion - 40 mpg (US) avg.

[jpgmtech]

Originally Posted by Christ

This thread is over a year old, but reading the article again made me think of something.

He says he's not running a turbo b/c of added underhood heat... but what about a STS-type turbo system? (Remote mount).

That removes the necessity for a muffler (unless you really want it whisper quiet), removes the necessity for an intercooler, since the piping is so distant from the engine, and will also relocate some of the weight bias caused by the heavier engine to help keep that car as close to 50/50 as it can be, plus the added benefit of the turbo itself... more power and better economy. (Not that more power is really necessary...)

Just a thought... feel free to shoot it down with a .50 cal.

No shooting here, and quite viable. The 6.5 TD ran without an intercooler anyway. It would actually make pretty decent (not earth-shaking mind you) power in that corvette. I've done a few STS rear-mount turbo installations myself, they work very well.

[dremd]

Originally Posted by Christ

This thread is over a year old, but reading the article again made me think of something.

He says he's not running a turbo b/c of added underhood heat... but what about a STS-type turbo system? (Remote mount).

Another "Just a thought" his transmission may not be up to the task of handling the torque that such a setup would make.

[Christ]

Originally Posted by dremd

Another "Just a thought" his transmission may not be up to the task of handling the torque that such a setup would make.

Probably it isn't, but I believe the TH400 was the same transmission that's in the Corvette normally, and it can and does handle up to 800 HP with ease. (The STS kits were first done for Corvettes and similar cars, and they add single or twin-turbo designs.)

[dremd]

Originally Posted by Christ

Probably it isn't, but I believe the TH400 was the same transmission that's in the Corvette normally, and it can and does handle up to 800 HP with ease. (The STS kits were first done for Corvettes and similar cars, and they add single or twin-turbo designs.)

Now comes the .50 cal :-)


One thing to remember is that horsepower isn't what breaks transmissions; torque is.

He (corvette) isn't running a TH400; He's running a TH700R4 which is good to around 300 ft/lbs of torque without being built, built it can do around 500 ft/lbs. That being said a friend of mine had a built TH700R4 behind a 383 and would regularly brake the bell housings off at the transmission, eventually we got a good bell housing that held up and the transmission grenaded.

I'm not sure how much torque a turbo 6.5 makes; but I bet it's a good bit.

I'm still not sold on STS kits; I've driven a trans am with one and I just don't feel right about it even though it all works just fine.

[Formula413]

Originally Posted by Christ

Probably it isn't, but I believe the TH400 was the same transmission that's in the Corvette normally, and it can and does handle up to 800 HP with ease. (The STS kits were first done for Corvettes and similar cars, and they add single or twin-turbo designs.)

TH400=3 speed, no OD

700R4=4 speed w/OD

One option might be to have the 700R4 rebuilt to handle more power, race oriented rebuilds are common for transmissions like this.

[Big Dave]

Having been there and done that with diesels and automatics, all I can say is that if you GAVE me a diesel with an automatic, I'd trade it in. If you automatic does not say "Allison" on the side, a diesel will trash it. Even on the hyper-reliable W123 and W126 Benzes with their sloppy torque converters, you count on a new automatic every 50,000 miles or so.

I had a pickup with the wimpy 6.2 NA engine and it ate SEVEN automatics over the 300,000 miles I had it.

This project is fairly easy to start. Go on E-bay and find a C5 Corvette with a six-speed and a salvage title. Find a 6.5 engine and have Jasper overhaul it and drop it in. A 6.5 is about the same size as a small-block and the same weight as a 454. It is a drop-in. The hot-rod community is chock-full of vendors that will make adapter plates to match the 6.5 to a T-56.

Get a set of springs for a 'Vette with a 454.

[Christ]

I misread the transmission spec in the original posts, that was for the confusion.

I rather like the STS kits, they make nice for low-space applications.

[ai_vin]

This thread got my interest so I googled and...Corvette to get diesel power for 2009

Also...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw9FTFlSsB0

[Christ]

That article is an april fool's article... I doubt it's true.

Many claps if it is, but I'd have to see it.

[Christ]

I surely hope that "diesel corvette" was spinning tires made of a non-polluting soy compound, and not rubber...

I'd be rather disappointed if a "green" effort had to be quantified by a polluting display of energy waste...