Quote:
Originally Posted by lacolocho
So what gear ratios are common on the 60's cars?
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There was a wide selection. Factory options on old full size Chryslers were very broad, the Chrysler 8-and-something and the Ford nine inch have the widest gear selection available.
I would plan on putting a Ford nine inch rear or a Dana 44 or 60 in any car I did a diesel swap in. The Mopar is a good one too, it is a near clone of the ford nine.
Cars in the fifties and sixties had too few gears. You will want at least a four speed automatic or a five or six speed manual in any conversion. The 700R4 and 200R4, Ford AOD and Chrysler 518 are all adaptable to many of their respective maker's engines. Manual transmissions include the aftermarket Richmond Gear and the factory NV4500 for trucks, the Tremec and a couple of others.
There are people who put B series Cumminses and Duramaxes in cars. No car is really capable of handling the weight, they belong in trucks and trucks only. Suitable car conversion engines are mostly Japanese, the Mercedes five cylinder, and if you have a big budget the VM and Steyr European engines.
The 6.2/6.5 Chevy is big block Chevy compatible for installation and will go into fullsize GM cars with little trouble. The 5.7 was not a good diesel engine no matter what anyone says, its best use is to build a gas drag race engine out of.
It's depressing seeing people swap in engines that were either no good in the first place or not suited to the vehicle.
There is a book, "How to convert your car van or pickup to diesel" by Paul Dempsey written in 1980 or thereabouts. It is still useful reading.
Is this a viable business? Absolutely not. But a lot of fun.