'53 4dr Chevy Sedan

[VBOD]

Maybe I'm dreaming but it would be great if I could find a combination that somebody knows could get hiway mpg in the high 20's low 30's with this car (3500lbs brick). So far I have collected three rears with 2.24, 2.73 and 3.08 gears, a rebuilt, Qjet carbed 350 w/THM350 trans. I don't think this could get up that high so that's where the 4.3v6/6.2v8 diesels came into thought.

Do you think a 6.2/THM400/2.24ratio/23"tires could get my hwy mpg in the low 30's?

[slowmover]

Last call for the 4BT Cummins:

"I`ve been running a 4 BT/Loadflite in my `68 Satellite Sport 9 pass. wagon for a little over a year now and love to drive it. I have gone over 16,000 miles with it since the swap in Dec., been in 5 states with it, pulled several trailers, and slept in it many times.

The engine weight is only about 50 lbs more than the 413/440 engine, I`m still using the smallblock torsion bars turned up a little and a stock front sway bar. It handles and corners perfectly. It will get 26 mpg ANY day without a heavy trailer behind, and I see as high as 29.4 occasionally. Running a 8 3/4 rear 2:76 gear and 31.5 inch tires. With a 518 OD trans swap, I think I could see 32mpg."

New long block price appears to be near $3k on ebay.

Drop the '53 onto a 1/2T pickup frame. Gotta be a kit out there for it. Modern suspension/steering and 4whl disc brakes. And, unlike the GM, this could be a stationary power plant.

.

[VBOD]

Oh yea...I'd love a couple cummins' but there's just a few things stopping me, $$$$. That 4bt would be sweet however.

More info I found at DP.com & aboutautomobile.com/fuel. 4.3L diesel celebrity's get from 23 to 30+ mpg weigh ~2800lbs, diesel Regals got 20-30mpg weigh ~3500lbs, 6.2L c10's get high teens weigh 1000+lbs more than my car. Maybe either a 3.4 or 6.2 could get it up into the 30's on freeway.

[slowmover]

There's a 6.2/6.5 community out there.

[CFECO]

My vote is a 6.2 or 6.5 with with a 700R-4 trans., simple, and no computer. In my 84 4x4 Suburban I got 20 mpg combined city-highway with 3.73 gears, and 160,000 miles on it. Or another thought I had for a full size pick up on gas, would be a turbo Ecotec 4 cylinder with water injection.

[VBOD]

Thanks guys.

jeeeez!!! There are zero diesels online around here. Been researching & searching and you name the possible engines VW, Benz, Isuzu, Mazda, GM, Toy, Nissan,... any that might be possible are not for sale even at the yards or CL unless I get the whole car for >1,500 and 300mi away. I guess I'm quite a bit behind the curve. Still too bad Olds dropped the 4.3L long., an '82 Regal diesel would be ride for sure; mid size car getting ~30mpg. So I'm boning up on 6.2's now, hate to go to the 350/350 just to upgrade later. However, with the 350/350/3.08:1 on 23's, a 6.2 would be a drop in.

[slowmover]

You have a big pickup. Put it to work. A 600-mile roundtrip is one night on the road and an out-of-pocket expense under 40-cpm otherwise. See what else is out there that can't be combined in this trip (supplies or equipment for house, etc.)

[CFECO]

Did you check Craigslist? I just looked and there is an 84 Chevy 4x4 with a 6.2,"runs good", for $1300. I didn't say if it was auto or stick, if it's auto, then it's probably the non-computer 700r-4. You could part out the rest of the truck to get some money back.

[VBOD]

Yes, CL is what got me thinking about Diesel. The 4.3L Olds got me searching but they're very rare in rwd and the fwd ones could be a heck of a mess to convert to rwd. There's plenty of 6.2's around complete for between $1-2k. I'd trade my beater '71 c10 350/350 for one if I found the right one. There's a 3/4-ton 2wd crewcab 6.2L/Th400 I'm interested in if the guy would trade that'd get me the 6.2 and extra body part for my 1-ton. I need another rig around here like a hole in the head.

[CFECO]

bradjensen68, has here in the For Sale Section, a 4 cylinder Ecotec turbo diesel engine and a spare for parts. These would probably be ideal for what you want, I don't know about the trans selection though?