57 Chevy pickup Diesel? (suggestions for swap?)
 

Any ideas for a good diesel motor to swap into a 57 Chevy pickup? I have been kicking around the idea for a little while and am ready to get serious about it. Something with a little "go" to it, but still efficient. I have been thinking maybe a Cummins 4BT or a really economy tuned 7.3 powerstroke, or something out of a delivery truck. Shooting for around 30 mpg

What are your thoughts on an efficient, mid size diesel motor?

Welcome to Ecomodder! If you do a search there are several threads here about diesel swaps into classic cars. That would be a good place to start.

How about a small-displacement turbodiesel, like a VW TDI?

-soD

I'd put the drive train from a Dodge Sprinter in, friend of mine has one of their one ton vans that gets 28mpg and is tall enough that you can stand up inside of it, so 30mpg should be possible.

go with a smaller diesel for sure, the bigger the diesel the more fuel it takes so a 7.3l would not be a good choice unless your going to tow with it as well.

A 6.2L or 6.5L chevy diesel will bolt right up to your frame and would likely work with what ever transmission you have in there, if not a transmission would be very easy to find and be fairly cheap.

You can get a BT4, but how economical is a $4000 engine that will require a lot of fabrication work to get it to fit. And good luck finding a transmission (and you will need a custom length drive shaft too)

If I can get mid 20s with a 6.2L in my suburban than a 57 should get closer to 30.

Thanks for the input! The sprinter drivetrain intrigues me. Good point about the 4bt. I don't like the idea of spending a ton of coin when there are cheaper options that are as good or better. Any opinions on electronic vs mechanical motors (power and mileage wise)?

Absolutly under no circumstances use an electronicly controled DB4 serries injector pump.
The after market has been working on fixing the Pump Mounted Driver for over 20 years now and still cant get it right.
I have had 0 problems with my injector pump in 6 years and I have abused it in ways that make DB4 guys cringe, mainly because I do things like put used motor oil in my fuel on a regular basis. That would instantly put a DB4 pump into limp mode, due to blinding the optical sensor set up they use.

Find a 1980-90s 6.2/700r4 chevy van donor if you want to do it cheap. Almost all the parts you will need.

1996 Chevy 1 ton Diesel van

Didn't know they made non-turbo's 6.5. But something like that would be cheapest easiest way to go.

You need to be carefull how you setup your 6.2/6.5 some get moderate fuel economy, other suck.

The best were the C-code 82-84 motor because of the small cups, if you make a frankenstein using the smaller cups on a newer motor (like a 6.5 for example) you can improve its fuel economy at the expense of a bit of power.

Nice thing about 6.2's is they can occasionally be had for as little as $50 from the military.

Good Luck
Ryan