Step van with deutz?

[capturedbyrobots]

Hiya,
I've been here for awhile, modded my camper to get better mpg (cut off the class c sleeper). I tour the US and needed a big vehicle for my robot rock band.

Well, I gotta get rid if my ol 72 camper.
Low comp on one cyl, already did 2 valve jobs over the years, engine is tired.

So, looking into step vans or panel vans,
Saw one with the deutz engine mated to an e350 ford tranny.

I hear that the deutz are one of the most reliable diesels around.
Mostly I'm looking for a good chassis and engine combo so I can eventually strip off the body and make a new aerodynamic body. Step van seems like a good base for that.

So my question is whether anyone has experience with these powerplants.
I know parts might not be as easy to find on the road, but if the engine is that good, what engine parts would I really need?

Thx!

[Frank Lee]

Had a Deutz tractor on the farm and the engine was quite nice.

[user removed]

I've seen a F150 with a 5 cylinder air cooled Deutz.

regards
Mech

[mechman600]

My uncle had a Deutz tractor. A couple times he neglected to clean out the cooling fan and it heat seized while doing field work. He just let it cool off, cleaned the straw/dust out the fan and kept going a couple hours later. That says something.
I doubt it was ever the same after each seizure, but still....

They are extremely noisy engines due to lack of insulation (read: water jackets). But extra [Deutz-style] noise might add to the coolness coefficient.

[elhigh]

Those old Deutz diesels are tough, no doubt. But I'm always a little leery taking on someone else's shop class dissertation.

[capturedbyrobots]

The guy with the deutz never called me back.

My buddy might sell me this weird iveco euroturbo.
It looks like a sprinter kinda. It's pretty low miles, has a 5.9 iveco 6 cyl diesel
mated to a dodge 727.

I've read not so good things about iveco trucks tho.
Should I steer clear?

[The Other Andy]

You're looking at oddball vehicles and you're concerned about reliability?

Even if the Iveco runs like a tank, you'll eventually need replacement parts. I didn't even know there were Iveco's in the U.S., are you going to ship parts from overseas?

[capturedbyrobots]

Yeah, I wasn't thinking. I'm so spoiled from my 72 dodge.
Almost every part was available at almost every auto parts house.
I'll keep looking.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Too bad you couldn't get the Deutz-powered rig. I wouldn't mind eventually going to their factory in Haedo (Buenos Aires province) if you had any trouble searching for replacement parts The 913-series are still very popular in Argentina, as much as the Cummins is in America.

Originally Posted by capturedbyrobots

My buddy might sell me this weird iveco euroturbo.
It looks like a sprinter kinda. It's pretty low miles, has a 5.9 iveco 6 cyl diesel
mated to a dodge 727.

I've read not so good things about iveco trucks tho.
Should I steer clear?

You should get this one, the engine is identical to the Cummins B-series, so no worry about replacement parts or reliability. Maybe the main issue was related to their stock Fiat transmissions but if it's already upgraded to a Dodge one you shouldn't worry

[elhigh]

I haven't seen an Iveco truck since the early 80s. I guess they're still around but it looks like most of the medium commercial market moved away from them as the Japanese diesels gained steam in the States about that time.

+1 on finding parts. I mean, dang. Sure they're out there to be had but you might wind up paying transatlantic shipping.

727 tranny, well, there's one part you can count on. Carved out of stubborn cast iron in one lump, leaving only 100% bitter resolve behind. I put about 150,000 city miles on one of those over the course of about five years; the van had assorted problems but the tranny was never one of them.