wanting to do something..... (diesel into '81 El Camino?)
 

I have a 1981 el camino 350 but with cracked block.....was thinking of putting a diesel engine in it....any one care to elaberate this idea with me....such as good engine...fits..good mileage but still muscle car

Non-electronic pumped chevy 6.5L or 6.2L diesel with turbo.
It will drop right in and bolt up to the transmission.

A 6.2/5 turbo would move an old el camino rather nicely, but, I am not sure I'd characterize it as a muscle car. It would be a blast to drive if you could drop a 5 speed behind it.

Add a nice aero cap and the right gears and I think you could get the hiway mpg into the 30s.

Why not as a muscle car? Any perticular brand you all recomend?

6.6 Duramax. It's been done. Its outrageously cool, makes great power and can give good mileage. There are a few guys who put them in Chevelles in full performance builds and still get 30-35 mpg.

Everyone around here says Duramax is ****....i no nothing about diesel.....

I know die hard cummins guys who even admit that the duramax is one hell of a motor. It may not be the best efficiency motor for trying to build a specific mpg vehicle. But they can build some incredible power, are strong even with factory parts, and can give quite good mpg.

It also has a very common bolt pattern for transmissions, so basically any chevy transmission will bolt to it.

I am not saying this is the only option for you and you must do a d-max. I'm just saying that if you're considering a chevy diesel project, it is a seriously good option to consider.

Do a search of the 1994 mustang powered by a duramax (Its owned by Mike Wood) It has ran 9.91 in the 1/4 mile (it has done mid 9's at ~145 mph now, but couldn't find tbe link), street legal and street driven, and over a 900 mile trip he averaged about 35 mpg at 75 mph!

Obviously a lot of work went into that car, but that certainly doesn't seem like a s*** motor to me.

Consider to a cummings 4bt stock 200 hp and they can be pumped up just like their big brother 6b. A stock 350 truck motor has 200hp too.

the duramax may bolt up to any tranny, but, it will twist many of them to bits. a lot more torque than a regular 350. If you are gonna spend the bucks to get the d-max, might as well get the 6 speed allison as well. That would be a cool rig and yes, it would most definitely be a muscle car. You'd have to keep a trunk full of cinderblocks just to keep from burning the rear tires off. My buddy had one in his 1 ton dump and that thing would light them up empty without even break a sweat.