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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Engine/Drivetrain => Topic started by: The Donchy Vetah on October 08, 2015, 10:46:46 pm
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Hi, new to the site. I just bought an 85 crewcab 1 ton dually with no engine or trans and I wanted to know if a chevy inline 6 will drop in to this with out mods. My next question is what in you guys opinion is the best setup for towing and longevity? My ultimate goal is to drop a cadillac big block in.
Thanks for any input
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Welcome from central California. For a 1 ton dually, at minimum a healthy small block is what I would use, but with that kind of towing ability I always lean to a diesel, if that is too expensive then a healthy big block.
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Thanks for the welcome.
Yes the diesel route would be a stretch unless maybe i went junkyard shopping. Ok then, how about manual trans vs. Auto? (Originally an automatic)
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Junk yard can actually be fairly cheep, I think we had a member here get a complete truck from a junk yard the the Duramax diesel engine and Allison transmission, I think he got it for under 1000 dollars cuz the truck had been wrecked, he pulled all the parts off the donor he needed.
As for trans, if it came with an auto, I would stay with an auto. Switching to manual requires some things to be re-worked and adjustments made to fit the required parts but if you prefer manual then go for it. In reality, it's all personal preference, I've driven diesel trucks with auto and manual trans towing and I prefer the auto. Flat ground is ok but up and down hill requires a bit more skill and attention with the manual, have to be a little quicker on the shifts and focus on the right time to shift, the auto is a little easier because you can just move the shifter up or down as needed and the computer in the trans adjusts as necessary. Plus the Tow/Hual mode with the auto transmissions really help alot when pulling a load.
Having done both, I prefer the auto over manual with either a diesel or big block.
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For towing, either an sbc cammed for 400+ lbft low in the rpm range, or a bbc.
Also, for towing, an automatic. TH350 is good up into the 420-430 lbft range, after that you need to go to the TH400.
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Rich has a point with the sbc cammed for over 400 ftlbs. I built my current sbc in my truck off of some of Rich's guidance and it produces around 425 ftlbs at around 2500rpm, which is right in the middle of my power range with the beefed up 4L60 I have behind it. The engine pulls great and empty with no load it's a land rocket but next time I build anything for towing I'm going to go with a D-max. I'm not a pure diesel guy but I drive them every day so I have equal love for both gas and diesel engines.
Btw, Rich is the gooroo when it comes finding the exact cam for your purpose, he really really knows his stuff. Lots of members here, including myself trust his opinion.
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Man those small blocks are pretty potent then. :) And to add onto the trans question is the clutch might take much abuse in a manual when towing, however, I am one that enjoys shifting.Thanks Fellas for all the input. Ok, my last question is if you are to hunt for a diesel in junkyard, which one would be ideal besides the gm 6.2/6.5l?
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The 5.7 converted diesels are crap, overall a crappy engine, don't think twice about it.
The 6.2 is better, not a rockstar but the one I ever delt with (in my friends 83 K5) was solid.
The 6.5 turbo diesel was good, noisy for sure, but solid, it was everything else GM loaded on it that kinda made it problematic for some. Personally I like it for a daily driver. The diesels in the Hummer H1, (military Humvee) were solid also. We had a member do a swap of one into a k10.
The Duramax platform is great, along with the straight 6 5.3L Isuzu diesel that's in the Isuzu and GM W-body work trucks. And little info tid bit for you, Isuzu and GM developed the Duramax platform.
And from what I've heard from members here any Cummins platform is also great.
Anything from the F-word company is not even worth looking at in my opinion lol I'm completely biased towards that company anyway. For me it's GM or nothing.
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The 5.7 converted diesels are crap, overall a crappy engine, don't think twice about it.
The 6.2 is better, not a rockstar but the one I ever delt with (in my friends 83 K5) was solid.
The 6.5 turbo diesel was good, noisy for sure, but solid, it was everything else GM loaded on it that kinda made it problematic for some. Personally I like it for a daily driver. The diesels in the Hummer H1, (military Humvee) were solid also. We had a member do a swap of one into a k10.
The Duramax platform is great, along with the straight 6 5.3L Isuzu diesel that's in the Isuzu and GM W-body work trucks. And little info tid bit for you, Isuzu and GM developed the Duramax platform.
And from what I've heard from members here any Cummins platform is also great.
Anything from the F-word company is not even worth looking at in my opinion lol I'm completely biased towards that company anyway. For me it's GM or nothing.
GM didn't design any of their diesel engines except the garbage 5.7
Detroit designed the 6.2
International designed the 7.3 in the fords and Isuzu designed the dura max
At least dodge didn't try to hide who actually made the diesels they put in their trucks
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At least dodge didn't try to hide who actually made the diesels they put in their trucks
ford didnt hesitate to put a blue oval on the 5.9 cummins they used
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Ok. I could not pass up on a good running 4.3 5 speed combo. (Yeah weak engine) quite cheap......... So the swap fun will begin. Soon
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Love to know where someone got complete truck with dmax & Allison for a grand. I'll take a six pack
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Love to know where someone got complete truck with dmax & Allison for a grand. I'll take a six pack
I'm probably wrong on the under a grand part but still, anything under 5 grand still seems worth it because a bare D-max long block is about 8000 bucks brand new, that's just the engine itself...
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The 4.3L is going to be really weak in the department of towing in a 1Ton dually.
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The 4.3L is going to be really weak in the department of towing in a 1Ton dually.
Agree with this here unfortunately, I would venture to say your new max speed with a 4.3 is 60 mph, anything past that is gonna be real work. That's unloaded too, put a case of coors in the bed, game over. Sorry to say, you probably will come to find the 4.3....disappointing to say the least.
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i have a 4.3 tbi in my 94 1500. its not a bad engine just for the shortbed but even in there i still want the 350. i never even towed anything with the 4.3 never put a tow hitch on it cause i wouldnt want to even try with the 4l60e but with a 5 speed (nv3500) i would give it a try but i wouldnt push it much past ½ ton limits
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Yes yes point well made fellas. Im holding out for a diesel now. I've narrowed it down to the cummins 6bt, ford/ih 6.9/7.3 idi and dt360/466.
Leaning toward the ih idi due them being easier to fit and cost. Would prefer the dt though.
I am also converting to manual trans.
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think also about the trans. cummins you can get an adapter to mate it to a gm trans, we're getting ready to start up a cummins board so we will have all the help you could want there.
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Thats nice. I'm a so so machinist that sometimes has access to machines so fabrication won't be an issue.
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Of those engines, I have next to no exposure to the dt466, so I cant comment there, but I wouldn't put a 6.9/7.3 idi in anything on purpose. Have had two of em in medium duty trucks...Unreliable, won't start when its cold without 12 hours on a block heater in the winter, seems to have an appetite for glow plugs (have replaced them with genuine navistar parts twice in our 6.9, they're dead again), had to replace the IP and injectors with under 60k miles, odometer last showed 40k when it worked and it hasn't left town, and only has 5200 hours on it. And in a medium duty truck, its a gutless pig, although a 1 ton square is much lighter and less drag than an international s1600 series.
My only problem with the 6bt, is the swaps and demand for the engine are so overdone, the performance of the engine doesn't even come close to being worth the price.
But, to each their own...I drool over the idea of a 3208, 3116, or 3126 cat in a square...
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the cummins is overdone. but it sounds better and runs better than the 350 i had in my truck. parts are common, and i know one guy that has 1500 into his swap and that was for the donor cummins dodge that was rusted out. so you can find deals but they wont last long and you can find the cummins in industrial equipment, dodge trucks and 1991 chevy p30 vans. not to mention you can find the 4bt in those but the dodge truck
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No offense to Irish, I know you like your cummins, but like you said, the cummins is overdone, people put cummins in everything.... personally, I have worked with the Duramax diesel platform for a number of years now, I am truly impressed at the overall reliability of the platform. I see all the time the common stuff replaced, glow plugs, egr valves here and there, a few turbos, a few sets of injectors (on very high milage trucks) and I've only seen 1 injection pump replacement. Overall the platform in my opinion is rock solid. The Allison transmission even more so. We never have problems with those things, the few we have seen were owner induced. So personally, I would use a Duramax/Allison combo and not tell anyone I did it haha. I would just enjoy it, if someone asked what I had in the truck I would tell them but I wouldn't brag about it or poster the truck and myself in Duramax stickers. I just hate when people brag about having a diesel. Afterall, it's just one of millions of engine platforms.
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not one sticker or decal on my truck lol. but the main reason i do like the cummins is cause you can tell what platform it is just by the sound and its reliable only a few things that can go bad, you get all that power right off idle and no computer just one wire to the injection pump for the fuel shut off
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not one sticker or decal on my truck lol. but the main reason i do like the cummins is cause you can tell what platform it is just by the sound and its reliable only a few things that can go bad, you get all that power right off idle and no computer just one wire to the injection pump for the fuel shut off
Oh I'm not saying yours has a sticker, but lots of people slap giant cummins, Duramax or powerstroke stickers on the windshields and sides of there trucks. It's like come on guy, yea you have a diesel, big woop de freaking dah. It came stock with it so who cares. I guess it's probably more common here in my area of central cali. All these kids and people who have huge lifted trucks with diesels and more chrome and powder coat then you can shake a stick at. After all, a truck was built to get work done, a diesel was built as an aid to have the muscle to get that work done. Ok, rant over lol. Back to the original post, diesel= much more affective and logical in a heavy towing environment.