Power stroke diesel Power wagon?

[nuzzi]

Throwing around ideas for my upcoming FFPW project, since the cummins 12v wont fit without major mods, has anyone thought of a v8 diesel? Of course that would mean GM or Ford so its not for the purists, but it almost sounds cool saying i have a power stroke power wagon....im thinking it would fit since v8 gas swaps are norm. thoughts?

[Alxj64]

Throwing around ideas for my upcoming FFPW project, since the cummins 12v wont fit without major mods, has anyone thought of a v8 diesel? Of course that would mean GM or Ford so its not for the purists, but it almost sounds cool saying i have a power stroke power wagon....im thinking it would fit since v8 gas swaps are norm. thoughts?

I looked at using the 7.3 for a while. Its a wide engine but length wise it would fit well. The turbo location is hindersome due to the shape of the firewalls being flat and the turbo exits over the back side of the engine for the exhaust. The real problem I ran into was the width of the engine at the front. Even with a custom accessory drive, there isn't really enough room to fit the front of the wedge motor. The 6.0L ford is even wider as the cylinder V is steeper. Anothe problem with the Ford engines is that there still isn't much in the way of stand alone control. The ECM wants and needs the stock gauge cluster. You can use EFI Live and a factory ECM to omit quite a few of the extra things that would normally prevent the engine from running but you will be building a complete harness from scratch.

The GM Duramax engines are a whole different nightmare when it comes to electronics. Even the early variations of the engine the ECMs are the heart and soul. The VGT timing is a finicky animal to tame in a stock truck, but less in a stand alone custom program.

If you go back to the V8 diesel stuff you can still get away with the Internationl IDI 7.3, which I believe is the same thing as a 446. The 444E is the electronic version I think.

The pre-duramax was the 6.5 which I think was pretty much heavy garbage and you would be better off with a hot built 4bt or a Turbocharged Detroit.

[nuzzi]

thanks for the info! I think at this point a fuel injected 5.9 gas is the best option for me then, unless you have any horror stories about that engine too....

[Alxj64]

thanks for the info! I think at this point a fuel injected 5.9 gas is the best option for me then, unless you have any horror stories about that engine too....

Ha ha.. No, no horror stories. They are a good engine. You thinking manual or Automatic? Maybe try and find a wrecked Ram 2500 with the 5.9 gasser, and the G56 6 speed manual, t case, axles, the works, and then sneak all that under the power wagon.

[simplysmn]

Why waste your time with a gutless motor i'de drop a cummin's 5.9 or even a 4BT cummin's there are plenty of guy's with 4 to 6 cyl cummin's in theses truck's they fit easier

[Desoto61]

Why waste your time with a gutless motor i'de drop a cummin's 5.9 or even a 4BT cummin's there are plenty of guy's with 4 to 6 cyl cummin's in theses truck's they fit easier

The 6BT is not an easy fit by any stretch of the imagination. That's why the 4BT is usually the motor of choice for the diesel swaps. It's a much better fit, though as I'm learning still far from "easy".

A gas V8 will be no slouch compared to the old flat head 6, and while it may not have quite the grunt, it will be faster, easier, and FAR cheaper than the diesel, even with the electronics.

[simplysmn]

Yes you are right the v 8 gas motor would be the way to go what I was talking about is useing the 7.3 that hunk is big bulky and gut less I know of several power wagon's with small block gas motor that run very good .