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Chevy 1 1/2-Ton Pickup Repowered With Ford Tractor Diesel
"It runs better than it did when it was new and has so much power I can out-pull some tractors at area tractor pulls. What's more, it gets 29 mpg on the road," says Patrick Draehn about a 1954 Chevrolet S4 1 1/2-ton pickup that he repowered with a Ford tractor diesel engine and modified in other ways as well.
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Chevy 1 1/2-Ton Pickup Repowered With Ford Tractor Diesel REPOWERED EQUIPMENT Repowered Equipment 23-1-8 "It runs better than it did when it was new and has so much power I can out-pull some tractors at area tractor pulls. What's more, it gets 29 mpg on the road," says Patrick Draehn about a 1954 Chevrolet S4 1 1/2-ton pickup that he repowered with a Ford tractor diesel engine and modified in other ways as well.
The pickup was given to the 34-year-old Draehn by his uncle when he was 12 years old with about 50,000 miles on it. It was originally powered by a 261 cu. in., 6-cyl. gas engine, which Draehn and his father over-hauled once, and a 4-speed transmission.
When the engine finally seized up, Draehn decided to install a 256 cu. in., 4-cyl. turbo-charged diesel engine out of a 1976 Ford 7700 tractor.
"Making the bell housing was the toughest part of the project," Draehn says. "I made it out of 1/2 and 1/8-in. thick plate. I cut out templates, drilled and tapped the holes and æpie-pieced' together the outside part of the bell housing.
"The tractor flywheel is capable of housing a 13-in. dia. clutch, but I predrilled holes for an 11 7/8-in. clutch and pressure plate out of a 1979 Chevrolet 1-ton pickup that I in-stalled."
Draehn also installed a Brown Light trans-mission behind the original transmission to give him a total of 12 forward gears and three reverse gears.
He installed the suspension, frame and running gear out of the 1979 Chevrolet pickup to smooth out the ride. "Those old pickups were fitted with 20-in. tires and they rode like tanks," he notes. "You couldn't keep tail lights from popping out on gravel roads."
He also installed power steering and brakes out of the 1979 Chevrolet.
A 10,000-lb. Tulsa winch installed in the back of the pickup completed the project. Out-of-pocket expense was about $2,500, including $150 for the Brown Light trans-mission.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Patrick Draehn, 4653 Springfield Lane, Brenham, Texas 77833 (ph 409 836-8634).
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