Chevy Pickup Repowered With Deere Diesel Engine

Chevy pickup repowered with Deere diesel engine ENERGY Miscellaneous 17-3-24 "It gets 25 mpg and will last as long as the pickup," says Merrit Bowman, Clearville, Penn., who, with the help of his son Allen, replaced the V-8 gas engine in his 1981 1/2ton Chevrolet pickup with a rebuilt 80 hp 4cyl. turbocharged Deere diesel engine. Bowman bought the 276 cu. in. engine for $2,500 from an engine rebuilder and sold the old 305 cu. in. engine for $200. "The new engine is more fuel efficient and has much more torque which boosts pulling power," says Bowman. "It should last at least 200,000 miles. I've already put about 45,000 miles on it with no problems. However, I wish it wasn't quite so noisy. `The engine came out of a Deere 555 bulldozer and is the same engine found in manyof Deere's tractors, including the2630. The only difference is that this one is turbocharged. The pickup's original engine got about 18 mph. Ithadabout 110,000miles on it and had leaky head gaskets. I installed a used diesel engine because I didn't want to spend a lotof moneytoseeif itwould work. If! could do it over, though, I'd use a brand new Deere enginebecauseitwouldbeunder warranty. With the modifications I made I probably spent as much as if l had bought a new engine. "The pickup still has its original 3-speed transmission with overdrive and was probably geared too high for the old engine. The Deere engine runs at a maximum of 2,500 rpm's. The old engine ran at about 4,000 rpm's. The new engine has more power in first gear than the old one but doesn't have as much power or speed in high gear. However, I can still go 65 to 70 mph on the road. "The conversion was difficult to do. I replaced the front axle with one off a 3/4- ton Chevy pickup to support the engine's extra weight. To make room for the engine I had to cut off the bottom of the axle and weld a piece on top. I had to cut a 12 by 16-in. hole in the center of the hood to make room for the turbocharger which sticks up about 2 in. above the hood. Iplan to makes hood scoop for it. The bolt holes on the old bell housing didn't match up with the new engine so l had to make a new adaptor plate. And I couldn't find engine mounting blocks that fit the frame of the pickup so I made my own out of tire rubber." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Merrit M. Bowman, RD 2, Box 147, Clearville, Penn. 15535 (ph 814 652-5604).

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