i did a little search and didnt come up with much... here goes.

ok my current beater car (89 prelude) is in need of some major work pretty soon, the girlfriend and i really want a 2nd gen turbo diesel. were about to finish up the ls1/t56 swap in her 84 camaro, so we have transportation. Like i said, we want a 2g TD, well we want 2wd, short bed, manual, and lightweight. we are having a VERY hard time finding desent shortbed diesel trucks. i really dont want to cut the frame and do a bunch of fab work.

im not new to rams, my dad has a 97 5.2L ram, hell thats what i learned to drive with, my father and i always used to fix it when things went wrong. anyway, i dont know rams inside and out like i do 80's gm cars, lol. My plans are to swap in a 12 valve diesel/manual trans into a 1500 short bed ram. now do i need to pirate the engine and trans mounts out of the TD truck, or does the engine cross member need extensive modification? i know we need the basics, drive train computers/ wiring, fuel tank, fuel lines, brake booster?, springs and shocks. So id buy a later model 2g with a blown gas sucker and then pick up an early model 2g TD that has been wrecked.

what else is needed for a swap like this? does anyone have any insight or know if the 1500's and 2500's are as similar as id like them to be?

thanks for the help.


*edit*

we also plan on setting the truck up to run vetagble oil, any help in that department would help also.

 

there was a post about converting to a diesle a while back there was a guy on ps.com that did it maby serch over theret

 

I would think it'd be way more work than it's worth to end up with a pieced together Diesel that doesn't have as stout of running gear (axles being the major example). If it were me, and this is only my opinion, I'd just trade what you have in and get a diesel 2500, keep your eye out you may eventually find exactly what you're looking for or at least something similar enough to make you happy. I just think in the end you'll have a more reliable truck with the correct components with less effort.

Good luck on your search for info.

 

i see your point but we dont plan on towing anything with it, other than a single 3500lbs car, or boat eventually. my dads 1500 ram does those jobs very well currently. as you can see by my sig, we like project cars, lol. we have the tools, the space, the time, and money to get it done. I dont know i think its going to be very hard to find a truck that meets our strict criteria and when we do its going to cost a pretty penny. Diesel's intrigue me due to the easily available atlernative fuels out there, not so much the power to pull or tow, this truck will most likely be our daily driver due to the veggie oil. we are not interested in off roading or sticking big tires and lifts on the truck, we will most likely drop it a few inches for a better highway ride. i think it would be worth it IF everything was just a bolt in deal.

 

Many school buses have Cummins B series I6 engines
and 'retired ones' can be sources for parts.
Many school boards in 'environmentally correct' parts of the USA
have retired diesel school buses that were in good working order
because of worries about diesel soot and children's health.

There is a propane version of the Cummins B series
that might make more sense in today's fuel price environment:

http://www.cummins.com/na/pdf/en/pro...et/3885387.pdf

I personally think the ULSD requirements will keep diesel fuel more
expensive than gasoline for at least a decade...

But it makes a lot more sense to sell your Ram
and buy a Ram V10 to do the conversion on,
or to buy a Dakota and use the factory parts from Chrysler Brazil.

If you have a manual transmission Ram, swapping in one of the smaller Cummins
Diesels would not be a problem. See this website for existing diesels that
mate to existing Chrysler transmissions:

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/Diesel.html

This small outfit specialised in conversions
and may still be in business:

McClains Diesel Performance Center
Eureka MO
Telephone No. 636-938-1118

specializes in converting gasoline vehicles like Jeeps and pickups into
Cummins 5.9 I6 diesels and the smaller Cummins I4 cylinder too.

 

go to pavementsucks, look up all posts by Superhawk2002. He did a complete swap of a 12 v CTD into a 1/2 ton dodge ram. He did quite a bit more, but there is a wealth of information in there about how he did the Diesel Swap and exactly how much work went into it.

Post should be titled "My dodge buildup - Diesel swap, rocks & a lift"

 

ur deff. gunna have to keep me posted on all this

 

If you pull this one off, I'd love to see pictures of the end result. My hat is off to the person who can do this without it being a hack job.

 

well i searched on PS.com and couldnt find any of superhawks post about his swap. im going to register later today and post up.

if i get the answers im looking for then i would probably start this sometime in the first quarter of 07. first i need to do all of my research and then shop around on prices to make sure this is feasable. plus ive got xmas presents to pass out this year, $$$. lol.

 

ok i posted over at PS.com.