Chevy & GMC Vans

I have read in a number of posts about guys being interested in swapping in a diesel in a Astro/Safari.The real question is who is going to be first to have one complete??.So guys,where are you folks with this conversion??.

The real question here is who can afford one and wants one. I know if I had the cashola to plop down on a 3.9 4BT I'd be driving a diesel safari already. Gotta remember a diesel costs more than a gas engine. Like a stock 350 around here is pocket change (200 -750) in comparison with a 4BT which is enough (around here I've seen em in the 1700-3500 range depending on hours) that you could buy a whole van for the price of one.Not to mention the Trans adaptor and possible a new trans because the older 4BTs are completely mechanical they need a single 12V on the fuel pump to keep running aside form the starter obviously.

Yup....my holdout is cash! You buy it Gary and I'll install it.

LiftedAWDAstro wrote:Yup....my holdout is cash! You buy it Gary and I'll install it.

I remember a does it fit posting.Seems he was close.The first one is always the hardest and then folks find ways to do it cheaper and cheaper.

Me buying anything right now is like -0- chance.Money is tied up in a dragster for this season and the projects you know about already.

Seeing the post with all the donor truck makes me wish I had money. I'd love to do it.

Didn't Overland Vans do a 4BT3.9 Cummins swap?

As far as I know they haven't got past talking about it.

6.2 DOES FIT ran out of money need a transmission

I'm tring to figure out how to fit the "Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel" in. I'll keep ya posted.

RickU wrote:I'm tring to figure out how to fit the "Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel" in. I'll keep ya posted.

That 2300 TON bohemuth?

potskie wrote:

RickU wrote:I'm tring to figure out how to fit the "Wartsila-Sulzer RTA96-C turbocharged two-stroke diesel" in. I'll keep ya posted.

That 2300 TON bohemuth?

I don't think either one of you are in the running to be the first one.

sorry if this is off topic.

what ever happened to propane? there was a point that all taxi's, limo's, 90% of all Canadian Military vehcicles all used to be running duel fuel (gas/propane) if not full propane.

Diesel is more expensive than regular, yes you get more miles but still... every cent the oil prices go up so does the diesel.

Ah, but you are looking at the purchase price of diesel. The beauty thing about diesels is that they can run on filtered waste vegetable oil. You can literally raid the bins behind food joints for fuel.

Propane and hydrogen both have the same fault. a 50 liter tank will get you 5 times farther on gasoline because they can not make containers strong enough to compress the hydrogen enough, currenly the tanks can hold close to 25000lbs of pressure but to be able to get as much mileage as you would out of a tank of gas of the same volume you would need a container that could hold over 100,000psi.

that is why you usually see propane conversions done to vans and busses and bigger vehicles as they can fit more tanks to make the range reasonable.

other than that either one works great. Hydrogen would be the optimal choice as with a small investment you can make your own... hopefully pretty soon on the fly. to run either of these fuels you have little modification, you just inject the propane/hydrogen directly into the intake, and have wide open air flow. you regulate the rpm with fuel supply. you also need to advance your timing as these fuels burn much faster and more efficiantly. on your gasoline motor your spark fires as the piston is still on its way up giving the gasoline time to ignite, so when it is at its peak combustion it pushes the cylinder back down. with the propane you have your timing almost right at top dead center because it ignites much faster. If you are running a blend you set it somewhere in the middle.

the closer you can get your injector to the intake valves the better. you can do a small experiment (at your own risk of course) with a BBQ tank and a lawnmower engine, just take the carburator right off and run a small line as far into the intake as possibe. regulate your throttle with the tank valve, or even better would be to have a valve somewhere in your fuel line. I forget how to adjust the timing on a twostroke at the moment but you can look this up in google if you really want to do it.

ihatemybike wrote:Ah, but you are looking at the purchase price of diesel. The beauty thing about diesels is that they can run on filtered waste vegetable oil. You can literally raid the bins behind food joints for fuel.

That's why I want another diesel. I have no problems equipping the fuel tank with a warmer to prevent gelling if it means I will only have to buy fuel while away from town. Especially since my sister works for MC donalds. AKA I don't even have to do leg work to get waste veg oil