V8 Diesel Conversion to 80 Series

Hi Have heard of but never seen. Would probably be a whole motor and box/transfer conversion from a suburban. Saw one such conversion in a f150 5 yrs ago with camper on the tray. Sounded likle a truck starting with air. Would have thought it would be more economical than they are getting std, with direct injection and turbo and all. I dont know if i would go that way at the moment, other than brute power and torque, there is rumour they are being upgraded to smaller capacity/more power units in the 4b books. Guy in Brissy is bringing in 1hdft motors with boxes for 7.5k bolt straight in and intercool one of them for some serious power.
Andrewwheredayathinkwer mike?

anything is possible. the ford is bigger and heavier. do you intend to turbo / intercool? if so then need to modify the firewall for the turbo and play with the intercooler fitting - on top is easiest with a scoop cut into the bonnet. need to madify the final diff ratio for on road use. parts for each are similar and injectors and fuel pump timings are easy for any diesel w'shop. watch the sump to chassis clearance and also the steering box clearance. harder to fit extractors but definitely worth doing - might just be the most difficult part of the whole conversion. the ford is also noisier than the chev but as both are little truck engines anyway just turn up the volume or wind down the window and pretend it's a mack. have fun.

Hi, I think that linquip do most of the v8 conversions or marks adaptors may be a good bet. Personally I wouldnt screw up a tojo by crossing it with ford anything.

Marks 4WD adapters can do it, I have seen a 6.5l diesel v8 in an 80 or 100 series and they do an excellent job - look up their website.

They are at the 4WD shows too

all the bestSo many places to go!
So much work to do :0(

Hi Allyn,
Don't know much about it myself but there's a mob in Brunswick (Brunswick Engines or Motors) that do the 6.5L ones and convert all sorts. I was quoted $10,500 to rip my 4.5 petrol out and chuck a 1hz diesel in. I politely declined.Gibb River in July.
Chris

I recently was passed by an 80 series with a 6.5 GM V8 Diesel. I then pulled up next to it at the lights and it sounded 'magic'. The sticker on the side of the truck stated the conversion was done by Brunswick diesel. I know the cost is a little pricey but then so is the cost of a new motor from yota. I have the GU Patrol and the 3.0 TD engine is priced around the 20k mark, from Nissan. 4WD monthly have an article on a troppy with a 6.5 conversion. Maybe we could lobby them for a full article on replacement/upgrade motors. Good luck with your projects.

john

ps I also have a FJ40 with a 350 chev, SWB, soft top and its awesome to drive.

Allyn, I guess anything is possible with enough cash. A Ford 7.3 V8 diesel in the F150/250 is Turboed, intercooled and probably electronically controlled aswell. The 6.5 Chev turbo in the Suburban is electronically controlled so if used in a conversion I believe they use an injector pump from the 6.2 which isn't. One advantage of using a Chev V8 diesel over a Ford one is revs. The Chev will rev to 4000 rpm so gearing of the original vehicle is acceptable eg Landcruiser, Patrol. The Ford only revs to 3200 rpm so gearing will have to be changed for good road cruising as top speed wont be very high and an engine of that much torque wont like sitting at 2600 rpm all day when it would be more comfortable at around 1800 rpm. Fuel consumption wouldnt be crash hot either. I used to own a Landrover 110 with a 6.2 Chev V8 diesel and must say the torque from 1200-2000 rpm was very good making it a great offroad engine. While I was idling up steep rocky hills in 3rd low my mate was reving the box off his HZJ 80 in 2nd low. The thing I didnt like about it was it was bloody noisey. Fuel consumption was around 22-24 mpg. I now currently own a GQ Patrol 4.2 diesel which is turbo/intercooled.
Now which one is better? Thats even got me thinking now. In a drag race between the two I think the Patrol would win by a nose. The Patrol is also slightly better on fuel getting 24-26 mpg. Offroad the Landy was marginally better. So overall at a cost of $11000+ for a V8 diesel conversion compared to $3500 for a turbo for your Landcruiser or Patrol? mmm... I think I'll have the turbo thanks. I couldnt justify the $7500 just to have a nice exhaust note.

Hi There, My only critisism is with any conversion and if you do any remote travelling is that if something breaks and considering that some parts are a one off, you may get stuck. Some times if you have conversions done by someone else, parts are used from different models and brand of vehicles, some bits you may never know where they come from. I also dont think it does much for its resale either. My thoughts only, Best regards Michael

Allyn, just another point I forgot to mention, the mate I referred to in my previous post with the HZJ 80 recently fitted a turbo. While he was getting it tuned by Turbotech in Perth there was a HZJ 75 trayback with a 6.5 Chev diesel getting dyno tuned aswell. His 80 series made 103 KW, the trayback made 105KW. My Patrol also made 105KW. My mates vehicle had 260 000km when he fitted the turbo. Mine had done 295 000km when I fitted it (bought it second hand for $1500 complete with intercooler). Have done 320 000km now, no probs so far. Mates has done 310 000km and no probs either.
Hope this helps.

Allyn, been there, done that. Without going into a very long winded writing about the pro's and cons of the Chev V8, just to say that out of five (yes 5) different types of engines in my Tojo, by far the best engine ever was the 1HD-T factory turbo. Now, with todays intercooler technology as well, you could have a huge, torquey, economical power house that bolts straight in in place of the 1HZ.
Cheers.

Allyn, Try Gympie 4x4 wreckers in Gympie Qld, thats where I brought my 1HD-T from as well as a reco change over gearbox. The first motion shaft is different on the gearbox because the spline on the clutch for the turbo engine is different to the 1HZ. The turbo uses a larger diameter clutch to give more grip, and you do need it.Gympie built me up a box using the turbo input shaft but retaining the output to match my older model transfer case. Gearbox was $1800 change-over, engine was $8000 and by the time I had the exhaust and minor things connected, I think the bill came to around $11000, doing the work myself(except the exhaust). Depending on exactly which year your model is, will determine which input shafts (No. of splines) you need to match your gearbox. They have all the specs and can supply the relevant parts. It's an excellent conversion, you won't be dissappointed. Far superior to the rough V8 chev.

Allyn, regarding followup about turbotech. I actually had mine dynoed at United fuel injection in Fremantle because they were more conveniently located. My mate was very happy with the service provided by Turbotech, but they only dynoed his car because he fitted the turbo himself. He purchased it from 4wd systems in S.A. If I was to have any future turbo work done I would use Turbotech. One point they did tell him which was interesting is that BFG tyres seem to consume more power compared to other tyres. Must have more rolling resistance I guess. He uses 255/85 R16 BFG mudders.
Cheers