Best Engine Conversion ???

Hi Allyn,
What did the motor cost you if you dont mind me asking, i am in the process of changinf from a 1HZ to a 1HDT, would have loved a 1HD-FT but was way out of my budget .
Cheers
Joe

Hi Joe,
Your comment about fuel consumption on gas is correct.
As I tell everybody "forget about the litres you use, check the dollars you use.

My gas powered 97 model 80 series returned the same or better fuel economy, kilometres per dollar, as a 1HD FT. Fuel availability in remote locations was another issue but for general touring and around town it is hard to beat.

The performance on gas is as good or nearly so to that of petrol, if tuned correctly.

Your advice is spot on.

Cheerrs, bruce.

Mate......the whole thing will give you more brain damage than you would imagine. Unless you love a project and have deep pockets, the best and easiest way forward is to just go buy a decent T/diesel one and sell your petrol cruiser. The change over cost will probably be much less than the cost of any decent conversion and no Brain Damage.

In Melb you can find good 80's for under $20k in Diesel. Chances are your exsisting truck should fetch $12-$14k if it's in reasonable nick.

Have fun.
Cheers,
Ozzie

Smoking on start up is probably just valve stem seals, 80 series do this when they have a few klms up on them but more so when on LPG. My mate had to do his head up on his 80 due to the LPG I think for memory was around the 3g mark to get done. How many klms has your 80 done ?? These motors will do an easy 400k if well serviced and generally give little trouble except the head as said mainly when on LPG as my mates was and he had the lube kit fitted as well, probably helped over time to keep the valve stem seals from drying out quicker. As mentioned above would be heaps cheaper just to sell it and get the factory fitted turbo diesel. They arnt cheap and hold their value extremely well especailly the multivalve engine from 95 to 97 but are a fantastic motor, should I say the whole vehicle, You will still pay over 20g's for a good multivalve and especially if its auto, have seen them upto 30g and been sold. I would either spend some $$ on getting the old girl back upto scratch or sell it and get the turbo diesel. If deciding to sell and buy dont forget to check out when and if the diesel pump has ever been over hauled, injectors etc as this will set you back a few pennies if not done already and if it has a couple of hundred thou on it and never been done then fair chance it will need to be and as mentioned above not cheap on a diesel but not as bad as the new diesels of today, big bucks. I went from diesel 2.8 lux to a petrol prado, then decided I wanted diesel again so got turbo diesel in prado, after the head going and costing me nearly 4g's for that I decided Ill pay a bit more at the pump and go back to petrol, 4L V6 120 prado, I dont have any major concerns of getting bad fuel and costing me a small fortune to fix like the common diesels do if you manage to get crappy fuel, yes it will cost me to fix but nothing compared to common rail diesel. $600 for a new fuel pump for my 120, over 5grand if it was diesel, $180 per injector for petrol compared to $1000 each for common rail. I know what Im refering to is the new diesels. The other problem if you start converting over and changing/modifying things is if some thing goes wrong then it will be a pain to track down parts etc instead of like your old girl if some thing dies the next door neighbour will probably have a part to get you going again or the parts will be readily available off the shelve and on your doorstep in a day or two if way out of town. Regards Steve

where do you work, i have worked in a few "remote" places in the NT and petrol is not that hard to get, unless you are in a mining camp maybe then yet petrol is not normally held on sites ......
Gas on the other hand is simply not available in any place other than the citys ...
Your question on the holden/chev motors ..... again dont go there, one thing i know only to well from living out in very remote places is to keep everything as standard and original as possible, the remote places in the NT are littered with cruiser parts and most parts are only a phone call away and chuck it on the mail plane and you can get going again, do a "conversion" and you will spend weeks trying to get parts and when they do arrive you may not get the right part/s, heaps of parts can be found on the wrecks in and around all the communitys ....
That was the main and primary reason i brought a 75 series cruiser, you can find parts for them at most servos, every community and every town and mail order on the net ..........
Cheers
Joe