Building a small diesel

[FORDDIESEL276]

I am playing around with the idea of building a small diesel truck for mpg. Would this be worth it and where would one even start to begin. I would like to have a $3-4000 budget. I would like to take maybe an older tacoma or something like that and put maybe a 3.9l cummins or something in it. What kind of transmission would I get and would it even be worth it



Any help is appreciated


Thanks

[tretpflyr]

It would cost more than that. I studied putting a cummins 4bt in my F150 but gave up on the idea, sold it and bought a F250 with a 7.3 engine. Now there is no reason I need that much truck, but unless you get a "mini truck" like a VW or the old 80's Ford Ranger (yep you can still find them with diesels) or an old Isuzu ... there are NO OTHER OPTIONS in the US market.

I would LOVE to be able to buy one of FOrd's new "international" diesel Rangers but you can not get them here. This is one beautiful truck, two seperate diesel options plus a gas option if you want it. Awesome styling also. We can not have it though because Ford thinks it will hurt their F150 sales. I agree ... it would smash it.

Something we can only dream about ... "Peak output will come from a 3.2-liter diesel with 200 horsepower and 346 lbs.-ft. of torque." Click the link below.

Forbidden Fruit: 2012 Ford Ranger - Bigger, stronger, better

[jackinggear]

A kid i went to school with built a samuari with a isuzu 4 cylinder diesel. thing was a sick wheeler. And until he turned it into a rock crawler it was pretty inexpensive. Might want to look into that route. Cummins will never be cheap they are so sought after.

[700xxmaniac]

Cummins 4bt not cheap? I've seen em for 600$ befor.


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[jackinggear]

Well thats news to me as i have never seen um that cheap around me. Perhaps it didnt run.


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[Int.Tech04]

Extreme 4X4 built a Samurai with a 1.9 turbo diesel from a volkswagen passat in it. the motor should be fairly cheap, and the things got plenty of torque to move the little samurai with ease, making for great mileage.

this site offers adapters to put a volkswagen diesel in a Samurai, Sidekick, or toyota pickup. ACME ADAPTERS Suzuki Samurai Turbo Diesel

that seems the best route.

[DillonC]

Yeah I just sold my samurai and I was going to do that swap, well I was going to use the 1.6l Td from vw because the 1.9 was never made in the states. There are people that import them from Canada though they are just a little more expensive. A ton of people do the swap though. It seemed really easy to do with the how tos online.

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[Int.Tech04]

Originally Posted by DillonC

Yeah I just sold my samurai and I was going to do that swap, well I was going to use the 1.6l Td from vw because the 1.9 was never made in the states. There are people that import them from Canada though they are just a little more expensive. A ton of people do the swap though. It seemed really easy to do with the how tos online.

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the 1999 and up jetta/golf diesel is a 1.9 TDI. should still work.

[drunk on diesel]

I'd double your budget

[Int.Tech04]

Originally Posted by drunk on diesel

I'd double your budget

if he bought a toyota or suzuki with no motor or a blown motor, i dont see why a max of $4k budget wouldnt work. so $500-$1000 for the truck, which leaves $3000-$3500 for the rest.