alright-wife has 98 jimmy with computer.
she swears at it dailly and has finally come and told me she wants her 51 suburban to be built 4x4 with a 4cyl diesel and no computer if possible.
looking to run a 700R4, MAYBE the jimmy 3.42 axles and some sort of 4 cyl diesel for MPG.
looking for reliable, average power turbo 4 cyl diesel to put into my 1951 chevy suburban. im an excellent fabricator. looking for info regarding general dimensions and longblock wieght.
looking for over 100hp, prefer in the 125+ range. will be wifes 'car' to drive around.
PRIORITY-better than 20MPG!
gearing will be whatever you reccomend. i have my eye on a set of 3.42 axles. this will NOT be driven in extreme 4x4. the 4x4 is for icy/snowy paved road conditions and the annual christmas tree run up in the forest. no dirt, no rocks... so no solid front axle.
there are absolutly ZERO smog issues as the year of body is NOT required to be smogged ever.
mark

The cummins 4bt is a pretty solid choice. They can be found in old bread trucks and industrial equipment and the like. Mileage is respectable, well within the reaches of your wants/needs...and there is room for a decent amount of power from stock.

Good motor...good price as well, but I cant think of too many 4 cylinder diesels that are readily available and as reliable as the 4bt.

Cummins makes a hell of a motor. Those 4 cylinders are becoming more popular.

Stay away from the 10 bolt axles in your jimmy...even if it is just her DD.

20MPG out of an old heavy burb, no mater what your motor is going to be hard. Might be doable, I have herd of 2WD 12valve dodges doing it. But that is alot of iron and a big sail you are trying to push down the highway.

Cummins 4bt for sure! great motors, simple, reliable, fairly good milage, and make plenty of power stock, can easily make 300 hp without too much.(injectors, upgraded turbo, intercooler, pump adjustments,free flowing exhaust and intake)

might be able to get 20mpg from it with a manual, auto will be slightly less.

3.42 gears should be good for stock sized tires 31-32 without an overdrive (TH400). 3.73 gears would be better with an overdrive.

Sounds like a great project you got there. Good luck and post pictures!

no dirt, no rocks... so no solid front axle.


So you're running IFS in a 1951? What frame do you have it sitting on? I can't imagine going through all the work of converting a 1951 chassis to 4wd using IFS so I'm assuming it must be sitting on something else's chassis....but what?

4btswaps.com will have all the info you need to put a cummins 4bt w/ a 700r4 your definitely going to want a solid axle on that rig...

just get her a 1992 Geo Metro.
Great gas milage, can make hair pin turns on the mountain road to get that christmas tree, hell with a set of chains, you could go mudding.
Also with a 125 horse NOS kit, you could hit your 125 horse limit. :D

I know your thinking 4 banger, and if you can find a good, cheap 4BT do it. But don't rule out a basic 6.2 V8. Stock is around 160 horse and they were built for economy! When we ran CUCVs, M1009s (Blazer) with TH400, 3.08gears on 10.5x31 tires would routinely pull 20 mpg. Gearing is key no matter what head-knocker you run.

get a 4-53 detriot to put in it

i'm going to go against the grain here and say go with a 6bt.

6bt, nv4500, whatever tcase you find on the back of said nv 4500, and 60s front and rear, with a SFA swap, 3.73s. you could skip that part, but why?

it'll get 20mpg, and be one hell of a tow rig to boot.

get a 4-53 detriot to put in it

...and lay in a supply of earplugs!
A friendof mine has an aftercooled 4bt in a '79 F250 4x4 crewcab. With a ZF 5spd and 3.54's it gets 26mpg and runs 70+ with no problems

i'm going to go against the grain here and say go with a 6bt.

6bt, nv4500, whatever tcase you find on the back of said nv 4500, and 60s front and rear, with a SFA swap, 3.73s. you could skip that part, but why?

it'll get 20mpg, and be one hell of a tow rig to boot.

X2 :smokin: find a wrecked CTD Dodge and have at it.

Don't even think about using stock IFS blazer crap.

Are you seriously considering an IFS suspension from a GMC Jimmy under a diesel engine thats crazy

my buddy just put a 4-53t in his 73 ford with a t-5 five speed with 3.79 and it dose about 100 mph and get about 46mpg its not to loud with dual stacks the turbo quited down alot plus he has a four inch magnaflow also

my buddy just put a 4-53t in his 73 ford with a t-5 five speed with 3.79 and it dose about 100 mph and get about 46mpg its not to loud with dual stacks the turbo quited down alot plus he has a four inch magnaflow also

what in the shitfuck did you just say

4BTs are the loud and exspensive to rebuild when they go down. Put one in my '95 2500 Suburban a few years back. Great mileage but it was just too loud for me after sitting in a Freightliner all week with Cummins 444 in it.
And plan on lifting the truck to clear the oil pan.
The next choice for me is the Isuzu 3.9 that came in the NPR/GM 4500 COE trucks. Tough as nails and cheaper than the Cummins. You can find running NPRs for around $1000.
I have 4BD1T sitting on skid waiting for the right truck. Maybe another M37? The bell housing is SAE #3 which why everyone says is the reason they don't use them unless it has the GM trans adaptor on it.
If you use the '85-'91 engine, they are all mechanical.
Check out this site. Answers all you need to know. Good parts and you can use a GM transmission.
http://www.isuzudieselswapper.com/index.html
I think dieselcrusierhead is still active here. Send him a PM for any diesel questions or better yet check this thread:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79854
Axle wise, if it is seeing more street than dirt I would just use Dana44/14 bolt and 3.73. Just my .02 cents. Good luck which ever way you go.