I have been thinking about putting a cummins or maybe even a John Deere diesel in my 77 3/4ton 4x4. I am undecided whether I should try and find a 6 cylinder or a 4 cylinder. I would like to run a turbo either way I go. I have a Sm465 4speed and 208 transfer case. The rear end I believe is 4.10 gears. I am runnin 3,000rpm on the highway right now and I saw a post a long time ago where somebody mentioned a U.S. Gear overdrive in their truck. I looked on their website and it looks like it might work. The overdrive ratio is .75:1 I think. Would that overdrive be enough to keep my rpms down so a diesel would be effective. I should mention that my 350 is stock and needs a rebuild bad (uses 1 qt of oil every 30 miles or so) which translates to roughly 5 quarts a week. My driveshafts need to get balanced anyway so the extra length would not bother me. Its going to be a work/ chore truck and occasional daily driver. It will be pulling a trailer too(bumper hitch now but gooseneck when my herd gets larger). Im kinda goin into this head first, but my oil is gettin expensive and so gasoline. Any help/ advice is greatly appreciated. Thanx in advance.
Have you considered going with a Nv4500 (5 speed manual) transmission? Low first gear like the 465 but it also has overdrive, and was offered in Dodge and some Chevy trucks so it might bolt in behind a cummins. I dont know much about it, but my brother is considering putting one in his '78 C20.
I'm sold on a NV4500 for my '82 diesel dually. The problem is the cost. The GM units are slightly different than the Dodge units, spline count and input shaft length IIRC. Good info at these sites..... www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/nv4500.htm www.drivetrain.com/newventure.html good luck your project
