I'm bench racing the idea of putting a medium/small diesel engine in a 95 Mustang. So far I've come up with two possible engines, a VT 275 international that is alot like a 6.0l pwerstroke, or a 4BTAA Cummins. I would probably try and fit something like a ZF 6 speed behind them... What do you guys think?

 

The ZF is a huge transmission that I doubt you could get under the Mustang's body. That international would also be difficult to get under there.

But, with infinite money supply, you might could do it. If you got the cash, I say try. But it is not going to be easy at all, I would guess.

 

Anything can be done. Someone shoved a Duramax into a Grand National. Personally, I think it was a waste. The GN engine can be built to be an absolute monster.

But if you did it, you would be one of very few out there with a diesel muscle car.

 

No infinite supply of money, but I'm not going to be afraid of cut and paste sheetmetal work either. I don't really care if it's pretty, It just needs to be strong and functional. Yeah I know this is a little out of the ordinary, and I'd need to take lots of mesurements before I did/bought anything or had anything set in concrete.

Does anyone have any suggestions for powertrain options?

EDIT: Thats part of the reason I want to do it, to be one of few. Also I want to see how worthy of a high MPG/HP street/race car can be had with a little passion.

 

i think a much easier fit would be to find a 2.3 liter diesel from a ranger, and turbocharge it.

 

That's been done, and it seems a little small, but I'm looking into it.

 

It worked for the '83-'84 Mustang SVO..... shove a tiny 4 banger in there and turbocharge the hell out of it. Subaru finally caught on to the idea years later. Of course that's gas and not diesel. Still, it could work with a smaller diesel.

 

VW and BMW both have had pretty good success with small Diesels. Though BMW's aren't here in America. Look up a 3.0L Volvo Diesel, those are pretty nuts too.

 

I would lean towards the 4 cylinder cummins, maybe the diesel from the sprinter, the new GM V6 diesel when it comes out or a high HP diesel from a european car. A baby powerstroke would be unbelieveably nose heavy in a mustang. Mayber the MB in the sprinter would be too? I would ditch the idea of a truck tranny as well, it would be highly unsatisfactory in a car I think. If you can afford it, I would go the route of a T56 set up for dragracing so it could handle the torque of a diesel.

 

I thought I had read or heard somewhere that Ford was thinking about putting a diesel in the newer mustangs as it is? Smaller of course, but that's what I was thinking that I had heard of somewhere. If not it's an interesting idea to do.

 

Well the dry weight of a VT 275 is about 850#... how heavy is a 460?

EDIT: That's true, a T56 might make for a beterengine to vehicle match, I just used a ZF6 as an example because I know them.

 

The 4BT is esentially the 6BT with two cylinders chopped off. So its a very tall engine, I have seen them swapped into rangers, and its a very tight fit. So I think you can rule that out off a mustang. Maybe an old hopped up 6 cyl. mercedes diesel?

 

to me the five cylinder mercedes was a lot peppier

 

I had thought about a 5cyl mercedes but didn't know they made a 6cyl.

 

all the 6 cyl I have saw were natural asperated and pretty gutless