I currently am looking at a 1951 F1 which does not have an engine. I was wondering what it would take to put a small V8 diesel engine into it. What would I have to change to pull it off? It has power steering, power brakes and disk brakes in the front, all of which I assumed would help with any extra weight that may be added.

Thanks

 

Welcome to the board!!

There is plenty of room in the engine compartments in these old trucks. I have a big 500ci Caddy in my 49. As with any swap you will probably have to fabricate your own engine mounts, possibly offsetting towards the passenger side a little bit so that the exhaust can clear the steering. You might have to beef up the front springs some to compensate for the added weight of the diesel.

Bobby

 

My opinion of a V-8 diesel in a half ton is "too heavy". These trucks are already nose heavy and the added weight of a diesel is going to give the front suspension and handling more problems. I am running a 5 cylinder Mercedes diesel in my 53, it might not be up to most folks expectations as for power, but it still has more than the original engine did! There are some smaller diesels out there that made good power and economy, you just have to look for them.

 

Ok, Awesome. I have considered a 6 cylinder diesel, but I was concered about towing capacity. So when y'all installed your diesels, for the most part, you didn't change much already on the truck, such as the gas tank, gas lines, wiring, stuff like that. You'd just reccomend that the current suspension is able to support it well enough and that the engine mounts and exhaust be altered a bit?

 

Ahhhh, diesels in the old Fords. A subject dear to many of our hearts. Mine has a Caterpillar. Mechs is getting a Mercedes. There is also a member well into a Cummins install. I agree, the factory half ton suspension will likely not support a heavy diesel engine safely. That is why you don't see the newer F-150's with diesels (yet). There is a thread on here, https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...6-diesels.html Lots of ideas and input as to what engines are available, and some ggod measurements for some of them too.

 

Well, I wouldn't go that far, my truck really has little left of the original but the body and rear 2/3 of the frame. I'm running a frame clip from a 87 Town Car, a fuel tank from a 88 Bronco II and I built my own wiring harness. So far, I've put about 3K miles on it this summer and have been well satisfied with the MB engine's performance and fuel economy. Haven't towed anything with it yet, but that will change starting the 16th of this month. We are leaving for a 10 day, 800 mile run pulling a homebuilt teardrop camper that weighs around 1250 lbs.

 

Yeah, doinga diesel install is not that simple. There is a lot of fab work to be done. I think I have gotten off the luckiest, as I chose a Big Job F-800, and both the donor and the original frames are the same width. As far as it goes for doing a build like this, less is more, unless you have the patience, time, money, and ability to tackle the simplest, and the most extreme of tasks involved. Mine is simple in regards to being able to transfer measurements for body mounts. I don't mind the big truck suspension (stiff, and very unforgiving), and mine is a semi. The Cat has one wire to hook (aside from sending units and charging system) to make it run. A lot of these other diesel options require thinking and rethinking every angle, and being able to really look long and hard as to how the original unit functioned before going through with the conversion. Look through mechs many pictures. Also, look at rustyrelics many pictures. You can also look through my gallery, and you will see three very different approaches to the diesel conversion, each based on the need for the particular trucks size. Mechs is a light duty pick up. Rustyrelics is a medium duty F-600, and mine is a very heavy duty F-800. If you really want to do this conversion, you have to take into consideration everything you want to do with this truck, and what you want out of it.

 

Hi there!

Eventhought I don't know a lot about diesels, thought I'd add a little food for thought based in my reengine withthe Ford FE 390.

Despite the fact that there is "plenty of room" in the engine compartment, this may give you a false sense of security with any re-engine. I found that there was plenty of room from side to side. BUT space was very critical between the new engine and firewall and engine and transmission cover.

The engine fit fine but when it came to fabricating and installing peripherals and support structure, there were major space problems. These may include: throttle linkage; shift rods (column shift) brake pedal; fan; heater outlets; exhaust maniforld or headers; oil filter; parking brake cable, etc.

Moral of the story: do a lot of planning and include all the functional parts of the drive train.

J!

 

Thank you everyone - I'm pretty sure that with what I'm wanting to do with it, diesel is not the option for me right now, it sounds like its going to take to much time and know how to get it driveable quickly.

As a result, what gas engines should I be looking at to put in if I'm wanting a daily driver. I am under the assumption that the rear end has not been changed which would mean for my highway use I would need to change that - right? Is a 5.0 lets say F150 motor going to fit, or am I going to have to find something older and have it rebuilt? Also, it has a 350 auto tranny currently in it, so lets assume I decide to keep that, what effect is that going to have on my options?

Thanks

 

A 350 trans as in a GM trans, right? If you are going to use a GM engine for that trans (chev, BOP pattern, you need to determine that) then you are set.

If you are going Ford, pull that trans and use a Ford trans like a beefed AOD, or a C4 if you are going 302. You can get the 302/aod combo out of a lot of cars and trucks. The '88-93 AOD is the better unit, as they are a troublesome trans in the early years.

IF this is set up right for the GM engine, esp. Chev, you might get some raz mataz here about it, but you'll be driving your truck faster with that option.

If stuff is missing and you have to do it all over again, then a Mustang 5.0/aod combo with efi even would be a nice (if overdone) option.

jmo, titi,dwyw, ymmv.

good luck.

 

For a daily driver, with some use as a light tow rig, the diesel is not the "best" option. A well built small block geared towards torque as opposed to high horses would be just fine. Any of the Ford, Chevy engine trans combos are nearly drop in these days. Motor mount kits are available for almost all of them. To ease the wiring nightmare, and get a quick build for a driver, I would go the route of an earlier set up with a carb, and non-electric transmission. Any of the 302/C-4, or 350/TH-350 , or etc, etc. would be just fine. You are only limited by your cash flow, and your imagination when choosing to use a readily available engine tranny combo. As to the rear end, it's probably plenty strong enough to use behind any of the more modern small blocks, and maybe even a stock big block. The high way usage would only be an issue really dependant on the gear ratio currently installed. If you want to drive the truck down the high way, and get most all of it complete, except for maybe paint, then I would not recommend the use of a diesel engine, as you will likely spend most of the winter season doing mock-up, tear down, mock-up, tear down, engineering, fabrication, more mock-up tear down, and then some serious junk yard scrounging for the right part, and then some more mock-up tear down, and some choice words from the sailors dictionary, and then some more mock up tear down, then numerous trips to the local parts house to sift through the literally hundreds of pages of parts while searching for some thing that will work, only to forget what you needed, and having to go the 20 miles back home to try and remember what it was you are after. Sorry, rambling here. I'd stick to a nicely built mild to moderate performance small block 302 with nicely built matching C-4, and a later model 9 inch equipped with some 3.55:1 gears, or something like that. Just don't put 20's or 22's on it, unless you have no desire to actually have a useful truck for anything other than eye candy.

 

I assume it is a GM, yes, but I'd have to ask the seller again to make sure.

Ok, so what your saying is that if I do go back and change the trans to a ford, I can stick a rebuilt 5.0 F150 engine in, (or mustang) from lets say 1991 or 92?

Also, by 20's or 22's your talking about wheel size? If I don't change the gear ratio I can't put those on, right?

 

Ok, let's back up. I think we may be giving you way too much all over the board. I meant 20 or 22 inch "bling bling" wheels. What is your intended purpose for this truck? A lot of people have the misconception that when you go to restore or build one of these old trucks, taht you can start ordering things from the catalogs, and rebuild it and you've got a good looking old "truck." Personally, I think that's a load of crap. When you start changing suspension, and drive train components, and start updating things, it's a different world. A 53 F-350 (example here) that's been updated with say a heidts or fat man suspension, is no longer a F-350. You put mono leaves and air bags, you no longer have a 1 ton truck. You can go through the whole project, and change this and change that, and may have a less useful rig than you really wanted. Before you start chopping trucks up, or start ordering parts, you really need to think carefully as to what you want out of the end result. Because it'll be cool to have an old Ford work truck, is a very vague reason (I'm not saying you said that, just examples here). If you want a daily driver, that you can use to go down and get groceries, or maybe a couple 2x4's from the local lumber store, then you'll have no problem picking up a catalog, and start ordering the parts you want for the truck. If you want to be able to laod up the wife and kid, and take the family 32' foot travel trailer to the coast for the weekend, then you need a truck that will handle that. I have a reason for building the F-800 semi I am building. That reason is partially secret, but I fully intend on pulling a trailer. Maybe not a 53' reefer, or anything like that, but i fully intend on using the truck as a tow rig. I have information that a lot of people don't get, and have good reason to want a rig I will like, that I don't have to get a CDL for, but will be able to hook it to a trailer, and load up everything I own, and get the F@#$% out of dodge ASAP. That is why my truck is a Caterpillar powered F-800 tandem axle semi. I could of gotten a Peterbilt, or Kenworth, but I wanted the 53-55 Ford body, so I am building my own semi. If I want to haul a load of gravel, I have a 2001 Dodge dually. A truck is a truck, and a truck is designed to move loads of cargo that a car or van cannot effectively move. Our modern society has *******ized the term "truck" and made it something along the lines of a Honda Accord, or Lincoln Continental. If you want a truck, get your idea, and your plan of purpose, and sit down and think about. Bounce it off of us, and we are all here to help. We are all very glad to answer questions that you may have. The 350/TH350 combo the thing may have, is good for light duty loads, and cruising. It won't pull a gooseneck up over the Rockies, well, it might, but it won't be happy on the other side, if it makes it over. If you plan on working this thing, you need to decide now, and work towards that goal, and build it accordingly.

 

What are you wanting to pull? a 4bt cummins is an excelent choice. Its got a little over 100Hp and a little over 300lb ft. stock. It is the same displacement as a flathead V8 which did a good job originally and it has more power. with the right gearing you could easily get 25mpg and have plenty of power to pull. The main thing to consider when switching to a diesel is final gearing. Your cruising RPM needs to be below the redline of the engine chosen so OD will be a must with stock gears!

 

I am wanting a truck that can be driven back and forth to school, and tow the occasional lawn mower or atv. The ability to tow more would be nice, but not required, as it is still more than my 4 cyldinder ranger can do. I like to take it on the interstate. It would be just for me and of course a girl friend which I am working on. The main thing on why I was asking about the wheel size was because I didn't know if putting lets say 31in or 33in All Terrains on would be a problem or not.

I would love to have the diesel, but I was hoping for something that would take a month at most to install and it sounded like the diesel was a little more involved, but if there's a way to pull that off without dozens of months of work and thousands of dollars, I'd be interested in attempting it.

As Always, Thanks