Here’s the result of an interesting experience I had today that ought to tickle fellow 6.2 fanatics (or certify me insane).

I sell a lot of older diesel trucks on eBay for the dealer I work for in Washington, DC. About 15 months ago I bought a pretty rare truck from my client that he picked up in auction in PA. It is a 1993 Chevy Silverado C1500 2WD diesel long bed extra cab pickup with the stock 6.2 (stock down to the EGR valve blocking the intake). We think it must have been a special order job because it came with the bare bones interior minus power windows, cruise control and no power locks. No power locks is a biggie because I have to reach across with my cane to unlock the passenger side door as wide as the beast is. It is the only ’93 1500 Diesel extra cab long bed I have ever seen or heard of.

Nice truck, reasonably comfortable for me and my fractured tailbone since nothing new is at all. I pull a tow dolly often with older, heavy sedans like diesel Mercedes and Volvo 240DLs. It pulls o.k. Nothing earth shattering. I use it for everything, including hating life trying to find a parking spot for it since it is so damn long with miserable steering radius.

Anyways, the dealer just bought a beautiful 1996 Chevy C2500 2WD Silverado with the 6.5 turbo diesel and only 156K miles on it. So I am thinking…….. Hmmmmm power everything, ABS, heavier, stiffer frame, and a lot more ass. God, that 6.5 pulls with some authority! Basically the same trucks just a few years newer. So, should I make the trade?
Well, I just got done driving the 6.5 for about 75 miles both highway and city and brought the wife along for kicks. The ’96 is a great truck and does everything better than the 6.2. We were cruising along the highway at 85 m.p.h. and it was still pulling! The ABS is actually pretty nice and the stiffer suspension made it feel like it handled better. I got home, parked the ’96 and we hopped right into the faithful 6.2 and took it along the same city/highway course.

Gut feeling here, the newer truck is easier to drive and does everything better, yes. But……. I don’t think that it does everything better enough to justify making the switch. Yes I really wish I had power windows, locks, and cruise. And the ABS will definitely keep me from skidding into the weeds. But the 6.2 is just such a nice honest engine that gets better mileage and is so much simpler. It has no problems cruising along at 85 though it does take longer to get up there. And the 1500 2WD bench seating is actually more comfortable for this chronic tail bone pain sufferer than the newer 2500 2WD bench even though it had the air assisted lumbar support. The wife noticed this comfort also with her three herniated disks. One thing I did not compare was how well they towed next to each other. I know that this might be a marked difference. I tow about 2-3 tomes per month as it is.

So anyways, am I insane to want to keep my 6.2 in lieu of a newer, more bells and whistles, 50 extra turbo-charged horsepower, heavier duty 2500? For what I can buy the 2500 for I know I could retail my 1500 for so it wouldn’t be much more out of pocket. So am I insane or are there others out there that have done this sort of comparison and decided to stick with the older beasts?

You are sort of in same dilema as us 6.5ers, we know the 6.5 will never do what a 6.6 is capable of but we know with a little work it has a LOT more in it than factory thought to allow it to do, for instance I'm capable of towing 18K loads with mine.

So for us older engined guys and I'll lump 6.5 with 6.2, you have to determine what your Diesel needs are vs desire.

My (2) 98 6.5s are still good as new, worst case scenario I blow an engine for about 5K it will be good as new again, so while I want a Dmax, do I need it & want to pay for it, vs driving a paid for, easily maintainable powerplant that thus far has been up to every task I have asked it to do.

I'd like 6.2 economy, but need 6.5 power; so I'm running a peaked & tweaked 225rwhp capable 6.5, also building another beefed up from ground up 6.5 that I'm hoping to get me to 275 rwhp, I will remove the 225 Hp one complete and save for spare if I blow one in the truck or the burb.

As far as complexity, 6.5s are far simpler than one would think, plus you would have advantage of learning it from guys with been there done that experience here, vs learning as I went with mine. I'f you need a more power remember a fully twaeked 6.2 will finish in power band where a 6.5 starts it's band, with ability to get about another 75-80 HP with bolt-on modifications, so something to consider, if you want more capability.

6.2 is fine just remember it has it's limits, like the 6.5 does but hits them earlier, 6.5s are as affordable to maintain as the 6.2; as it uses many common parts, used but good spares market is plentiful as well. Us 6.5ers love it that so many that don't understand the 6.5 & hate it, as it makes for awesome deals on used 6.5 trucks & parts.

This is why I have both.:D The 6.2 has hand crank windows and no power locks, no 4x4, but hardly ever breaks down and gets great fuel mileage, plus I can get it dirty without worrying. If i'm goin out somewhere or pulling something the 6.5 gets the nod. Plenty of power to pull anything I want, and power locks/windows. Guess in the end it's up to you. The 6.2's are great but like TD said have a limit. For what you do you could either mod the 6.2 to do it better or get the 6.5TD and leave it mostly stock and do it.

my little 84 k10 short box i ordered without electric windows and doorlocks and no cruise. just didn't want it at the time. 200k miles and i still like jumping into her and going to get the groceries.

It comes down to what you want. I could have bought something else, but I got the Suburban because it comes as close as it gets to what I want. Starting from there, I customize it. This doesn`t have much to do with reason.

When it comes to reason: You know what you have now, but you don`t know what you`ll get. The build quality of the Suburban is at least as good as of a `93 Mercedes 300D (W124). The build quality of the `96 Tahoe I had was fine, but in comparison, it`s quite a downgrade in many details. Power windows and power doorlocks are nice to have, but I somehow doubt that they would still work after 22 years if I had them ...