This has been done already in a 89 silverado. Took a while. The articles are at thedieselpage.com but i'm not a member there so i cant read the articles and get the numbers. They were claiming 13's in the 1/4 and 24mpg without power adders.

Here is a link to the article on it in Truck Trend.

http://trucktrend.com/features/tech/163_0412_duramaxpart1/index.html

Of course it would be easier to just buy a 3/4 ton but the purpose here is a powerhouse in a lighter truck for faster times and better mpg.

If you had a rolled/totaled donor truck and an older half ton, how hard do you think this would be?

I really want to do it but I'm 17 and don't exactly have much to work with. How much time/money would you guess it'd cost to have it done?

what do you plan on doing for a transmission? Allison wont clear in a standard tunnel.

ah 17 , bought a new f350 at 17 , beat the f&*k out of it and learned about how much my time/money was really worth! wait a bit longer & buy a newer truck with a duramax/allison. you'll thank me later,trust me!

:cool2: All you need is time! oh yeah, maybe some money too!

what do you plan on doing for a transmission? Allison wont clear in a standard tunnel.
the tunnel has to be slightly modified from what i've read

ah 17 , bought a new f350 at 17 , beat the f&*k out of it and learned about how much my time/money was really worth! wait a bit longer & buy a newer truck with a duramax/allison. you'll thank me later,trust me!
if the duramax/allison came in a half-ton, id be all over it. but they dont exist. besides, i want something more unique

cost/time IS the realistic limiting factor though

what do you plan on doing for a transmission? Allison wont clear in a standard tunnel.2 inch body lift is what the HDs have for clearance.

Its do-able, although I won't be the one to do it. Find a wrecked one so you get everything, and go at it!


Tom

buy a 3/4 ton, change the badging& take off a leaf or two in the back. much cheaper than doing the engine& tranny! or do whatever. my opinion shouldn't affect your decision, its more fun to do the latter! :grd:

Sounds like a fun project...however....at your age, I would consider a different route.......It's a lot like putting a 350 in an S-10.....Fun, but when you decide to sell it, who is going to want it? If you're going to drive it for 10+ years, I would say have at it...But, in the long run, you're going to be better off saving the coin you'll invest into making this truck a reality and spending it on a truck allready built from the factory...
Just my $.02 from a guy that has built some things and has lost plenty of $$$$ doing it http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/images/smilies/censored.gif

yeah ,the best advice my dad ever gave me was "don't buy someone else's junk". buy new if you can,if not make do for a while untill you can!!! I've worked very hard to get what I have and you can never go wrong with new stuff!!!! dont' get discouraged if it takes a year or two but its worth the wait! :) let us know what you decide.
-Matt

thanks. thats probably what i'll do. im looking at a 99 silverado 5.3

I'll go against the flow on this one.

DO IT!!!

The soul of hot rodding has a young heart. Without young men's imagination and determination, we'd all drive Civic Econoboxes, err... wait, young folk are hot rodding those too!

It would not be practical or financially responsible to put a 500RWHP Duramax into a lightweight truck. But since when was common sense the ruler used to measure hot rods?

I would even venture to guess that you could put a transmission other than an Allison into a light truck used for racing as opposed to heavy towing. Maybe even a built Powerglide would work.

i want to but now that ive thought about it theres so much stuff i dont know and tools/time/money that i dont have

depends what your intentions are for the vehicle. if you're planning on using it for everyday commuting,buy a good truck. but if you just wnt to drag,go for your first idea. you are only young once . for that I agree with McRat.:D

Also if you put a d-max into an 89 truck i bet it would twist the crap out of the frame, look at the diffrence between the 2500 and the 1500 frames its huge

Now if you put the d-max in a s-10 then that would be something super cool

I was thinking something like an El Camino would be the lightest good candidate. Large engine bay, lots of suspension parts available, fairly aerodynamic, 12 bolt available, set up for TH400, big nose area for intercooler.

Pat,

Just paint it blue and call it "Little BLue" and you'd be good to go. :lol:

I think the cost for just the motor alone would be prohibitive to this project. If you did it, I doubt it would twist up a frame any worse than a built BB Chevy would.

It IS possible, though. Veryyyyy possible.

Tom :pig:

If your really serious about this conversion. You need to seek out the advice of Kennedy Diesel. It's his project truck that believe your reffering to and he frequents this site with alot of knowledge and advice. Good luck. You're gonna need it.

I say go for it! and don't ever sell it! that thing will have more power mods available for it than you could ever dream of! turn it into a little red express and make it smoke enough to make the train engineers jellious! and when you put it on biodiesel they won't be able to say a word because it wont be any worse than the salt they dump on the roads in the winter.

i might do that once i get out of college :cool: