V8 Turbo Diesel In 80 Series (looking at conversion)

[Gold Coast 80]

Does anyone know if this has been done, if so which motor was used & was it a very difficult job?
My turbo 6cyl diesel is on its last legs after 500 000 klm so wondering weather to rebuild or go with the V8 turbo diesel

[whiteknight]

Two threads on V8 swaps..
350 chev installation guide (http://www.offroad80s.com/viewtopic.php?t=455)

Fire breathing Holden V8 EFI Family 80 Series (http://www.offroad80s.com/viewtopic.php?t=771)

[roscoFJ73]

Does anyone know if this has been done, if so which motor was used & was it a very difficult job?
My turbo 6cyl diesel is on its last legs after 500 000 klm so wondering weather to rebuild or go with the V8 turbo diesel


They normally use a chev 6.5 litre.
IMO you woulkd be better off rebuilding.
It might bring howls of protest but the Toyota diesels are miles ahead in terms of quality compared to most american pick up diesels.
The american diesels are also noisy and the conversion cost of $23000 is absurd considering they were only asking $13000 4-5 years ago.

[jim0001]

Does anyone know if this has been done, if so which motor was used & was it a very difficult job?
My turbo 6cyl diesel is on its last legs after 500 000 klm so wondering weather to rebuild or go with the V8 turbo diesel


My brother has a turbo V8 Chevy diesel in his 80. The car is a manual. The motor redlines, or is governed, at 3500 revs.

As far as performance is concerned it pulls like a train, performs brilliantly on and off road, sounds great, and gives reasonable economy given the vehicles weight, roof rack, 35's and driving style of its owner.

I am putting a Gen 3 (petrol) V8 into my 100. I went through a lengthy and exhaustive process evaluating a range of engine conversions including the V8 diesel.

I opted for the Gen 3 for a variety of reasons, including cost versus the V8 diesel, and the fact that my car is an auto.

I strongly suggest you put a few months into evaluating different options for your car. I have seen some on this forum say "aww, go and put such and such an engine in, it'll go great and sound orright". This in my opinion is a recipe for failure.

I went to the trouble of finding the power and torque curves for my engine, and the other engines that I considered for conversions. In some cases, engines which you would think would be suitable conversions just didn't stack up when considered in this light, and against the cost and ease of conversion, to name a couple of the factors which need to be taken into consideration.

Likewise, the cost of rebuilding the exisiting engine at something around $10-$12 K didn't stack up against other options. If you are going to spend several thousand dollars on this exercise, it is worth getting it right first time.

If you are like many of us in this forum, and have spent a bunch of money modifying your car, then I strongly urge you to do all the homework you can on this, including mapping the power and torque curves for possible replacements. other issues such as fuel type and cost, ease of conversion, availability of kits for the conversion, engine future and availability and spare part availability are some of the myriad of issues that need to be considered.

This type of project can be a lot of fun, and if you do your homework well it can be a productive and rewarding exercise.

Hope this helps.

Jim

[crawla]

It might bring howls of protest but the Toyota diesels are miles ahead in terms of quality compared to most american pick up diesels.


no howls, as you said...... 'in your opinion' :D The 6.5 was designed for 'abnormal abuse without failure' from the ground up. I have a mate who bought my shorty off me (other one) who works at Brunswick Diesel, there are plenty of conversions hitting 500 000km+. The same engine is used for marine applications, if it weren't quality I don't think places like peninsula diesel would have been using them for so long either.....anyways.

Jim0001 has covered it I reckon.......look into everything he mentioned. Spend a lot of time researching before spending a lot of money. Brunswick Diesel 2hrs south of Perth are prob by far the best mob to do a conversion for you if you choose that path but are a long way away. There are shite loads of 80 series V8 diesels over this way.

The diesel is a good conversion for the 80 but so are many other motors out there for a lot less $$$. Many vehicles running the V8 diesels are used for towing heavy loads. If your not towing heavy loads and don't need the big torque at low revs I'd be definitely spending a lot of time on the net and phone looking into other options.......I don't tow 3T and is a funny/long story why I got mine. Keep us posted, goodluck. Could do what rosco even mentioned and rebuild but prob will cost a squillion too......if you have a naturally aspirated toyota diesel I take it after 500 000km you want just a little bit more power???????:D

[6.5Cruzer]

Does anyone know if this has been done, if so which motor was used & was it a very difficult job?
My turbo 6cyl diesel is on its last legs after 500 000 klm so wondering weather to rebuild or go with the V8 turbo diesel

I Would definately be doing a bit more investgation on what you want to install in your 80 series. The 6.5 is by far not the be all and end all of motors. It was designed for a soul purpose. US military. Abuse till it blows throw it away and get another one. Thats why they are far from econoical and quiet motor. yes they are reliable but they don't rev hard enough or make any where near enough horse power to hurt them selves. (In standard form). Yes they pull alright but far out its got 6.5 lts. It would want to. Its the old american thing, if it doesn't go faster enough put a bigger engine in it. A late model 4.2 turbo cruiser engine with a few modes like bit more boost and a good air to air intercooler will perform as well if not better and use half the fuel, and be alot more reliable, quieter and you want have the probs of trying to shoe horn one into your engine bay. There a fair few of them kicking around now at wreckers as the boys in mine seem to wreck them on a regular basis.

[HDJ105]

Does anyone know if this has been done, if so which motor was used & was it a very difficult job?
My turbo 6cyl diesel is on its last legs after 500 000 klm so wondering weather to rebuild or go with the V8 turbo diesel

It's been done heaps of times, very common.

Google "Brunswick Diesels" or "Linquip"!

Check out the adaptors / conversion kits from Marks4wd.com

[cac]

having read a number of jim0001s posts on here relating to engine conversions, i like his way of thinking....and think he has pretty much nailed it....make sure you do your homework, and find out which motor is going to be the best option for you....

in your shoes, i would give the 4.2L intercooled TD from the hunjie some serious thought...and would probably also consider a number of petrol V8s on gas....

[Corry]

Not sure about the uneconomical bits claimed, but I run a 6.5
TD with a T700R auto behind it.
It is my toy, it has to be able to do long distance trips to get to some properties that we drive on, and it gets flogged hard off road.
I love the thing, and fuel wise, it's great. Mind you, I'm running 37" tyres on it all the time.
I did swap over to 33's for a trip to Hinchinbrook late last year and economy was around 13l per 100 with the usual fishing gear on board and towing a 5m tinny.
I couldn't care about how much fuel any of my cars use. I have a 4.5/A, 4.2/M and the V8 all in 80's and I love the V8 the most for offroad, but this wouldn't be my choice for family trips. I love my petrol/Auto for family trips.
If there is anything that I can help you out with, just ask. My conversion was done using a '98 model motor, and installed by Dewers Performance.

Cheers
Corry