Well, my son killed the built 350 in my K5 today. Slung a rod through the pan; short block time! But I was thinking, maybe time to go diesel. I like diesels much better in general anyway, so time to see what can be done. Easiest and fastest is 6.2/6.5, but not very interesting. Still, for the right price... Much cooler and still not much trouble would be a 4BT modified with an intercooler. Not a hot rod, but mileage claims are AMAZING and it's small enough to fit easily, plus the 700R4 should be just fine in there with nothing but a converter and governor change. Ahhh, but what about a mildly "turned up" 6BT in a "1 ton" K5! Now that would be THE STUFF! To bad it would mean major core/cowl surgery, 4500 or better, and loads of other stuff. But can we put a price on COOOOOOL factor?
Mildly bombed 4bt with an NV4500. 250hp/500 torque is stupidly easy to get(hell, thats factory marine ratings for a 4BT-A) and still keep the fuel economy, plus it would oulast the rest of the truck. It doesnt quite have the power potential of a 6bt with 2 less cylinders, but i would not doubt that 500 streetable hp could be massaged out of one. A 6bt, while bling, is IMHO completely pointless and a total waste to put into something that will never be a real tow rig. 4bt is also cheaper than its big brother, and quite a bit lighter. A 4bt would provide plenty of cool factor. A 6.2/6.5 wouldnt be bad, but i would take the 4bt over it any day of the week.
:bling: I love the sound of a spooled up 4bt with open exhaust,it would be fun to out pull most folks with a 4 cyl. rotfl :stir: if only a Detroit 6-71 wasnt so heavy!!
Problem is, finding a 4BT is not easy and I don't want to wait forever with a rod hanging out the side of the block...
Finding a 4bt in a step van is hard, but remember, this is a motor that came in just about everything, trackhoes, generators, boats, pumps, ect.
Yeah, but by the time you find/buy the bell housing adapters, change the throttle/pump/governer stuff, and so on and you probably spent more than finding/buying a step van motor. Some of those were also 4Bs instead of 4BT too. And the marine motors also have some expensive conversions required. <sigh> It never ends. Still, I'm continuing to look and hope...
