Gas to Diesel changeover....

There are some things that people do that make no sense on paper and they love every minute of it. It's like golf. It would be much cheaper and easier to buy a ball and put the damn thing in your pocket and stay home. But some people can't resist whacking it with expensive sticks and chasing after it on a rented cart while wearing special shoes and goofy pants. They pay big money to do this on someone else's lawn even if they have a back yard at home. Why do they do that? Because they WANT to. It appears argument is /your/ golf.

Reply to
Nosey
Loading thread data ...

This has been interesting to say the least. A comparable truck to what I have, with a Cummins, will cost me about $22,000. If, as previously mentioned, I find a donor for what will be substantially less then I really think the overall cost will be less than what everyone is thinking. The frame and all else is the same between the two trucks.

I'm thinking that depending on the amount of damage to a donor (thinking accident) I can get some of the cost back out by selling off the items I don't need. Interior...dash, seats, things like that. It was mentioned that I'd have a hard time selling the truck once completed. Well that is not the intention. I have a tendancy to keep vehicles til they basically fall apart so this one will be in my possession for a very long time.

If I did purchase a truck already outfitted with a CTD, and then dumped dollars into it to make it as nice and/or better than my current truck...I'm pretty sure the end total would be much higher than the potential purchase price of $22k.

While I do see your point Tbone...you really ought to try and stop being so negative about the idea. I used to race Jet Skis back in the late 80's and early 90's...I had/have over 12k invested into a ski that initially cost me $3800 brand new. Could I ever sell it for that much? No. Do I want to? No. I still have it and it is ridiculously fast and still gets attention...and I had a blast getting it to the level I did.

Reply to
Carolina Watercraft Works

If you are going the donor route try to avoid wrecks. The impact can do some weird damage to the drive line and that's the part's you want. If your patient, you will probably find a cab burn job, that's what I'd be looking for anyway. That would get you your major components, the rest you can scrounge around for.

It was mentioned that I'd have a hard time

There ya go!! I don't think T has ever done things like that.

R
Reply to
Roy

I really doubt that. Even a quick look on ebay shows 01 Diesel Rams in very good condition from dealers for far less than that. The idea is not to find one in the same or better condition as yours, but to find one in good running condition but otherwise somewhat run down. But even if what you say is true, if the diesel like yours would cost you $22,000, then your gas power one should be worth at least $12,000 so if you were to sell yours for that, the net cost to you would be $10,000. Now if you think that you could build yours into a diesel for less than $10,000 in parts alone (including the donor), you are dreaming.

And that is the point, all else is NOT the same. Basically just about everything but the frame, body, and the interior IS different and even with the interior, the instrument cluster and under dash wiring harness are different. IIRC, even the motor mounts are different so you had better know how to weld or know someone that does. Making this conversion is not going to be some weekend project and once you really get started, this vehicle will be unusable until the project is for the most part completed.

You could get much more of the costs back by selling your current truck if you went the route of fixing up another one. The problem with selling parts from a wrecked vehicle is finding a buyer(s) for the parts. Then comes the fun of who is going to remove the parts and where you are going to store the wreck or the parts from it. If you have a large property and a lot of free time then it's not that big of a deal but if you don't ....

Besides selling it, you will have to deal with re-titling and re-registering it to deal with inspections which could be a real PITA in this state.

I doubt that but even so, you could then sell your current truck to make back a good chunk of that money.

I'm not being negative, just realistic. While it may sound like a fun or easy project, it really isn't and in the end, you will not have anything original to show for it. 01 Cummins Ram extended and QC's typically sell in good condition for around $13,000 to $17,000. IMHO, for that price it is simply easier and far more cost and time effective to just buy one and fix it up. Now if you simply have to build your own, I wish you the best of luck but make sure that you have another vehicle to drive for a while and do the research ahead of time as to what you are going to need to do to re-title it.

The point here is that you took something and made it into something that didn't exist in the mass market and you probably could get close to that if soemone desired a jet ski as fast as yours because the only way (at the time) you could get one like that was to build it.

Reply to
TBone

Then you would be making an invalid assumption. The point is that I have done things like that including creating a vehicle that already existed and after everything was said and done, it really wasn't worth it.

Reply to
TBone

I just gotta jump in on this!

I don't think it is being negative, practical perhaps.

Kelly Blue Books shows a retail for your truck at about $10,600. A CTD the same year, same options, same miles, shows a retail of $17,400. If you think you can do the swap, and have a good dependable, RE-SELLABLE, EPA approved truck, for less that the ~$7,000 difference, including the 6-12 months of spare time it will take, then go for it! Personally I would sell my truck and buy a CTD ready to go. I have rebuilt totaled cars and pickups, done all the work, including paint, myself, and I am not sure it was worth it when you include the time. Your proposed project is pretty large in comparison by the time you figure in all the tiny details that you probably are forgetting. The only way I would even attempt this swap is to buy a totaled donor vehicle, with all the right parts. The time it would take to hunt down every nut, bolt, and piece of wire needed to do this swap would take more time than the swap itself, without a donor!

I think you got some pretty good advice here from these guys, but do what you want, we may be all wrong. It maybe much easier than we think, but if you do it, keep track of every hour spent hunting for parts, and doing the swap, plus all the $$ you spend and let us know the out come! Greg

Reply to
Greg O

Oh well.

The point is that I have

Really? What have you been involved in?

Reply to
Roy

Good point, Greg.. and probably highlighted the reason that this turned into a pissing match.. (besides the fact that they all do)

The OP wanted a project/challenge... they usually aren't practical, just (hopefully) fun or emotionally rewarding.... YMWV

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Here's a link to a project a friend sent me.

formatting link
Like to see this one when it's done.

Reply to
Roy

formatting link

A little help help with the link please, I can't get the original to open.

Reply to
Roy

If you call this a pissing match, then you are really getting old, Santa.

While I fully understand that, doing so to a primary ride is not the brightest idea.

Reply to
TBone

Back around 81, I converted a fairly stripped 6cyl automatic Challenger into a V8 stick shift with AC and a vinyl top. It turned out to be far more work and time then I initially thought and when completed looked and ran well but I could have just bought one like that for about what it cost me in parts and sold the one I had and made up a good portion of that money without all of the headaches making the modifications needed for the stick and AC. Today, it might be worth it since they are somewhat rare but back then, they were fairly common.

Reply to
TBone

My definition has always been: "Something I never want to be"

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Not getting old, T... been there and didn't like it..

I think his daily ride is a jet ski.. lol

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

if this project was being done to a spare vehicle that was not needed for work or regualar transportation it might make more sense. if the OP had plenty of time and cash to blow also then i would say go for it. if he is trying to convert his primary transportation and not spend a year of his life riding a bicycle to work then the idea is ludicrous.

i restore antique tractors and motorcycles all of the time. i can promise most self done projects cost more than buying a completed one. if the OP is into boats he should understand this. what someone puts into a boat (or any power toy) and what they can sell it for is almost always a money losing proposition. i am in the middle of restoring a john deere model M. what i have spent on parts and machine work has already exceeded what i could buy an already restored tractor by a significant amount. but this one was owned by my dad and the money is not an issue when compared to sentimental value.

i am also working on an allis chalmers d-15. i am going to have more money in the fuel system (injector pump, injectors, etc) than i can buy a running tractor for. i restored a '78 harley flh last year. i had 11,000 dollars in just parts. a running '78 on ebay is less than 10k. i am presently restoring an '88 softail and have lucked out on parts. it looks like i'll only have around 7k in parts for this project. but that don't count my time.

i have more money in my 72 dart than i can sell it for and i haven't even begun to replace the power train. no telling what it is going to cost to build one of the hemi's i have in the shop and then fitting it in along with a bigger tranny and rear end. i'll probably end up with over 20k in a car that will be worth half that.

any project is possible. heck, a man with talent could build a space shuttle if he had the budget. but you have to weigh the cost/benefit/time ratio. to spend a lot of cash and a lot of time to build something that is available on every used truck lot in the country is odd to say the least. i can't imagine how much time it would take just to swap out the wiring. add the fuel management system to that and a one man band has a couple of weeks into the project and still has an engine laying in the floor. just imagine the time scavenging all of the parts from the donor vehicle. this ain't just a build. it is dissassembly of two vehicles before you even start to reassemble the original truck. michael

Reply to
nunya

Reply to
Dimbo Spams

what the OP is also missing is the fact that he has to change out the entire front suspension (the diesel engine weighs much more than the gas burner thus requires heavier springs) and exhaust system. add dual batteries, entire fuel system including tank and lines, driveshaft, add dual battery capabilities, add an intercooler (that requires changing airconditioner condensor, oil cooler, etc.) , blah, blah, blah. basically every component of the truck except for the interior of the cab and windshield wipers has to be changed. oh yeah, final drive gears, and so many other nit pickin parts that this is making my head hurt. michael

Reply to
nunya

Jack up the vin plate and drive a new truck under it?

Reply to
bfran

By 'entire front suspension', if you mean the two coil springs, then yes. Since that also involves removing and replacing the shocks, that will take all of 30 minutes.

Yep. This is an aftermarket 'turbo-back' setup, that runs around $400, and will take about 20 minutes to put in (since the whole old exhaust system simply gets sawz-all'd out)

Battery, battery tray, extra ground cable, and heavy +12V cable to connect to the other battery. Not exactly rocket science.

No, the tank is the same (big plastic box). New fuel lines, sure... if it were me, I'd do a frame-mounted pusher pump, so therefore a short return line, and a single flexible fuel line up to the engine's injection pump. At least one of those pusher pumps comes with a new dip tube, and returns via the filler neck vent, so the existing fuel pump module can simply be gutted (pump removed), it's ports plugged, and simply re-used.

Why?

Yep - covered that already

A little over-dramatic, don't you think? There's nothing wrong with the drivetrain, as it's the same HD components that come with any HD pickup.

Why? Are the 3.54 or 4.10 gears offered that year with the gasoline engines any different than the 3.54 or 4.10 gears offered with the diesel option of that same year?

Reply to
Tom Lawrence

"Of all the responses that were to the OP , this one is the most rational and well stated.........."

Damn Tom, how dare you come in here and make sense.

Reply to
Roy

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.