305 SBC vs 6.2 Detroit: Which would you rather?

[Turbo4whl]

Real trucks don't have spark plugs.

Real trucks have 6 in a row, so they will go.

Give me the Detroit with an SM465 all day long! Real trucks have a clutch pedal and no spark plugs… (here comes the hate messages)!

Strickland

If the Detroit you speak of is a 2 stroke, I'm with you. We had 6.2's in the fleet back in the day. They clocked a lot more shop time, I'll repeat, a lot more shop time than the trucks with spark plugs.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

In a drag race, I'm not sure either would win, but I think I'd rather have some extra torque down low and the idea that I could run biodiesel etc. in case of emergency, so I vote 6.2. But, I've never owned either and never had a diesel, so it's purely an opinion based on stuffs I've heard in the internet, and we all know how reliable that is.

Unless you're making your own biodiesel fuel, which is a fairly involved process and requires a lot of up-front $$$ for equipment, it really isn't a notable reason to consider the 6.2L. I get that it sounds good "on paper", though. I used to make my own bio, so I have hands-on experience with the process and equipment. WVO *could* be an option, but it can also cause a lot of mechanical issues over time, and also requires some spendy up-front infrastructure to use in a vehicle.

Semi-related...can't tell you the last time I saw biodiesel commercially available at the pump.

Craig

 

[squaredeal91]

Unless you're making your own biodiesel fuel, which is a fairly involved process and requires a lot of up-front $$$ for equipment, it really isn't a notable reason to consider the 6.2L. I get that it sounds good "on paper", though. I used to make my own bio, so I have hands-on experience with the process and equipment. WVO *could* be an option, but it can also cause a lot of mechanical issues over time, and also requires some spendy up-front infrastructure to use in a vehicle.

Semi-related...can't tell you the last time I saw biodiesel commercially available at the pump.

Craig

Ive Seen that with heavy equipment failures and that's with newer seals and gaskets.

 

[bucket]

In a drag race, I'm not sure either would win, but I think I'd rather have some extra torque down low and the idea that I could run biodiesel etc. in case of emergency, so I vote 6.2. But, I've never owned either and never had a diesel, so it's purely an opinion based on stuffs I've heard in the internet, and we all know how reliable that is.

Are you saying that if they were to race each other, with no other challengers, they both would lose? If so, I agree lol.

 

[Blue Ox]

Unless you're making your own biodiesel fuel, which is a fairly involved process and requires a lot of up-front $$$ for equipment, it really isn't a notable reason to consider the 6.2L. I get that it sounds good "on paper", though. I used to make my own bio, so I have hands-on experience with the process and equipment. WVO *could* be an option, but it can also cause a lot of mechanical issues over time, and also requires some spendy up-front infrastructure to use in a vehicle.

Semi-related...can't tell you the last time I saw biodiesel commercially available at the pump.

Craig

I think the perspective on alternative fuels should also take disaster scenarios into account. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy we were without electric for a week and gas was hard to come by for longer than that. After the gasoline supply crashed Diesel was still relatively easy to find. After that I had the option to burn heating oil. Another couple of days and it would have come to that. For the gas engine crowd the only alternative was deathanol 85 and that wasn't all that common to start with so it only extended the supply for a couple of days at best.

Needless to say that's not the big decision maker for what you want to live with, but it sure was nice to be able to stay mobile while everyone else was standing in line like it was 1973.

 

[Stewzer55]

Howdy stranger!

Howdy!

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

I think the perspective on alternative fuels should also take disaster scenarios into account. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy we were without electric for a week and gas was hard to come by for longer than that. After the gasoline supply crashed Diesel was still relatively easy to find. After that I had the option to burn heating oil. Another couple of days and it would have come to that. For the gas engine crowd the only alternative was deathanol 85 and that wasn't all that common to start with so it only extended the supply for a couple of days at best.

Needless to say that's not the big decision maker for what you want to live with, but it sure was nice to be able to stay mobile while everyone else was standing in line like it was 1973.

I agree 100%, and am definitely of the same "preparedness mindset". My intended point was that you don't just "whip up biodiesel" in a pinch. Any multi-fuel-capable engine is a great thing, though.

Side note: My CUCV is also fairly EMP-resilient, and we have EMP protection on my wife's late-model car, too. We want to cover ourselves for a variety of potential SHTF scenarios.


*****


@squaredeal91 - Regarding your comment "Ive Seen that with heavy equipment failures and that's with newer seals and gaskets."...

I don't know the specifics of the equipment you mentioned, but it'll depend on whether those "newer seals and gaskets" were made of Viton or not. Viton resists degradation from biodiesel. It could also potentially depend on the engine design, bio quality, and percentage of bio mix. Older mechanically-injected diesels are very tolerant of bio use. I ran it in an '80 Mercedes 5-cylinder, and upgraded my fuel lines with Viton lines before doing so. I ran 100% bio in the summer, and 50% bio through the Michigan winter (but my fuel was ASTM-grade made with good-quality oil that didn't coagulate in the cold).

 

[Fastduramax]

Someone used the words "hauled ass" and 305 in the same sentence

 

[peats]

I prefer the 6.2 and it has turned into my daily driver over the '81 sbc. Even though my garage doesn't go below 40deg.F the 6.2 really likes the block heater. I don't mind that it's slow, I'm retired.

 

[vr1967]

Whatever is in the best condition, the nicest truck, for the best deal that you can get is what I say the winner is.

I have an 84 K1500 swb with a 6.2, with a Banks turbo, 3.42s and 33s, currently with an SM465 4sp, so no OD, and get 22-24mpg if I keep my foot out of it. Plan to do a 4L80 swap soon, so hopefully mileage will stay the same.
9lb of boost with the Banks has surprised it’s fair share of gas burners at the lights. While it makes it no hot rod (thats what the bbc 67 Camaro I have is for) it really wakes the engine up performance wise.

 

[Finkaire]

Personally i would like the VIN plate on a 6.2 to attach to my 305 to avoid California smog

 

[Blue Ox]

I agree 100%, and am definitely of the same "preparedness mindset". My intended point was that you don't just "whip up biodiesel" in a pinch. Any multi-fuel-capable engine is a great thing, though.

Side note: My CUCV is also fairly EMP-resilient, and we have EMP protection on my wife's late-model car, too. We want to cover ourselves for a variety of potential SHTF scenarios.


*****


@squaredeal91 - Regarding your comment "Ive Seen that with heavy equipment failures and that's with newer seals and gaskets."...

I don't know the specifics of the equipment you mentioned, but it'll depend on whether those "newer seals and gaskets" were made of Viton or not. Viton resists degradation from biodiesel. It could also potentially depend on the engine design, bio quality, and percentage of bio mix. Older mechanically-injected diesels are very tolerant of bio use. I ran it in an '80 Mercedes 5-cylinder, and upgraded my fuel lines with Viton lines before doing so. I ran 100% bio in the summer, and 50% bio through the Michigan winter (but my fuel was ASTM-grade made with good-quality oil that didn't coagulate in the cold).

I wasn't critiquing your experience with bio. I have plenty of it myself, and while I'm an advocate of it, I recognize it's limitations. During the price spike back in ought-eight we had a lot of customers fiddling with it. One of the most prolific was a fish market that was getting used fryer oil from the restaurants they supplied and converting it to some bio and mostly straight use. That ran a generator that powered their refrigeration. It was a significant process just to clean the waste oil, but they were reasonably successful with it. Unfortunately, when they weren't they would also seize an injection pump on a near annual basis.

 

[1x1_Speed_Craig]

I wasn't critiquing your experience with bio. I have plenty of it myself, and while I'm an advocate of it, I recognize it's limitations. During the price spike back in ought-eight we had a lot of customers fiddling with it. One of the most prolific was a fish market that was getting used fryer oil from the restaurants they supplied and converting it to some bio and mostly straight use. That ran a generator that powered their refrigeration. It was a significant process just to clean the waste oil, but they were reasonably successful with it. Unfortunately, when they weren't they would also seize an injection pump on a near annual basis.

Very cool. I love creative fuel source ideas. When I was still doing it, people were looking into algae, used coffee grounds, etc. as sources for oil. It was possible, but the yield was so low that it wasn't practical.

BTW, I didn't necessarily think you were critiquing my experience; I just didn't know if I conveyed my intended point well enough. Sometimes my brain moves faster than my fingers or mouth.

 

[Junior 01]

I've had 2 trucks with the 305 but no experience with the 6.2. I know the 305 can be mostly adequate if the cam, intake, and carb are swapped, so I'd go that way again and definitely use ceramic headers and duel exhaust.

 

[cadyED]

6.2 all day especially m1008 with its extra power and sweet military options it won't get u there fast. as long as it has oil it'll keep rattling. The 6.5 better option but not comparable to diesels these days