6.2 For A Daily Driver? What Are The Downsides?

[Strick]

That is really sad. I just picked up an '86 and it is crazy solid. At almost 40 years old, there is no rust. Everywhere there is a void, it was sprayed from I assume the factory? There are little plugs in doors jams and underside of cab and corners. Even the doors were sprayed internally with the panels removed. It would take a serious projectile to destroy them. Weather has hardly left a mark.

Bragg covers area in 4 counties here. They "misappropriate" a bunch of stuff that we motorheads could use or make a living with. It's heartbreaking to see what is trashed & junked there.

Strickland

 

[Big Ray]

We had 8 military pickups with 6.2's donated to us at Denali National Park in the early 2000's. They all had insulated boxes in back with diesel heaters to keep the guys warm in back, 24V, capable of sharing coolant and electrical, you could plug them all in to one another, the whole nine yards, arctic equipped. They were great trucks, all 1985 models, 1 ton I believe. We kept one for a shop truck and it was awesome! Slow but simple and reliable. The 24V came in handy for jump starting heavy equipment. We never drove them on pavement, just 90 miles of dirt roads. They were very reliable. The only thing negative that I remember was that they burned up glow plugs alot.
We kept 4 trucks for the fleet and 4 for parts.

Get those articles prepped injection pumps if you come across one. They have hardened innards, suppose to last much longer.
The CUCV pickups were all 1 ton. The were a bargain when the were first released as surplus.

 

[Big Ray]

Bragg covers area in 4 counties here. They "misappropriate" a bunch of stuff that we motorheads could use or make a living with. It's heartbreaking to see what is trashed & junked there.

Strickland

You're near Fort Bragg?
I'm in Havelock...

 

[Strick]

You're near Fort Bragg?
I'm in Havelock...

You're down east off Hwy 70. It's been a few years since being that way but me and the wifey would turn there at the MCAS Cherry Point and head off to Lookout Island and ferry out to the lighthouse. Is it Beaufort that has the Sanitary restaurant or another town that way?
Seems like you said that you had something going with Godwin MFG. a few months back. That is just across I-95 here in Dunn where I live. Yes, I am pretty close to Ft. Bragg and will be going there next month for the JROTC Military Ball here at school. The base is a large source of revenue for the other side of Harnett Co.

Strickland

 

[mcarlo86]

Better sounding? I disagree completely. There's no better diesel sound than a 2-stroke Detroit, imho.

Ever heard a straight-piped Super 99 Oliver in an antique tractor pull? That is heavenly!

 

[Blue Ox]

Get those articles prepped injection pumps if you come across one. They have hardened innards, suppose to last much longer.
The CUCV pickups were all 1 ton. The were a bargain when the were first released as surplus.

I'll blame spellcheck, but I think you meant arctic. They do have some hardened parts, and great if you can get one for cheap, but not really necessary unless you're burning jet fuel.

As I said earlier, the timing advances are the real weak link. Usually, they're tired by 100K or so. For a fee, they can be sleeved. We had one in a 7.3L on a commercial car hauler that went 300K and the advance was still going strong. Actually, the whole pump was except for one plastic washer that wore and would make the throttle stick slightly. With a new washer it would probably have gone 500K or more.

 

[Big Ray]

You're down east off Hwy 70. It's been a few years since being that way but me and the wifey would turn there at the MCAS Cherry Point and head off to Lookout Island and ferry out to the lighthouse. Is it Beaufort that has the Sanitary restaurant or another town that way?
Seems like you said that you had something going with Godwin MFG. a few months back. That is just across I-95 here in Dunn where I live. Yes, I am pretty close to Ft. Bragg and will be going there next month for the JROTC Military Ball here at school. The base is a large source of revenue for the other side of Harnett Co.

Strickland

The Sanitary is in downtown Morehead City. I don't recall anything about Godwin MFG, must have been someone else.
Loved riding my bike down 101. Nice ride...
Also enjoyed riding all the way to the Cedar Island ferry. Just stay away from the grass. The flies and mosquitoes are horrible!

 

[Strick]

Morehead City, I didn't think it was Beaufort. Thanks for the correction. I had you confused with another member on the other matter. Seems that person was from the western part of the state.

 

[Thesiger]

Stupid question: Has anybody ever just tried swapping a tired 6.2 for a simple gasser 350 and kept using the same TH400 trans? I was thinking, if the 6.2 in this project end up looking like a money pit, would it be worth it to try swapping (If the expenses could be held under 2000 dollars) and hanging onto that beautiful, clean 3/4 ton body and suspension?

 

[Ricko1966]

Lots of people have done this, sbc, bbc, and even some others. You will probably need a gas car torque converter.Swapping in a carbureted Chevy engine in this is just stupid easy,and cheap, if you can find a good running donor car or truck. Yes I am weirdo I know this, but if I found a cheap,BOP big block donor car or a Cadillac donor car I'd do that in heartbeat also. Not as easy but not hard,especially olds.

 

[Ricko1966]

For some reason I can't edit the last post. I am a reformed weirdo,from practicality stand point an SBC is the easiest,most affordable,option if you need to do a swap.

 

[Grit dog]

Holy Smokes that's Awesome. I know nothing about 2 stroke diesels but I want one now just to play with.

Exactly! Iconic sound and history with 2smoke diesels!
On the bucket list to be the 6th or 9th build if the lord ever grants me the time to do things for ME….lol.
PS I’d do this 1000x over before wasting 15minutes on a 6.2 or 6.5 swap.
Whoever got paid to design the 6.5 and all its ridiculously quirky bullchit, especially in 94? or whenever they switched from mechanical injection should still be put on trial and convicted, no statute of limitations! Lol

How GM came up with that absolute mess that was the 6.5 T(ur)D is beyond me. It was like they bought a 1st gen Cummins, took it for a drive, felt the smooth power, opened the hood, looked at the utter simplicity of it and then said “That won’t do….” And sent it to the crusher.
Then got good n drunk, made some line diagrams with some made up parts that never existed before and never should have and after 100 iterations of random trial and error, found a combination of crap that actually ran long enough to get it off the assembly line and onto a delivery truck….

GM should have had its business license yanked by the govt for producing that ridiculous piece of _____! Lol.

 

[Grit dog]

Nothing apparently wrong to me...
All you need is A 12v with a turned up IP and run it.

Hey Ray, no thanks needed but I fixed your post for you!! Lol

 

[Grit dog]

IP = Instrument Panel

Nope

 

[SquareRoot]

Is the 6.5 the diesel in the CUCV's?