IDI build in DIESEL POWER

[87-F-250]

Thank you for your support Oilburners.net!
The initial response has been awesome. We hope to continue the project in the spirit of junkyard engineering but at the same time it is nice to have aftermarket support (which old diesels are hurting for).
On a recent trip to a breathtaking Southern California junkyard I picked up a front right turn lamp and a clean piece of sheet metal that fills between the front bumper and the grill. It sure beats the Minnesota junk yard trips that I am used to. Back home you looked for shapes that resembled the vehicle you were after. In California the junkyards are like used car lots. But with good comes bad. The hoods and tops of vehicles are destroyed by the sun. I might need to take the windshield out to get at the rust. Plus the plastics and interiors get destoyed by the suns rays.
As for the future... it probably depends most on what breaks. My ultimate goal is to get the truck airborn. The twin-I beam front suspension is cool because it is so simple. I would like to fabricate or have someone who knows a lot about Baja racing build a suspension. At the same time I don't want to sacrifice towing.
My Grandpa owned a body shop, and I worked at two other ones so I can pound fenders and sling mud. I am not fast but other projects turned out OK from a distance and at night. Since this truck is so clean a decent paint job should be a piece of cake.
As for the engine... I recently put new return fuel lines on and got a new set of glow plugs. The future might get wild. How about this:
Start with the block, clean it, and bore it out the smallest amount. Then fill the coolant passages with cement. Balance and weigh the moving parts put in new bearings. Shave the heads for more compression.
Add a turbo.
Now for the propaganda
I've been researching converting waste heat to mechanical energy. I bought plans for a small light weight steam engine www.greensteamengine.com I plan on trapping all the heat I can. The steam engine will drive an alternator and charge 5 batteries located in the bed. The electricity will power a hydrogen on demand unit.
Wouldn't it be cool to park Project 300 next to a Prius then outtow it, out jump it, have cleaner emissions and have more mpg?

 

[91f2504x4]

You are going to hear this from a lot of people, but the last thing you want to do is increase the compression in this engine, especially if you want to turbocharge it. And there isn't much shaving you can do to the heads on these engines, the heads are flat on the bottoms, you will know what I mean if you ever tear into it, you don't want more compression with this engine, if anything you want less.

And as far as pouring the block is concerned, that seems to be a highly debated topic lately, so I want to see where that leads.

 

[RLDSL]

If you look at the picture here you'll see that the heads on these things are flat with no combustion chamber to lessen by shaving. As it is, the pistons stick up out of the block and it's just a hair of the gasket that keeps them apart. you don't need any more compression.

 

[Optikalillushun]

87F250, my truck is ur truck bigger brother! im stoked to see an IDI being even mentioned let alone worked on. that sealed the deal, im subsribing to ur mag now.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[zpd307]

i have bought the mag on a couple of different occasions. i ended up getting this months a couple of days ago. i was impressed with this one though. it had more tech articles than fancy high dollar truck showoffs. good job and keep it up. i had heard about the project what seems like a bunch of months ago, i was surprised that the first article just came out. also what are your plans for the chevette?

 

[typ4]

They did a nice repair story on a 60 front end.
I think the project truck with that low of miles should be modded with out any overhaul.
87f-250 if you like this suggestion read my previous post.

 

[david85]

If you look at the picture here you'll see that the heads on these things are flat with no combustion chamber to lessen by shaving. As it is, the pistons stick up out of the block and it's just a hair of the gasket that keeps them apart. you don't need any more compression.

According to what I've heard, the pistons pass the deck by 30 thou at TDC. Seems to agree with what I measured when I put my engine together (I measured 10 thou exactly ).

 

[Clydesdale]

lol true but give credit where credit is due.. if it wasn't for GM going threw the development of the Detroit diesel 6.2 for the light duty truck Ford never would of had a knee-jerk reaction and bough up the 6.9 from international for there light line.

Having driven both 6.2s and 6.9/7.3s i love them both there great work horses and both have the strong points

Also GM made the 6.2 to have comparable power to their small blocks but get twice the millage, not a heavy huller. Having said that a good friend of mine has a 2.5 ton Suburban and gets 27 MPG on the highway, id like to see any of you guys come close to those numbers ;p

Agree with ya on the gas mileage winner, the 6.2/6.5 were/are a thrifty bunch.

And the Detroit did more than spur ford, it spurred Dodge too, I think...


I was happy with my 6.2... I don't know that it would have out pulled a 350 though.

 

[Diezel_Cowboy]

As I was reading the current issue of Diesel Power (I subscribe by the way) I counted pages and found that out of about 180 pages that 100 pages are advertisement! Some advertisement is good but over 50%?! And there are so few aftermarket parts for our old trucks the advertisements are completely worthless. Just had to vent because there are some good pictures/stories in the magazine but every other page is a damn advertisement meaning the magazine could be twice as good. I wonder if there are so many advertisements and the advertisements cost money why we dont all get the magazine for free courtesy of the retailers.

 

[DeepRoots]

i don't run a magazine, so the finances are beyond me.

just the same, good to hear more 'wrenching' articles.
I get tired of these pansy plug in mechanics.

 

[f-two-fiddy]

I'm sure they would like to make a profit selling the mag. If they're subscription, and OTC sales were higher, then they could charge more for advertising. Thus, weeding some of the ads.

Or they could make MORE money?

Magazines are hurting almost as bad as Newspapers in this country, the interweb is eating them alive.

 

[RLDSL]

i don't run a magazine, so the finances are beyond me.

just the same, good to hear more 'wrenching' articles.
I get tired of these pansy plug in mechanics.

Aw, watsamatta? don't you like listening to all those guys lamenting on how hard they've laboured making their computers go faster??? That's hard work pushing all those buttons

 

[opusd2]

You know how hard it is grabbing that credit card and ordering up that new Mega-Power Plug-In for that new Diesel Behemoth, waiting a week for it's delivery, then having to plug it into the ALDL port and applying that velcro tape so when you burn those 20" tires on clean pavement it won't slide off into your cup holder? Talk about tough! It's so much worse than actually changing out components in worn engines, matching gears and injector spray rates on a mechanical diesel. Those of you that get your trucks dirty with grease on gooseneck balls, gravel and dents in the bed (ewww!) know nothing about keeping all that chrome clean!

All ribbing aside, it's nice to be able to use all the plug and play computer equipment to make easy power as anyone with money and the ability to plug in a toaster can update the goods. But in the long run, all those electronics take a beating from the heat, vibrations, and pounding from operation and other external chemicals and EMI and will eventually fail making the controls the weak link in the chain. But don't get me wrong, it's wonderful while it lasts.

In the end I am one of those that prefer to use mechanics and hard earned knowledge from decades of wrenching, welding, and swinging a 4 foot "torque multiplier" to get the crusty fasteners off of the duals on tractor tires after a complete rebuild of the engine and transmission input shaft on a tractor. The smell of Lubriplate burning off on an initial start up of an engine breaking in new sleeves, pistons and rings is something you never quite forget. If I want to build something computerized, I will upgrade my home server with a new tower.

Sorry for the early morning rant.

 

[subway]

Thank you for your support Oilburners.net!
The initial response has been awesome. We hope to continue the project in the spirit of junkyard engineering but at the same time it is nice to have aftermarket support (which old diesels are hurting for).
On a recent trip to a breathtaking Southern California junkyard I picked up a front right turn lamp and a clean piece of sheet metal that fills between the front bumper and the grill. It sure beats the Minnesota junk yard trips that I am used to. Back home you looked for shapes that resembled the vehicle you were after. In California the junkyards are like used car lots. But with good comes bad. The hoods and tops of vehicles are destroyed by the sun. I might need to take the windshield out to get at the rust. Plus the plastics and interiors get destoyed by the suns rays.
As for the future... it probably depends most on what breaks. My ultimate goal is to get the truck airborn. The twin-I beam front suspension is cool because it is so simple. I would like to fabricate or have someone who knows a lot about Baja racing build a suspension. At the same time I don't want to sacrifice towing.
My Grandpa owned a body shop, and I worked at two other ones so I can pound fenders and sling mud. I am not fast but other projects turned out OK from a distance and at night. Since this truck is so clean a decent paint job should be a piece of cake.
As for the engine... I recently put new return fuel lines on and got a new set of glow plugs. The future might get wild. How about this:
Start with the block, clean it, and bore it out the smallest amount. Then fill the coolant passages with cement. Balance and weigh the moving parts put in new bearings. Shave the heads for more compression.
Add a turbo.
Now for the propaganda
I've been researching converting waste heat to mechanical energy. I bought plans for a small light weight steam engine www.greensteamengine.com I plan on trapping all the heat I can. The steam engine will drive an alternator and charge 5 batteries located in the bed. The electricity will power a hydrogen on demand unit.
Wouldn't it be cool to park Project 300 next to a Prius then outtow it, out jump it, have cleaner emissions and have more mpg?

that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

 

[icanfixall]

Its just as posted above. The heads are flat and the pistons come up out above the deck as much as 31 thousands. I did build a motor where the pistons came up above the deck as much as 54 thousands. That was way too much. When that motor overheated because a new freeze plug failed pulling a grade every piston had a mark from the pistons in it. The mark was not measrueable but you could see it. My motor compression on my new rebuild is 530 lbs at 21 1/2 to 1. I don't feel making the static compression higher is going to benefit anything. Surely if you want to do that a set of ARP head studs will be required. This is what the heads look like. They can be "cleaned up" for better flow because of the ruff finish. If you left double click the mouse the pictures can be enlarged for a closer look at the ruffness of the castings.