The building of Beagle Pup.

[Farmer Rock]

I figured I will just post this today since I need a few opinions.

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Beagle Pup is a 1987 International S1600 6.9 idi 5 speed spicer.I absolutely love the truck,it only has 137k miles and everything works perfectly.When I bought the truck last year,It wouldn't start for nothing,so I completely re-did the GP system and converted it to manual GPs because it looked like Rube Goldburg snuck under the hood with wire cutters.so it has all new cables,wires,new GP harness,relay,switch,etc.,also converted it to electric lift pump.The truck starts right up on the first revolution in the coldest weather the hills of PA throw at it with no block heater and double cycling the GPs.This brings me to the painful question.I have a chance to buy a dt360 5 speed bus from our church,and that thing has a lot of torque and power,and started right up after 3 years of sitting.It would be pretty easy to swap the motor and tranny from the bus into my truck,but not sure if it's worth it or not.I plan on using this truck for heavy towing and could definetly use the upgrade,but I would hate to tear the perfectly good motor out. I'd appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

I will be doing a lot more work to the truck either way,so stay tuned.



Rock

 

[Farmer Rock]

Also,I would have put this down in the medium duty truck forum,but I figured since this concerns the well being of an IDI,this is the place.



Rock

 

[Stu Bailey]

Don’t really have much to say due to lack of experience, but either way sounds like a bad a$$ setup! More power is always nice, especially if you are using it for work...

 

[frankenwrench]

By the dt360 and put that perfectly good running 6-9 in that brick nose sitting next to it in the picture

 

[Farmer Rock]

Don’t really have much to say due to lack of experience, but either way sounds like a bad a$$ setup! More power is always nice, especially if you are using it for work...

Thanks Stu,You are right about more power,I really am leaning that way.

By the dt360 and put that perfectly good running 6-9 in that brick nose sitting next to it in the picture

The brick nose already has a 6.9 in it,so I will probably just go through the engine then find a decent truck to put it in




Rock

 

[Farmer Rock]

This is what is should look like when its done.The bus has the newer hood like the truck in this link,so i will swap that as well.https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/3869840343028595/?ref=search&referral_code=undefinedPlan is to install goosneck hitch, receiver hitch,and brake controller,then maybe some stacks The bus has new tires I will swap over,and i will keep the rest of the bus chassis as parts.There will be some other things I'm sure,and I the first thing to do is weld in new floor boards,which should be done this week.



Rock

 

[IDIBRONCO]

As much as I love the IDI engines, I'm going to have to agree and put my .02 in the DT360 column. These engines seem to be awful weak in an International. Sure, you could put a turbo on it, but it's still limited by the head bolts/studs. For what you would spend on a 7.3 and all of the turbo parts to go on it, you could have a very good running DT360 plus a pretty fat wallet to boot. You are already planning to put it to constant heavy use, so I think that you'll be happier with the heavier duty engine.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

If you're gonna be putting that truck to work then the DT360 swap is a great way to go from what I hear. I've driven a DT466e for years that is in a class B truck weighing 23k empty, gets over 33k when full. It's a dog in that setup but is also bone stock and can't be turned up like the early DT's.

Point is in your much lighter application the stock power levels will be good, with a ton of overhead at just the turn of a fuel screw. As said the 6.9 can't take a lot of extra boost even with studs, and the DT is a medium duty engine that can take all the towing weight and wear and tear easily, along with extra boost if you want to turn it up.

BTW, cool truck! Now if only I had a reason to have a flat bed... love the look of that International.

 

[TNBrett]

Just my $.02, but I really like the look of the older front clip. I always have been a fan of it. I passed up a chance to buy a retired UHaul with no box once for $1500. I wanted to shorten the frame and put a flatbed on it. I still think about it (and kick myself a little) every time I see an International of that generation.


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[Farmer Rock]

Just my $.02, but I really like the look of the older front clip. I always have been a fan of it. I passed up a chance to buy a retired UHaul with no box once for $1500. I wanted to shorten the frame and put a flatbed on it. I still think about it (and kick myself a little) every time I see an International of that generation.


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Yeah I have to think about it,because if I change the hood I can't really call it Beagle Pup anymore lol.Seriously though,I do love the way the truck looks now with the old hood,but I am just weighing it out.The old hood has a big crack on the fender,and is built a little lighter compared to the new hood which is built pretty heavy and is in great shape.The new hood also has the bus mirrors that will come in handy when towing.If it wasn't for the fact the bus comes with the upgraded hood,then I wouldn't even be thinking of changing it out.




Rock

 

[asmith]

Yeah I have to think about it,because if I change the hood I can't really call it Beagle Pup anymore lol.Seriously though,I do love the way the truck looks now with the old hood,but I am just weighing it out.The old hood has a big crack on the fender,and is built a little lighter compared to the new hood which is built pretty heavy and is in great shape.The new hood also has the bus mirrors that will come in handy when towing.If it wasn't for the fact the bus comes with the upgraded hood,then I wouldn't even be thinking of changing it out.




Rock

I am with TnBrett. I like the old hood better. I have zero experience with these trucks, can the mirrors be swapped over to the old hood? either way go with the DT360. this is going to be a sweet build.

 

[nitroguy]

Also, so long as the mods don't tell at you (or me for suggesting it) document it here! I'd love to watch it come together. Plus, it WAS an IDI, so it's totally relevant here.

 

[Farmer Rock]

I am not really sure which hood I will go with.I have always liked the older hoods best,so nothing is definite.I planned on welding in the floor boards today,but we got just enough snow to be annoying,and tomorrow they are calling for 18 inches,so I am not sure when I will be doing that.I ended up installing a 400w power inverter and 12v power outlet in the cab,because there was no outlet,so I figured I will just go completely overboard,and install an outlet and an inverter.I am waiting on a fuse block to get here so I can hook everything up through it.Here is a pic of the inverter,I didn't have a chance to take a picture after it was installed,but those pictures along with the crusty floorboards will come tomorrow.

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Rock

 

[Booyah45828]

I've got mixed emotions on this, because I'm in the same boat you're in.

If you're planning on towing and hauling, you're going to want more power then what you have. I have no doubt on that because I do every time I drive my bus. And that leaves you with upgrading the idi, or swapping in a different engine. Although modern turbos, bigger pumps, and intercoolers can make the idi a competitive powerplant, I feel the dt360 is still a better and more capable platform. Especially comparing it to a 6.9 idi and the smaller head bolts.

You'll have to swap the doghouse from the bus to the truck. And I'd seriously look at including an intercooler of some sort in this swap as well. Otherwise, the rest should be simple nuts and bolts. And with some pump mods and turbo upgrades and you'll be happily at a good power level.

My idi is in my bus, it's a 6.9 and it's dead reliable. But I've been looking at getting more power for the bus and was on the fence for quite a while about the path I was going to take. With the 6.9, we're limited on power capability with it's 7/16 head bolt size, there's just no way around it. Yeah you can upgrade it to arp studs, but I feel high boost would still be a gamble with those installed. If I had a 7.3 installed, I'd at least try running bigger numbers on it, but with the 6.9 I feel any power increases are turning it into a grenade with the pin pulled. And I don't want the bus to become unreliable like that.

This summer, I found and bought a 2nd IH 7.3 idi for cheap, and am planning on building it out and swapping, so it looks like I'm staying in the IDI camp. But, if I wouldn't have found what I did, and found a dt360 like you, that'd be the path I would have taken. I like the IDI, and at stock power levels it's golden. But at the end of the day, the IDI just doesn't seem as reliable at higher HP levels as the straight 6 options.

 

[Farmer Rock]

I've got mixed emotions on this, because I'm in the same boat you're in.

If you're planning on towing and hauling, you're going to want more power then what you have. I have no doubt on that because I do every time I drive my bus. And that leaves you with upgrading the idi, or swapping in a different engine. Although modern turbos, bigger pumps, and intercoolers can make the idi a competitive powerplant, I feel the dt360 is still a better and more capable platform. Especially comparing it to a 6.9 idi and the smaller head bolts.

You'll have to swap the doghouse from the bus to the truck. And I'd seriously look at including an intercooler of some sort in this swap as well. Otherwise, the rest should be simple nuts and bolts. And with some pump mods and turbo upgrades and you'll be happily at a good power level.

My idi is in my bus, it's a 6.9 and it's dead reliable. But I've been looking at getting more power for the bus and was on the fence for quite a while about the path I was going to take. With the 6.9, we're limited on power capability with it's 7/16 head bolt size, there's just no way around it. Yeah you can upgrade it to arp studs, but I feel high boost would still be a gamble with those installed. If I had a 7.3 installed, I'd at least try running bigger numbers on it, but with the 6.9 I feel any power increases are turning it into a grenade with the pin pulled. And I don't want the bus to become unreliable like that.

This summer, I found and bought a 2nd IH 7.3 idi for cheap, and am planning on building it out and swapping, so it looks like I'm staying in the IDI camp. But, if I wouldn't have found what I did, and found a dt360 like you, that'd be the path I would have taken. I like the IDI, and at stock power levels it's golden. But at the end of the day, the IDI just doesn't seem as reliable at higher HP levels as the straight 6 options.

Yeah,I am planning on cutting out and installing the dog house.I should have said earlier it is actually a dta360 so it is already aftercooled.I love my IDIs,and while I could add studs and a turbo to get more power,I would be more money into it than I would the dt360 route.



Rock