Posted by AAA on Thursday, June 28, 2001 at 2:34PM :
In Reply to: Re: Diesel in W300 Power Wagon posted by Fred Coldwell on Thursday, June 28, 2001 at 11:22AM :
I agree that the 6BT Cummins may be too long for a W300, but there are other diesels that will fit. The 4.88 ratio is ok on the highway as long as you are running a 36-38" tall tire, which is what you should run on a W300 anyway.
The 6.354 Perkins is a bolt-in swap if you can find a PC/PD 500-600 Dodge Medium Duty truck. This will provide double the fuel mileage of a Dodge gas engine. It is noisy compared to the 318, 360, 440, etc., but provides a constant speed up or down hills, loaded or unloaded. I get 18 mpg with my PW300, 4.88s, 38" Michelins, and with NP420 can cruise 62 mph.
The T6.354 Perkins Turbo Diesel will also fit in a W300, with peak torque at lower rpms. I got one of these thru E-bay two months ago. Attached to it is a Clark 280VO 5spd OD, and a 5831C Spicer Aux UD/DD/OD trans. It is in a 74 Chevy 3/4 ton that will run 100 mph and get 27 mpg. I paid $1,425.00 for it all. This will go in a 61 W300 that I will pick up in Denver in July.
Considering that a gas powered W300 seems to get 8-10 mpg, the $2,000-$2,500 more that you spend for a diesel will pay for itself in
the first 20,000 miles. Of course oil changes are more expensive, and other routine maintenance is a bit more.
A diesel makes the burly W300 even more "industrial".
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