Bench racing diesel ideas....

In the long run a Cummins is probably the most wallet friendly you'll find. Cummins parts support is one of the best and widely available through Cummins dealers and many heavy truck dealers.There are also number of quality aftermarket parts available unlike the others. A CAT while very good engines are expensive when it comes to parts.
The 4BT is more than enough for an A110 like yours (IMHO) and will fit with room to spare like I said. There are also tons of performance goodies available.

FWIW, the 6.9 was derived from the MV IH gas engines,they even use the same fuel & water pumps.I remember when it was introduced,it had some teething problems which I don't recall if all were ever totally solved. It then evolved into the 7.3 which was more successful,though nothing great.

I've been doing some research, a 4bt would be a perfect fit for my truck, I could use a modern overdrive transmission, have some fun, and lay down (from what I hear) some stupidly good gas mileage. Now to find one.

The IH 6.9 may be no powerhouse but I can attest that they are reliable. My brother has one in an '84 ford. It burns oil by the gallons, but he's driven it more miles without oil than is recommended, It's in the pasture now, but will still start and run, it just won't die!

Here's another engine I've found, The isuzu 4bd, about the same size. I understand that they don't have the following of cummins, but from what I see they are a fairly popular alternative to a cummins. Something to chew on......

P.S Given the choice, I would always choose the cummins over Isuzu, I couldn't put a "rice burning diesel" in an american truck!

Food for thought... If you stay with the stock engine you can spend a little money on a turbo and rear end swap. Just ask the man who did it how he likes it...
Haveing had my share of diesels in personal and work trucks (light to medium) I'll stick with gas for those applications and keep diesels in the heavy end. I run Cat, Cummins and Detroit in my semi's but would never swap out the IHC gas engines in my K's for diesel.

I just got off eBay where I was looking for CUMMINS 4bt engines. There are a few bread and bun curb-side delivery vans with the 4bta engines in them. If you get one of these you could drive your CUMMINS home and then remove all of the bits and pieces that you need when the engine comes out. There is several tons of recyclable aluminum in those vans. Depending on the daily price of aluminum, it may possible to almost recover the original purchase price of the unit. Our 4bta came out of a GRUMMAN VAN that was driven up from California. The wis engine was pulled in Bellingham at the scrap yard and the CUMMINS continued its trip to CANADA in the back of a 1999 Dodge Ram. After adding up the fuel and other costs the engine was nearly free, but it needed a new injection pump and that added another $1450. There was a serious tax saving and inspection charges savings by not importing the complete van.
So, you see, sometimes it is necessary to use a little imagination to get the deed done.
EG: My friend Vic needed another motor for his SOUTH BEND LATHE but was put off by the price of a new BALDOR one horsepower. I found an old cast iron table saw on Craigslist with the exact motor he was wanting. It was less than $200. He took the motor off the saw and replaced it with the less powerful motor out of his lathe and put it back onto Craigslist after a good cleaning and a little polish and a new power cord. He asked $225 and took $200. Someone has to do it. It is your turn.

Shame on you Brian,depriving the crown from their taxes & fees.

I appreciate your thoughts, The BD240 in my truck is a great motor, it's done everything I've wanted it to, and given me 16-18 mpg at 55 mph I was just thinking of some future swaps for more power. A turbo would be awesome, and I've already swapped out my rear end for a ford explorer axle. But If I understand, a fresh motor is best for a turbo. My engine is pretty well worn, It sat in the back of the truck in the weather for who knows how many years when I found it. I drained the water out of the pan, filled it with good oil, and it fired right up! so I've been driving it everywhere for the past three years. It's been knocking that whole time and it burns a quart of oil every 500- 1000 miles, which is not a problem for me, but I doubt it would last long with a turbo......

Small block gas engines would be fairly easy, but I love diesels, the few i've driven, I haven't been disappointing with. plus it's something different in a world of small block chevys.

I'll keep my eye out for those bread trucks, I know aluminum prices are good, and that sounds like a great way to recoup the cost! I just have to keep thinking outside the box!

Since you're "thinking out of the box" with the gas eng. end of it how about a Mopar 318 with 727 auto? Both are iron clad and there are lots of goodies available. Or a Ferd 302 and a C6,another good set-up.
Anything but a stinkin SBC, everybody uses those.

I despise anything & everything Generous Motors though,they screwed me 20+ years ago so I'm biased there.

Oh yea...And no rice burning anything! Keep it American made.

actually, thinking out of the box, I would go 440/727. There's also studebakers, cadillacs, packards, AMC, and a whole host of "out of the box" gassers. But like I said, I have a soft spot for diesels

You never know, it all depends on what kind of deal I can get on whatever. (I might even consider a sbc )

I'll keep my eye out for those bread trucks, I know aluminum prices are good, and that sounds like a great way to recoup the cost! I just have to keep thinking outside the box!

Or inside the box (truck, that is!)

SCOTTSO SAID:
Shame on you Brian,depriving the crown from their taxes & fees.
I am more than pleased to declare and pay my tax on anything that I drag over the border. BUT... I just cannot see my neighbours being pleased with having a wrecking yard in the 'hood. Here is another thing to consider. If the van is mobile and can be driven to another recycler the price might be just a little better to keep you from driving away. Once the van becomes a tow only hulk, you have lost control of the situation.
I am always looking at these Grumman Vans for another Cummins. The first thing that I look for is the DIESEL ONLY sticker near the filler door. Another clue is the larger Diesel exhaust tailpipe. A very few have DIESEL badging. On more than one occasion I asked, "Is that a Diesel?" The yes got my heart going then disappointment set in when the Diesel turned into a 6.2 and another time it was a 6.5 turbo. No thanks.
Another interesting Diesel to consider is the Mercedes 300 td. It is smooth , lasts almost forever, gets super fuel economy, sounds good and most important, it fits and does not weigh a half ton. These Mercedes 300td engines are easy to cool and most of them come with a four speed automatic transmission. There are lots of aftermarket parts. My wife sold her Mercedes Diesel when the odometer hit 1,254.000 kilometers. The engine had never been opened and the automatic was all original. The high mileage made the engine a hard starter in cold weather, but I never let us down.