Bench racing diesel ideas....

I have a 1958 A-110 with the BD240 I6, short box, stepside. I'm just bench racing some Ideas for (maybe) a diesel swap into it.
First, is an early ford truck, use the frame, shorten as needed, and graft the cab onto it. I realize that's not as simple as it sounds, but then you would have an awesome international engine with all the convenience of a modern truck (power brakes, power steering, available parts, improved ride and handling).
Second is a swap of a diesel such as the IDI ford or Cummins into the existing frame, the frame would probably have to be boxed to withstand the increased torque, and if you want power brakes, steering, etc. It will have to be purchased separately and grafted onto the truck (which would have to be done on option #1 anyway)
Third (and my favorite) Is to swap in a tractor engine such as a D282 or D301 from a 706, 656, etc. this would require the most work as for adapting into a truck, but it is probably the same size roughly. The injector pump and governor would have to be modified for use in a truck. Also, an adapter would likely have to be machined to make it adapt to ANY truck transmission. It would be slow, but the tractor pulling crowd has a ton of advice for power boosting. In the end, you would have an original, very different, extremely cool truck
What do you think?

I'd love to see a build thread on a project like you're suggesting. I'm a fan of IH diesels in IH trucks.

Check out this thread- viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2583

Dean

The best choice would be a Cummins 4BT. It would fit with room to spare,give you plenty of power/torque and parts are easy to find.
The IH D301 was a POS IMO,basically a modified BD gas eng that evolved from the D282. These engines have been out of production for years and I'm sure many parts are NLA just like their gasser cousins.

Scottso, your stole my opening line.
I have posted lots of information on putting a Diesel into an IH pickup. Sadly, "keeping it all IHC" with one of their Diesels is not the best option. The 6.9 and 7.3 idi engines are nothing more than great lumps of poor performance in a 1200 pound frame and suspension crushing cast iron block. I ran a 6.9 for over 20 years and 225,000 miles in an R120 we converted to 4X4 for the better brakes and gears. These engines like to leak and sealing them up tight is next impossible for the long term when the gasket comes in a squeeze tube. I chased leaks for years and the final event was a warning ticket from the police, in Vancouver. Someone complained that the R had put drops of oil on some cobble stones.
It is possible to put a Cummins 12 valve, 5.9 6bta into an R and while it may weigh just a little less, at 900 pounds, than a 6.9, it has more than double the performance and almost double the economy. The Cummins 4bta is a close to a direct fit that there will ever be and unlike many IHC tractor and implement engines, the oil pan is in the right position on the 4bta. The 4bta is classified as an automotive engine with the right injection pump. EZ fix. A 24 valve weighs just as much as the 6.9-7.3 series engines but the Cummins will out perform them so severely that one might think their truck was tied to a tree. We are putting a 24 valve into a 1954 R 120 IHC Crewcab with Dana 60 axles and a long list of neat stuff. My son get a 4bta in his L110. http://youtu.be/_U5M6eIQpZk
The 4bta is just a little smaller than the BD series and within a few pounds of being the same weight. a 4tba is easy to cool and a good or better original IH radiator will most likely do the job very nicely. If the rad does not work, in this application, it is very likely that it needs repair or replacement, anyway.
It is not very easy to find the performance upgrades that will be necessary for the transplant of a tractor engine into an automotive application. To get down the highway at anything more the school zone speed limits the engine will need to have the governor modified so the engine will operate up to 3250rpm, or so. The Cummins 4bta does 3250 easily in stock form, anything higher than this will require different valve springs and this may be just the start of the parts list. With any performance change, longevity is compromised.
Because the 4bta is considered to be an automotive engine, there are lots of easy to find and afford drive train options. There is a nice 4bta for sale on CRAIGSLIST here and I posted the link on this forum.
My friend has a Cummins 4bta in his Willys and he pulls a double axle AIRSTREAM trailer and still gets an average of 25mpg on a return trip to British Columbia from Palm Spring California. He has put DANA 44 axles with 4:54 gears under the Willys and he able to keep up with traffic in the hills and the flats are a piece of cake. I drove the 4bta/Cummins Willys combination and it was noting less than exciting.
http://youtu.be/TkFkCIXyT1o
Cummins was often the engine of choice with IHC and it was seen in some of their tractors and machinery. IHC and Cummins have a many decades long successful relationship. Cummins is like the adopted kid and that makes it family.
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rds/p ... 34141.html
BTW and just for fun:
I drive a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 4X4 automatic with a 5.9 Cummins. The Dodge weighs 2000 pounds more than our R120 with a 6.9 Diesel and the Dodge gets much better fuel economy.

I would agree that the D301 is not the best engine for economy or durability. On the farm, we had a 560 IH tractor with a D282 that required several head gasket replacements. And it didn't have a turbo. This link lists the weight of a 7.3 IDI at 920 lbs. http://www.dieselhub.com/idi/7.3L-idi.html. The thing that the D282/301, the 6.9/7.3 (pre Powerstroke) and the Chevy 6.5 have in common is that they are all indirect injection engines. IDI engines never seem to have the fuel efficiency of direct injection.
Another option is an International DTA360. It weighs about the same as a ISB5.9 Cummins but it's a few inches longer.

Dean

The Cummins 5.9 just fits with a centimeter to spare, front to back. My friend has an isb twin compound turbo system all carefully packed under the hood of an L120. It is an under 10 second truck. All of that power needed a custom frame. He said that the dyno slip shows over 700hp and 1200 #' of torque.

I really want to put a 5.9 Cummins, or a smaller Caterpillar 3116 or even a C7 in my B170. I think that would be awesome!

Looking some more online, It looks like the D282/D301 only has 4 cylinder head bolts per cylinder. I doubt that it would tolerate much boost.

http://www.agkits.com/International-D23 ... asket.aspx

The 4B/6B Cummins, 300/400 series and 6.9/7.3 Internationls all had 6 bolts per cylinder.

Dean

Hmmmm, It seems that cummins is the best thing out there. If they weren't so doggone expensive. But, when I'm a millionaire (hopefully sooner rather than later) I'll take my B120, and build it very similarly to this - http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/1109or-1959-international-harvester-b120-ih-only/ That looks only too awesome, I'd have a hard time improving on that. I'v driven a nearly stock 2009 Dodge Cummins six speed, crew cab, long bed, dually; and I was amazed at how much power that heavy truck had!
For my A-110, I'd drop in a big block gas engine (or diesel), add some go fast goodies and have some fun. But as I'm just a poor college student making my way through Tech school, that will be reserved for the day I have my millions (or even a comma on the bank statement!)

Issac, There are some of us who are still waiting for that boat! Just start looking in all the unexpected places, and you might find some of those things you want/need for a reasonable price.