Mercedes Benz Diesel in an old Pickup

BIG 6 farmer

Well-known member
Been looking @ them in the Scrap yard. Would be a different swap in a 50s Pickup. I see the smaller 4 cyl. with a 4 speed stick. (but i think they had lower end problems with high miles) The larger 5 cyl. Diesels & Turbo Diesels, have only auto trans.? Around here, you can pick up an older MB Diesel car fairly cheap. I think in a properly geared, light truck. It could be a driver? (25-40? mpg) With the price of fuel, im looking for ways to save. Remember when Diesel Fuel used to be half the price of Gasoline? Why has that changed ? :unsure:
 
:unsure: Hi Big6farmer.I don`t know how old you are,BUT I remember when Diesel was .10 cents a gallon at truck stops.No road or federal taxes either.Also gas was 24.9 cents a gallon every day price.
HOWEVER,that was back about the day after Noah grounded the Ark too. :rolflmao: :rolflmao:
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo
 
You still get better MPG out of a Diesel. How about a 4BT Cummins ? Geared correctly you get plenty of torque, power and economy.
 
A buddy put a 240D in a half ton step van but it has no low end (non turbo). The factory four sp is not geared for 3 ton loads, so he's going to do the 5 cyl turbo/auto upgrade from his wife's old 300. These are Euro motors, not grunting Cats or Cummins.
 
woodbutcher":3fsnj7fc said:
:unsure: Hi Big6farmer.I don`t know how old you are,BUT I remember when Diesel was .10 cents a gallon at truck stops.No road or federal taxes either.Also gas was 24.9 cents a gallon every day price.
HOWEVER,that was back about the day after Noah grounded the Ark too. :rolflmao: :rolflmao:
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo
Ya, im 52 now. seems like when i was a kid, Olman got Fuel delivered to the Farm for 10 cents (or less). In the early 80s, Diesel fuel started to rise fast. All those Diesel powered cars/ PU Trucks came out. Could that have had anything to do with it??? :unsure:
 
Yep that is part of it, as the demand for Diesel goes up so dose the price. World wide demand for diesel has been soaring. First cuts of crude is kerosine, then diesel, gasoline is a by product of that
 
I put together a Mercedes 190D back in the 70's gas crunch. I swapped a low-miles wreck-engine into the tombstone-grille junkyard body , was an awesome driver with Four on the column, Radiator shutter, Blaupunkt Tube radio, Dash glow plug, etc... kept for @ ten years until uni-body rotted beyond my repair abilities. Back then truckstops would ask:' "where's your tractor", Diesel was (should be?) much cheaper than higher refined gasoline (petrol), . I sold the car to a guy building a sailboat and the engine is probably still his auxilliary power somewhere...

.. Not much monetary advantage to Diesel passenger conversion unless you need the outstanding torque capabilities for towing or hauling .

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2 biggest reasons for price differential re. Gas vs. diesel are supply/demand and taxes. Diesel did not used to be taxed as much as gas or not at all. Still not taxed in some states if used only in off road agricultural equipment. US tax on diesel ranges from .32 to .77 cents depending on state with average at .54 for highway use. Gas tax range is .26-.69 cents with average at .49 cents. Oil companies/producers are also now charging for the energy content differential in diesel fuel so that advantage went away along with the demand going up due to all the diesel trucks coming on line in the last 30 years. JMHO

Back in the days of .25 cent gas the dollar bought a lot more of every thing else too. .25 cents in 1960 is the equivalent of 1.90-2.00 in todays money. still cheaper than the 3.50 average we pay today, but that goes back to the supply/demand equasion. All the "easy" oil has been found and used. The oil supply will continue to tighten/cost more as the cost of finding and accessing it continue to climb. Also we cant deny the oil producing countries and companies their right to charge what the traffic will bear now can we? Nah that wont work either. Only solution to higher costs is lower demand and more alternatives and by alternatives I mean everything we can think of. (I ride a bicycle to work, 15 miles round trip, when the weather allows here in MT. only costs me a little more time, 40 minutes vs 20 each way which I dont mind trading for the excercise)
 
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