Skusty

Howdy, from Sweden!

I have a Chevrolet C10 from 1979 with a Diesel V8 i bougth during the summer of 2010, it's a great ride and it runs like a charm. But I'm not so certain about what engine it has. I've discussed it with some friends that also are into Chevrolets, and we suspect that it's a 6,2Litre V8. But I was hoping that you guys could help me identify it! Right now it's burried in snow outside at my parkingspot (I'm refusing to drive it during the winter due to our road salt!). But I will dig it out soon to make some check-ups on it so I'm sure it's ready for when the spring is here and the roadsalt is gone.

So, what do we know? It's a 1979 in the papers, it has 3speed automatic gearbox and dual dieseltanks. I can provide you with pictures of the engine when I've dug it out. Are there any markings on the engine that I can look for to identify it



Any help is apreciated.

JK23112

I would say the safe money is that you have the 6.2L diesel - sourced from Detroit Diesel - but it probably is not the original engine that came with the truck. It should be a basic, non-turbo design. Not a Powerstroke or Duramax by any stretch of the imagination......but they were not bad motors for that time in US automotive history.

If I recall correctly, the 6.2L diesel was not offered by GM until 1982, which means that your truck likely has a different engine than what came with it from the factory in 1979. If it did have a diesel from the factory, it would not be a 6.2L. Perhaps your truck had one of those "Frankenstein" 5.7L Oldsmobile diesel engines, which were not the best powerplant for a truck. The 5.7L diesel was a converted gas 350 block that was "reverse engineered" by GM to enable it to fit under the hood of passenger cars (such as the Olds Cutlass, Chevy Caprice, Buick LeSabre, Pontiac Bonneville, etc.).

GM later offered a 6.5L turbodiesel for the Chevy/GMC truck line, but I think that came along in the early 1990s. The only way to know, I guess, is to do a VIN search on one of the reference sites (Google, Wikipedia, etc.).

Good luck!

P.S. I have always liked that body style of Chevy/GMC truck - which ran from 1973 up through 1987. Simple, plain, sturdy and reliable. The only bad thing is that they were somewhat prone to rust.

Skusty

Well, it's definetly not a Turbodiesel because I haven't found a turbocharger under the hood. But the registrationpapers state that the engine has been changed once, so it could be that the engine could be newer than the truck it self. I just checked up the registrationpapers on the internet, it was in traffic for the first time in Sweden in 1982, so it's possible a 6,2Litre then!

Oh yes, rusting pickup trucks are quite common here, but this one is pretty much 99% rust free. It only has some small rust at a rear right fender and a small spot at the front right fender.

2wd-K5

one peice of advice, fix the rust ASAP!, these things will rust right before your eyes if u let it (flat black is the best because u can fix and repaint the area and it wont stick out, yes your truck came with a 5.7l diesel engine, but they were based off a gas engine and couldnt handle the cylinder pressures diesels put out. that being said if the diesel in your truck STILL RUNS and isnt turbo'ed then it is almost certain that u have a 6.2l, they are great engines that hate to be hopped up, just run it and look cool driving a classic chevy in sweden

2wd-K5

and on another note, if you do ever blow up this engine, find a 6.5l engine (or at least the block) and use it, hummer blocks have extra webbing and better cranks and conn rods to handle extra power levels if u decide to go that route, if not a 6.5l turbo engine from a hummer in stock form would make that lil truck boogie.
and on even another note, that truck is actually very rare, even in north america, i have had 1 once and the power brake system in them absolutely are the best brakes GM put on a truck, the massive rotors, big brake pads, and hydraulic power booster (run off the power steering pump) are the cat's a$$!!, if the performance route is what you desire, try to find a 3/4 ton differential to handle the power