This swap has way over 100 K miles , and I dare say it will outlast me . It was a US Forestry truck . All gear driven drive train , 1 ton locked axles , hydraulic winch and driving it hearing protection is suggested . It will drive anywhere on this planet you point it . Park it in the desert allow it to idle for days and never run hot . I removed the shut down solenoid , cable shut down for me . Hydra boost brakes will stop a loaded Confederate Train . Fluid motor mounts are available , normal rubber mounting will loosen fillings similar to a hard tail Harley rider. I have done a few of these swaps , once the bugs are out the tanks are very reliable
I understand the appeal: a diesel does seem to match the character of the car. The only thing that bugs me is that inline engines didn't exist in Cadillacs from c.1920 to the early '80s. There are options for V-format diesels, but with a few exceptions most are heavy-vehicle-sized. Magirus-Deutz air-cooled diesel V6s and V8s are remarkably light for their size, but I don't know if they'd feel right in a Cadillac. In a Franklin, on the other hand ...
& a lot of the larger diesels will deafen you - literally. Working around those gd things left me w/the Gift that keeps on takin', & the company I worked for, didn't even charge me extra for that. Sure, you could go w/a 3-53 Detroit, or a later ***mins 12 or 24 valve, how much complexity & noise do you want? Or better - how's about a Comer? . That could deafen your whole neighborhood at the same time. Most diesels are seriously-stupid-heavy & sized that way too. Even the v8 diesel in my '98 chev pu is seriously heavy & noisy. & the noise comes mostly from the injectors. Use a diesel from a car, just not a small car. The Merc & BMW are fairly quiet. The Merc cleans up nicely. A small(er) pu-sized diesel might work, as long as it's not a little 4-banger. GM made a diesel from a 350-based engine for their cars in the 80's, so's it's sized appropriately, but longevity & even economy isn't its' strong suite. There'r a lot of reason to run a diesel, probably more in Europe, but now, around here at least, diesel fuel is ~ $1.00 more/gal than gasoline. Straight 5 or 6 diesel in an early Caddie - I like it already... . Marcus... Edit; forgot to mention the Nisson SD-22(iirc). It was used in the IH scout, came n/a & turbo'd. So's it's a smaller-size diesel that'd work, & be near-appropriate-sized. At least in hte past, most guys seem to like the n/a version. But I'd still take the Merc or BMW anyday over the others...
I’ve got a 12v. set up from a 92 dodge. Runs. And a long block from a peice of equipment. locked up. Those are easier to find around here than a 4bt. Can’t make up my mind what I want to use the 12v in
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