Hey y'all, I have a 1983 bronco full size with a 351W block in it. I want to drop a diesel motor in it and want some reccomendations. I am looking for easy. I am not making a show truck and I am not looking for big power. I was thinking a 6.9L IDI or a 7.3L IDI would be the easiest. What do you guys think? Or should I make the jump to a 4bt or a 6bt? I don't want to have to worry about motor mount placement or transmission mate-up issues and that is why I was thinking about the early IDI motors. Has anyone done this and if so do you have any suggestions for me.

 

keep the 351, great little motor

 

for weeling i would stick with the gasser ... just cruziin I would go diesel ...a nd a 7.3 should fit in a full size without much of an issue .... front end will be a bit heavier though .... just keep that in mind.... like a good hunting rig a diesel would be great ( not real quiet but oh well ) ...... I personallly have been wanting to do a bronco with my 7.3idi in it .... make a great rock climber and maybe some mud .. they are much tougher than most will give credit for .... and they last longer than any gas engine will if you take good car of them too ... the 6.9 has head issues like prone to cracking under some conditions ( not sure if anone has dialed in on the exact cause, other than thin castings) , but thats my humble oppinion ... keep us posted if you plan on building .... would love some pics and good intell

 

12 Valve all the way, with a NV-4500 behind it. YeeYee!

 

yeah the 6bt would be real awesome for the raw power factor and ultimate reliability but weight is a factor also ... and then there are the motor mounts and such ... can get kinda hairey with all thet fab work if your not a real strong fabricator like some of us are ..... and sticking with an engine thats in the same family helps too .... either way keep us posted ..........

 

im a cummins fan all the way. i do however like the old navistar diesels. i had a service truck 6.9 4 speed with 300,000 very hard woods crew miles on it. to this day its still the company plow truck at the shop. i think in a full size blazer you would be very impressed with a 4bt. you can make power, lighter than a 6bt and unreal fuel mileage. a fella up this way as a full size 85 suburban with a mildy tweaked 4bt and he gets 26 mpg on the highway with 4 inches of lift and 35's!!

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full size bronco* sorry

 

not too hard to imagine olsmokey .... love those nav's .... i have a 87 w/88 7.3 idi and love her to death ... infact I'm in the middle of doing HG for the first time in 25 yrs .... guess they were due