I want your honest opinion
 

Ok I am new to diesel trucks and i want to know everything there is to know about the 6.2 and 6.5 I've seen several dyno runs for 6.5s and I've seen 270hp and I've seen 98 hp but never over 270 but that 270 hp had like 650 F.P.T now I have been told that the 6.5s were junk that they wouldn't pull a Yugo out of a mud hole but I've seen you tube videos of 6.2s and 6.5s pulling 150000 pounds.........................thus the joining of this site lol please guys clear the (diesel) smoke thank you in advance :s::s::s:

I'm a straight up Chevy guy but without a lot of money into mods. And I mean a lot. Not gonna happen

X2 Doc's right about the money. You can make any engine perform better by adding mods and engine machine work. But the amount of money you will spend on one engine will go further on another just like a gas small block Chevy is cheaper to build than a Mopar or Ford.
People still do it out of the love for the brand.
Old man use to tell me horse power cost money how much can you afford.

I had 6.2s before 7.3 Powerstrokes and 12v cummins.

If you have modest goals, you can make them work and last. I strongly suggest a manual trans truck so you have the option to ditch all the electronic injection pump business. It will never be a Ford IDI ... or cummins 12v. Not in the same league.

An inline engine is by far my preferred diesel configuration. :tu:

My fist truck was a 98 6.5. It was great aside from the pmd issues. It was ultra reliable. I opted for my current truck because there wasn't much aftermarket support for the 6.5 engine wise. At the time I wanted to do a small lift and knew that ifs is a lot more pricey.