FOR SALE Explain this one!

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volare 77

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I`m pretty sure Chrysler experimented with a Mitsubishi diesel in some dodge ram trucks back in the mid to late 70`s. Maybe they put a few in a F body, Dunno.
 
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Oldiron440

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I got this from moparts and it's not the only sighting of a diesel Fbody.
It's a good deal if the body is as good as it looks. The bottom is probably covered in oil.
Searching Chrysler/Nissan Diesel led me to this
Nissan SD engine - Wikipedia
 
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Aspen500

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I`m pretty sure Chrysler experimented with a Mitsubishi diesel in some dodge ram trucks back in the mid to late 70`s. Maybe they put a few in a F body, Dunno.
This one is obviously a swap.
They did build diesel trucks (believe it was a D150) at some point. I remember driving one back in the very early '80's and it wasn't exactly state of the art. There was what seemed like an 87 point procedure for a cold start. Manually operated glow plugs, had to open the cold start injector with a knob on the dash, similar to a manual choke, etc. Acceleration was,,,,,,,,,,,,leisurely. Noisy, smelly, smoky.................Only thing that made it better than the infamous 350 Olds diesel was it didn't blow up at 25,000 miles. lol
 

old yellow 78

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This one is obviously a swap.
I'm not so sure. I think I vaguely remember that there were a few factory diesels made using F bodies, or the factory shipped some F bodies out to have them converted. I think I read it somewhere. I wonder if it might have been Tony Diez's book on the history of F bodies. I have a copy somewhere, but I cant find it right now. If indeed this is the case, this advertised F would be one RARE bird!
 

Oldiron440

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If you look at the exhaust manifold it seams to be fabricated out of heavy wall steel and cast ends.
 

Aspen500

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I'm not so sure. I think I vaguely remember that there were a few factory diesels made using F bodies, or the factory shipped some F bodies out to have them converted. I think I read it somewhere. I wonder if it might have been Tony Diez's book on the history of F bodies. I have a copy somewhere, but I cant find it right now. If indeed this is the case, this advertised F would be one RARE bird!

Now that I got all the pictures to load, it does look like it could be original but, doing a little curiosity research, the engine is from a Chrysler marine application from the 1980's. Not sure what boats it came in (Bayliner possibly) and it is a marine engine that was swapped into this car from what I can find. They look to have done a decent job on the swap though. Apparently Nissan licensed the engine to Chrysler meaning it's totally Nissan with a Chrysler nameplate attached. Kind of like a VW Routan is nothing more than a Chrysler Town and Country with VW badges and a different front fascia and grille.
 
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old yellow 78

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it does look like it could be original
I have to dig around for Tony Diez's F body history book. I think that might have been where I read about this diesel application. Not sure I have the authors name spelled right, and I don't think the book is in print anymore, but it was a nice fairly comprehensive history of the F body Mopars. Regardless, I think this particular F would be great fun to restore! Talk about unusual!!:)
 

old yellow 78

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I knew I read about this conversion somewhere. Here is a link to a site that talks about this
diesel conversion of a Dodge Dart, and an article about it in Motor Trend from August of 1974 about a diesel conversion of a Dodge Dart and the story of the car.
1974 Dodge Dart Diesel
It looks like the same engine, and apparently was a dealer conversion. I'd bet this car is a VERY rare car! I hope someone finds it and saves it.
 

old yellow 78

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Here is a crappy pic of an original dealer ad for the diesel Dart. If you magnify it, you can see it fairly well. I bet this Aspen wagon was the same type of deal. I see that it is "sold sold sold sold" though. I hope whoever bought it knows what they have!
08B8CBE0-4B13-4236-9716-C67206217D4B.jpeg
 

Oldiron440

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Wow, I asked for an explanation and I got one!
I had heard about the Dart also but it was just as big a mistry. Thanks for the follow up.
 

BudW

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The Dodge D-50/Plymouth Arrow pickups did not use a diesel engine.
The same size Mitsubishi pickups did use a diesel engine – which was also used by Ford, I believe (don’t know much about that engine, nor much with the non-Dodge/Plymouth version of that size pickups).

The 78-79 Dodge D100 and D200 did use a Mitsubishi 6DR5 I6 4.0L diesel – but it was a dog. If it had been turbocharged, then it might have made an impact, but like it was – it wasn’t worth driving.

Once Dodge put the Cummins diesel in the pickup – it took off.


My dad purchased a new ’77 Plymouth Arrow pickup and used it for his work for a long time. 2.6L engine and a metric A904.

About 7 or 8 years later he removed the engine and slid a 340 and small block A904 in its place. It fit fine except for height (would have to cut the hood for valve covers and carburetor) and length. The core support originally had the radiator on engine side of core support and A/C condenser on front side of core support. The length of engine would need to have radiator placed in front of core support – which would fit . . . but A/C, no.

My dad didn’t want to make any “body alternations” to his truck (trying to make a “sleeper” delivery truck), so I think he went back with the 2.6L engine (but not exactly sure what happened at that time).

The 340 would need custom engine mounts – but it wouldn’t have taken much to make it fit.
BudW
 

Aspen500

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The '78-'79 D100 diesel wasn't a pooch, it was slower than that. The one I drove back in the early '80's was almost like a joke. Seriously, I think 0-60 was over 30 seconds, and that's being generous. plus the engine was so noisy you couldn't hear yourself think, especially under load. It was one of those ideas that never should have been built. Same goes for the diesel Escort, diesel Ranger, diesel Lincoln MK7, diesel Cutlass, etc, etc, etc...................................
 

old yellow 78

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I spelled his last name wrong. It's Tony Dzik, and his book is
Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare: An American Car Story
I found it on Amazon, but it is very pricey there - probably because I think it is out of print now. I bought it several years ago, and it is good, thorough, and a nice reference. https://www.amazon.com/Dodge-Aspen-Plymouth-Volare-American/dp/1411667417
If you look around on the internet, you can find it much cheaper. For example, Barnes and Noble: only $13.99
Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare: An American Car Story
9781257143689_p0_v1_s600x595.jpg
 
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