Got it running today!

[Atilla the Fun]

Ye Olde '83 Chevrolet C-10 LWB 2WD 6.2L diesel. It starts! It runs! It leaks transmission fluid! I can't find the last part of the shifter linkage!
I bought some hose clamps and some ATF. Oh, and a headlight. I installed that.
This beast did 24 mpg at 55 mph with OD not working. And with a basic utility shell on there. I replaced that 700R-4 with a known-good one from a '92 Firebird LO3.
First mod should be a turbo from a 6.5L.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Congratulations!

6.2's and 6.5's did get great mileage, but they're NOT fast. I think they finally got the 6.5 up to 300 HP the year before they introduced the Duramax.
Pity the Allison is so large and the Suburban would need a body lift to fit it... I'd snag a Duramax Suburban before just about any other SUV.

[Atilla the Fun]

Thanks!
My perfect WW3 machine would be a '72 Suburban 4x4. I would say early-'90s Cummins, but they're so heavy!

[CincinnatiFiero]

The 6.5 turbo was crap SO many of them on craigslist with burnt cylinders, cracked blocks, cracked heads, zero compression, or just generally broken, get a dirtymax if you want to go fast. And get a cummins if you want it to keep running.

I'd keep your 6.2 non turbo, it'll hold together forever without the turbo.

Did these use standyne pumps?

[Atilla the Fun]

Yeah, they used Stanadyne pumps.
I'm gonna try the turbo as soon as I can. Not the 6.5 engine, just the turbo and related stuff from a 6.5, on my 6.2
If it lets go, Pick-N-Pull always has 6.2s for $165, to get me back on the road.
I don't even know if the Cummins would fit in a pre-'73 Suburban.

[Atilla the Fun]

Yesterday was the first drive. About a mile down the road, then back. It seems my transmission work was successful.
Today the thing started up without a jump or a boost, so the batteries are good.
But now I discovered the headlights and taillights aren't coming on. The turn signals don't blink. But the brake lights and hazard flashers work.

[Atilla the Fun]

The turn signals are fixed.

[The Dark Side of Will]

But now I discovered the headlights and taillights aren't coming on. The turn signals don't blink.

That's why your battery was still good... half the electrics don't work. Typical '80's GM.

My dad's '90 Suburban was originally a 6.2 diesel chassis (now powered by EFI Cad 500/4L80E) with dual batteries. That's a handy capability.

[Atilla the Fun]

Naw, both batteries were out of the truck until last week.
I got the headlights, taillights and running lights working, but now I have a problem at the left front corner. The running light on the side, it blinks, but doesn't run. The front amber, it blinks, but also doesn't run. I put a new bulb in that, same result, so I tried yet another new bulb, again with the same result, so it must be a wiring issue.
I expect to drive this truck 100 miles, starting at 4:00 A.M., this Saturday.
It doesn't have to pass safety inspection until the 18th, but I can't afford a citation.
And the horn still doesn't work.
Plus, while fixing the taillights and running lights, it seems I unwittingly sabotaged the brake lights, but I think I know how to fix that.
I'm glad the inspection does NOT include a peek at the under-dash wiring! They'd shoot me!
I wired the radio and the CB into the same hot, so I have to turn one off to use the other.
And mine was built with no options and only one alternator, so I can't use either the radio or CB if I have to use the lights, wipers, and defogger blower all at once. That would require a higher-amp alt. I have a couple left over from Camaros, and I may yet try to fit one in place of this.

[Atilla the Fun]

It's done. Got parking lights, running lights, head lights, tail lights, marker lights, backup lights, brake lights, and turn signals. And I figured out the horn. The radio works, and the CB radio works.
The thing is, I forgot how bad this transmission is.
My test drive yesterday revealed that I still have reverse, first, second and third, but it won't go to second below 25 MPH, cold or after a few miles, even at part throttle or lift throttle. Then second gear holds on also. Annoying.
My very next purchase of any sort must be another 700R-4 at Pick-N-Pull, then put this one in my Trans Am.
Even so, this is how I must drive it tomorrow.

[Atilla the Fun]

I am disappoint.
So I took off a bit before 4 A.M. Saturday, all seemed well. For the first 40 miles, anyway.
Then I see the voltage gauge is very low, and the headlights seem dim. I stop and pop the hood. Yep, there's still a belt on the alternator. I grab a wrench, and tighten the cables to the batteries. I've got 1 volt back, but it's about 11 volts.
I get to wondering about the previous day's weird episode of it going to 16 volts, then staying there for my short test-drive.
It's well after 5 when the lights get really dim, and the gauge is reading 8.5, but it's not light yet.
I spot a Wal-Mart, and dive in. I spend $88 on a new 800-CCA.
I expected the diesel to stay running even with no batteries and a bad alternator, so I undo the driver-side battery, then the passenger side. It dies.
I put the new battery on the passenger side, and connect it. I re-start the engine, and see nearly 13 volts. So I drive across the parking lot and buy a bit more diesel.
Now it's light enough to drive without lights.
So I get to my destination with no other issues, and shut it off. 8 hours later I re-start, and drive. It starts raining, so I stop at a movie theater. After 2 movies, I re-start, and drive to a motel. Morning, I re-start, and return to the 2-day event. Afternoon, I start it back up, and drive home. I get here with it reading over 12 volts.
So this morning, I dig through my collection, and find 4 possible alternators, from past Camaros I've owned. Off to AutoZone for free testing. The second one is declared good, so I install it. Crank it up, it doesn't climb to 13.5 like it used to, but it's over 12.5.
Now I'm not sure what's going on, but tomorrow I want to check that the 2-wire pigtail is energizing to start the generating.
This wiring situation is still a disaster, and I can't afford the Painless Wiring 12-circuit kit, at like $600.
I think I'll sell this truck, or have it crushed for the scrap value.

[CincinnatiFiero]

Its a mechanical IDI diesel... if the alternator is good, your grounds are bad. Go.

[Atilla the Fun]

I'm going to pull the engine before having the truck crushed. This is one of the best 6.2s, to have survived so long and still run so strong. It just needs a dually to live in, to be profitable again. Stupid GM for not putting the same frame under 1/2 tons as under 1-tons.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Stupid GM for not putting the same frame under 1/2 tons as under 1-tons.

You do realize that steel costs money, right?

[Atilla the Fun]

What about the costs of the extra production lines? And the extra building size, and the extra employees, and the extra tooling, et cetera?
Surely the same thing for everything would be best.
Same deal for anti-sway bars. Why didn't all the F-cars get the WS6 bars? Especially once they became tubular?
Variety is the spice of life, but the 1 ton pickups didn't get different doors than the half tons.
Is not the springs, axles and brakes enough of a difference between half ton and one ton? Surely it'd be safer to have the best frame available.
Effing GM.
And why haven't the well-intentioned lawmakers mandated my fine idea?
Effing politicians.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Do you really think that's reasonable or are you just bitching because you don't have a 3/4 ton frame?

[Atilla the Fun]

It started out as bitching, but now I have been hunting solid numbers these past few weeks.
Anyway, I had to move the C-10, and even with the WD40 as a starting fluid, it took a bit of cranking after sitting for 24 hours. It was a cold day, and it was a very cold night. So when it roared to life, I checked the voltage. The gauge showed 11.5 volts. I went around the block, which out here in the country is like 3 city blocks by 2 city blocks, or nearly 2 miles.
As I parked, It was back up to 12.5, so I guess it is charging. I am happy that I'll be pulling it as a known-good, with no problems. That'll give me some peace of mind while storing it, and while swapping it into it's next home.

[The Dark Side of Will]

while swapping it into it's next home.

http://realfierotech.com/phpBB/viewtopi ... =9&t=17408 ?

[Atilla the Fun]

I found a C-20 a couple of years older, so I stripped this C-10 then sent it to the crusher for cash to buy the C-20. But as the wrecker hauled it away, I began to feel like I did when big Julius had to be put to sleep. I just can't understand why it hurt to see this one go. I saved all the good parts: Engine, trans, driveshaft, rear gears, steering column, hydroboost, wheels ( now on my '84 Trans Am ) , windshield, radiator, radio, exhaust, speakers, sunvisors, CB, hitch balls, 8-wire, shell, sliding rear window, sold the tires, ...
The C-20 has a thicker frame, a better rear axle, god rear tires, a sorta-rare-locally 2WD SM465 I'll probably sell, and is by far the ugliest thing I've ever wanted. It even has a rusted-through floorpan under the driver's left heel. I always wanted to try fixing such a thing.
Right now, I indeed am storing the diesel engine in my '84 Trans Am's engine bay. I have a new set of Moroso solid motor mounts bolted in, but I'm unwilling to notch either the car's crossmember or the diesel's oilpan, so the mount halves won't bolt together.

[Atilla the Fun]

Looks like the end for my C-20 as I found me a dually! It's a '69 F350 but it can haul more, especially having a 10' flatbed. The rear axle is 7' behind the cab. No clue on the axle ratio, yet. But at this price, that's okay.