Can a Mercedes diesel engine be swapped into a 68 Charger?

[smithenhiven]

I guess the answer is yes.

https://youtu.be/AziGOGfOga8
(Disregard the crappy background music)

I think this is kinda neat, I stumbled across this while searching for diesel swap ideas, as I have an engineless 70 Fury that I'd like to swap a 12 valve cummins into.

[68X426]

Wow. A 3 liter diesel putting out 680hp and 928tq is awesome.

The not wow part is busting up turbines and all that black crap smoke.  Turns me off.

Love your Cummins Fury idea.   

[cbrestorations]

Dumb

[Mike DC]

  
Take a Mopar with a stock 440 and stack about 15 concrete blocks onto the hood.  That's what a modern Cummins diesel engine weighs.

If you want to spin tires and go in a straight line and be different, then go for it.  

Me, I like a car with some cornering & braking agility.

[JR]

Personally, I find diesel engines to be too agricultural, slow revving, heavy, and smelly to be enjoyable, but considering the owner of this car lives in the U.K., where fuel is 7.50/gallon or whatever, it makes since. I can't blame him.

But by all means, if the car ever comes back to the U.S., I'd be all for throwing the diesel in the trash and putting a gasoline fed V8 back in. The way nature intended.

[alfaitalia]

I here ya....but from that description it sounds like you have not driven any diesel fitted to a modern car (not truck engines) built in the last 10 years or so...lol!

[Fitz73Chrgr]

Did you guys see that Hot Rod Garage is putting a 12V Cummins in a 70 El Camino?  It was either that or a 2JZ.  I would have voted for the Toyota motor.  Smaller, lighter and would make more people angry.

[cbrestorations]

People try and be different but then fail on popularity. Diesels are not hotrod engines...don't sound cool, heavy and have to totally rely on that turbo to get out of its own way. If ur looking for pulling power and economy great...other than that they are retarded in muscle cars

[alfaitalia]

.....and of course those 6 diesel cars that won 24 hour LeMans race 6 years in a row.....kicking the buts of all those gas full works racers....they were slow too!! Not saying that I would ever put a diesel in a Charger (and I'm in the UK...land of expensive fuel) but the point is that a modern diesel is neither slow, that heavy and they sound pretty darn good....tractor sounding diesels on Euro cars are a thing of the past. Look at the performance and hp figures(many are 3 or 400 bhp and still getting 40 mpg) and more importantly torque of the latest generation of Mercedes and BMWs etc.....they make the gas models feel flat and lifeless. Torque is king!!

[Lennard]

This:

People try and be different but then fail on popularity. Diesels are retarded in muscle cars.

Don't care how fast they are and how much horsepower and torque they make.

[JR]

Did you guys see that Hot Rod Garage is putting a 12V Cummins in a 70 El Camino?  It was either that or a 2JZ.  I would have voted for the Toyota motor.  Smaller, lighter and would make more people angry.

Yup, it's a diesel. Bummer.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgZW17-nYC3/?hl=en

I can feel the horrible weight balance (70/30?) and smell the exhaust through the screen. This thing is going to drive terribly. (Sorry to be negative, I can't help it on this one.)

The 2jz would have been way cooler.

[Nacho-RT74]

I here ya....but from that description it sounds like you have not driven any diesel fitted to a modern car (not truck engines) built in the last 10 years or so...lol!

not a fan of diesel and I don't have to being on the cheap gas land, but they have got really serious advances on that.

I guess when I cross the Atlantic ocean will have to look on that thought

[Nacho-RT74]

( I liked the vanish effect down the smoke when "giving gas" on the road LOL )

[alfaitalia]

Lol...yep. If he had set it up to actually burn rather more of that fuel instead of just using it to roll coal he might have found another few horses.

[Mike DC]

    




I'm not trying to crap on people's projects.  But people should know what they are getting into.  The weight problems with a big diesel are above & beyond normal engine swapping.  The factory would have used a full truck frame (or a rollcage) for anything like that.

[smithenhiven]

I hear you about the weight issue, and believe me, if the car I'm planning to diesel swap was anything other than a Plymouth Fury, such as a Charger, I wouldnt even consider it.

It's basically just going to be a trailer hauler, with the end goal of it getting better MPGs than a gas equivalent.

[70B5Cuda]

That Charger is so cool! I'd drive that just like it is and love every second of driving. The only thing I wouldn't like would be cleaning the soot off after every drive.

[ws23rt]

I like having fun with cars. This looks like fun to me.

[alfaitalia]

   




I'm not trying to crap on people's projects.  But people should know what they are getting into.  The weight problems with a big diesel are above & beyond normal engine swapping.  The factory would have used a full truck frame (or a rollcage) for anything like that.

True...but the Mercedes Inline six diesel used in the OP only weighs 462lb (dry). 188lbs less than a BB.

[kokxville]

What a shame. 

[John_Kunkel]

all that black crap smoke.  Turns me off.

Yeah, "rollin' coal" and "sooting" seem to be the mantra of the diesel guys. Just as dumb as burnouts, maybe worse.

[Mike DC]

  

True...but the Mercedes Inline six diesel used in the OP only weighs 462lb (dry). 188lbs less than a BB.

Yeah, I realize that.  But that's more of a car engine in the first place.  

Most musclecar guys kicking around the idea of a diesel swap are looking at the huge torque-monster diesels in big American pickup trucks.


(BTW, that photoshop I did is not an exaggeration.  That really is what 450 lbs worth of cinder blocks would look like.  The only thing wrong with that image is that the block pile has not collapsed the car's hood.)

[Kern Dog]

all that black crap smoke.  Turns me off.

Yeah, "rollin' coal" and "sooting" seem to be the mantra of the diesel guys. Just as dumb as burnouts, maybe worse.

You seem to be a real fun guy to know.
Burnouts are fun. Have you ever had fun ??

[John_Kunkel]

Burnouts are fun.

So is jerkin' off. Do you do it in public?

[68X426]

Burnouts are fun.

So is jerkin' off. Do you do it in public?

No, Kern just does it here. 

[Kern Dog]

Burnouts are fun.

So is jerkin' off. Do you do it in public?

Your statement shows that you agree that burnouts are fun. My point is made.
Being a smart car guy but a celibate hermit .....you'd know more about jerking off than I ever will. 
Besides.....In public? Me? Take a chance to be branded with the same title that you have and the limitations of staying 500 feet away from all schools like you have to do?   
Nah...Thanks.   

[DanielRobert]

Sorry, but Kern dog seems like a total dick. Why does he have to make comments like this?  Is he 12 years old? Several times I've seen his asshole response. Just not needed in a forum. Should be banned from this site.

[Kern Dog]

Maybe you can ask the site owner to be a moderator? Banned? What do you contribute?  
Total dick...and you are asking if I am 12 years old.  
I guess you do not appreciate sarcasm? Me? I love to mix it up with friends like this. Didn't you play sports or mess around like this with your friends?
The man objected to burnouts and you are calling me  out for making jokes about it?
Life would be pretty sad and boring if everyone was polite and sullen all the time. Have some fun sometime.  

Diesels are great in trucks and buses. Cars? Why?? If you are looking for mileage, why not stick with the simplicity of a factory setup? A 10 to 1 318 2 barrel, an A 999 trans and a 2.76 axle ratio. That combo can squeeze 20 mpg in a 3400 lb car.

[draftingmonkey]

Thinking about engine weight,  I think the breakdown is close to this:

Cummins 12V Diesel 1,100 lbs
413-426W-440          670 lbs
361-383-400             620 lbs
360                         550 lbs
273-340                   525 lbs
MB 3 liter Diesel         459 lbs

[LaOtto70Charger]

How hp and torque out of the MB diesel?

[alfaitalia]

Well the guy in the OP got 680hp and 928tq .....smoked a tiny bit though so you might want to back the boost down a little! My old E320 was 218 hp as stock I think....lots of torque though.

[Mike DC]

  

Cummins 12V Diesel 1,100 lbs
413-426W-440          670 lbs
361-383-400             620 lbs
360                         550 lbs
273-340                   525 lbs
MB 3 liter Diesel         459 lbs

Those numbers are probably close but the B/RB difference sounds too high IMO.  The actual blocks are only about 15-20 lbs apart.  I don't see another 30-35 lbs between the slightly longer crank journals & con rods and the slightly wider intake manifold.  More likely those two figures were spread farther apart by some other factor.  Those numbers come from a big compilation list on the net and they aren't entirely consistent on the little things.  AC compressors, PS pumps, alternators, exhaust manifolds, starters, wet or dry, etc.  

[challenger70]

Burnouts are fun.

So is jerkin' off. Do you do it in public?

[John_Kunkel]

Your statement shows that you agree that burnouts are fun.

Another in a long list of incorrect ASSumptions on your part. I think burnouts, donuts, et al are stupid and I also think religious valedictions are inane.

I cherish the fact that I am in the minority in that respect.

[smithenhiven]

A 10 to 1 318 2 barrel, an A 999 trans and a 2.76 axle ratio. That combo can squeeze 20 mpg in a 3400 lb car.

My intentions with a diesel swap are two fold.  I want to tow a trailer while still getting decent MPG (which I dont think a 318 would do); and I get all the free waste motor oil I could ever need at work to process into a usable black diesel.
I already know your next objection,...why not buy a diesel truck right?  Well sure, but I'm not a truck guy, plus I got this engineless Fury that I want to do something with, so why not.

[Mike DC]

My intentions with a diesel swap are two fold.  I want to tow a trailer while still getting decent MPG (which I dont think a 318 would do); and I get all the free waste motor oil I could ever need at work to process into a usable black diesel.
I already know your next objection,...why not buy a diesel truck right?  Well sure, but I'm not a truck guy, plus I got this engineless Fury that I want to do something with, so why not.

Sounds like a decent purpose.  

I dislike seeing a workable 68-70 Charger goofed up because those are in high demand in stock form.  But people don't line up around the block to fix engine-less old Furys.