He Repowers Ford Pickups

He repowers Ford pickups ENGINES Engines 14-6-15 Brian Yokimas,replaced the 180 hp Ford 360 V-8 gas engine in his 1974 Ford F-3501-ton pickup with a 140 hp, 354 cu. in., 6-cylinder turbo-charged Perkins diesel engine. Yokimas bought the new engine for $1,000 from a farmer and junked the old engine. "The new engine gets 18 to 21 mpg compared to only 8 mpg for the old one and has much more torque which boosts pulling power," says Yokimas. "There's virtually no difference in fuel mileage whether I'm pulling my 24-ft. fifthwheel trailer or not." Yokimas replaced the pickup's original 4-speed transmission with another 4-speed transmission, this one equipped with overdrive, removed from a 1979 Ford 1/2-ton pickup. "The overdrive slows the engine down for better mileage," notes Yokimas, who modified the oil pan to make the engine fit and beefed up the front end of the pickup to support the engine's weight by installing 1/2-in, thick steel spacers between the springs and frame. Yokimas also replaced the 351 cu. in. V8 gas engine in his 1979 Ford 1/2-ton pickup with an 85 hp 242 cu. in. 6-cylinder diesel engine removed from a Ford 6000 tractor. "The gas engine got 16 mpg in summer and only 6 or 8 mpg in winter, but the diesel engine gets 37 mpg year around," says Yokimas. "The pickup was originally equipped with an automatic transmission, but I replaced it with a 4-speed standard transmission equipped with overdrive and changed the rear end ratio from 2.73 to 3.80 for more pulling power. Because of the overdrive it still has good cruising speed."

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