Toyota Project

[Ebrownie]

Hey guys, just through I would make a thread about my toyota pickup project to share what I’ve got going on. After I finished my kart last fall, I wanted a little bit bigger project, even though I love my kart. So I bought 3 whole vehicles and am mushing them all into one hopefully awesome pickup.

I bought a 1985 Mercedes 300D for $1200. I bought it solely for the engine, which is a mechanical injection 5 cylinder 3.0L turbo diesel (OM617).

I bought a 1980 toyota pickup for $700. It runs and drives with the 4 speed and 20R gas engine, but it is tired and gutless. All I am using it the body (if anybody wants toyota straight axles, let me know!)

Lastly, I bought a 1978 chevy K10 long bed (no engine) for $750 with the SM465 4 speed manual and NP205 transfer case, 4 inch lift springs, 4.11s, and a posi in the rear. I am using the frame, axles, and tranny/t-case off of the chevy.

I will cut the frame way down, drop the diesel in, put the toyota body on, and build a flatbed for it. It is a very large project and I am shooting for having it driving next spring sometime. First two pics are the Benz and Diesel engine, third is the toyota (I am going to repaint for sure!) and last two are the K10 (it is just a bare frame now)

[mckutzy]

That's a cool project...
How much does that engine weigh... Seams like it'll be a bit front heavy...

Are you building a trans motor adapter?...or do they make one already for that combo...

[Ebrownie]

I think its 500-600 lbs. for sure heavier than the toyota engine, but the axles and springs are chevy, and it’s not too much heavier than a small block v8. And it’s by no means a powerhouse, after a little injection pump adjustment it should make 250 ft/lbs and 150 hp. Way more than the toyota 4 cylinder! But mostly I’m doing the diesel for the cool factor vs. a small block. And it should get 20+ mpg with 35” tires.

I don’t have a picture of it, but I have an adapter kit. A website called mercedesdiesel4x4 sells the kit, which is a plate that bolts the engine up to the chevy bellhousing. It also has an adapter to bolt on the chevy flywheel, so I will use the chevy flywheel/clutch and starter. Makes it painless (hopefully).

[Kaptain Krunch]

Wish i could find an 80s yota that clean on the east coast, theyre all rotten around here. Why not use the toyota frame?

[Ebrownie]

The cab looks nice from a distance as far as rust goes, but you can see the ground through the floorboards! I will patch that up though when I go to repaint it.

Because I figured that it was easier to build cab and core support mounts for the toyota body than to figure out how to put Chevy spring shackles and hangers on the toyota frame. And I wanted the Chevy transmission because it has granny low 1st gear. The axles should also sit very wide on the toyota body since they are full width.

[Ebrownie]

Just a little update! Got the engine all put back together with brand new front and rear main seals and oil pan gasket. I dropped the engine in the frame and bolted up to the transmission.

Motor mounts are next thing in the list! Shouldn’t be too hard. I already had to take the crossmember out to fit the oil pan, but I will do some modifications to the crossmember so it clears the engine and supports the motor mounts.

[JTSpeedDemon]

NICE ENGINE! My dad's got an '81 Mercedes 240D diesel, in a way the slow cousin to the 300.
There's a 300SD for sale near me, actually.
Those Merc diesels'll run foreva!
That's not bad with 250 ft/lbs and 150hp, especially compared to my dad's powerhouse 240D.
Which makes a thumping 67 HP in BRAND NEW, perfect condition!
Whatdya do with the Mercedes frame? That's a W123 chassis, incredibly safe even without the likes of airbags.

[Kartorbust]

As long as you filter waste veggie oil enough times (several coffee filters and anything that's a bit finer than that), you can run that stuff straight in that engine. So basically free fuel (but expensive), may need to change oil more frequently. So if you go to a few family outings where they are using veggie oil to cook, you have free (to you) fuel. That's the main benefit to any mechanically injected diesel engine. One trick I learned from other forums on diesels swaps, mainly with mechanically injected engines (OM616, OM617, Cummins 6BT, 4BT, Isuzu 4BD1T, VW 1.6 IDI), you'll want to mix in about a quart of 2 stroke oil into each tank of diesel. Modern Ultra Low Sulfur diesel, does not give much in lubrication properties for older mechanical lift and injection pumps. So you add some 2 stroke motor oil to it, everything gets lubricated better and tends to quiet things down a bit. Even run a bit of Power Service too or a Cetane booster to help a bit as well.

[Kaptain Krunch]

I met a guy off craigslist once, sold him a lawnmower.

He had taken a jeep wrangler, stretched it, chopped the tub in half, made a cab, and truck bed for it. Then swapped one of those 3.0 turbo diesels in it. Pretty unique machine, the Mercedes diesel was an odd beast, only diesel id ever seen with turbo lag. But maybe something was wrong with his? he swore it was the way it was supposed to run.

[Ebrownie]

They definitely don’t have the torque curve of a normal diesel. The engines have a relatively short stroke, so they don’t make heaps of low end torque. They really like to run 2500-3500 rpms. I’m not sure but I think it redlines at 4500 or something, which is obviously high for a diesel.

[Kartorbust]

So looks like this 1985 version is 123hp at 4350rpm and 184lb/ft of torque at 2400rpm. This one does have EGR, so if you can delete it and you should gain some power. EGR is one heckuva restriction on these older engines and more so nowadays.

[Ebrownie]

Originally Posted by Kartorbust

So looks like this 1985 version is 123hp at 4350rpm and 184lb/ft of torque at 2400rpm. This one does have EGR, so if you can delete it and you should gain some power. EGR is one heckuva restriction on these older engines and more so nowadays.

EGR has already been deleted by a previous owner. Once I get the truck done and running I will take the injection pump off and probably adjust injection timing a bit as well as how much fuel goes into the engine. They aren’t too hard to adjust.

If anybody is on Instagram and wants to follow my build page for the pickup, you can find it at @toyota_mtd

[Kartorbust]

If you need more information or help, dieselbombers and 4BTswaps have information or members that can help you, long as you show pictures or progress. Though last I knew (been several years), 4BTswaps requires a membership to post more than 10 pictures on their site. Dieselbombers last I knew were pretty laid back.

[Ebrownie]

Hey guys, I haven’t had much time to be on the forum for a long time, just figured I would update you all and try to get back on here more often! I’ve done a lot since last spring on my project. Motor mounts are done, shortened the frame 20”, took the cab off of the toyota frame, stripped the interior, cut the firewall, set the toyota cab on the chevy frame. There were all sorts of little things in between of course. It’s got some serious stance! The 35” tires aren’t going to be big enough though I can see.

I’m going to have to get creative with the front end, the frame sits quite a ways below the grill. I’ll figure out some sort of bumper or winch or something so hopefully it looks okay. I will cut the front 6” and the rear 6” off of the frame, just to shorten it up as much as I possibly can. Flatbed design is coming along as well, i plan on doing metal frame and edges with a wood deck.