M35A2 with 3208 Caterpillar conversion

[WyattEarp]

Not sure if am allowed to post this subject here but was wondering if anyone may know of someone that has replace a war battered multifuel engine with a 3208 caterpillar engine sort of an upgrade so to speak.

I have a 1967 AM General duece in need of a repower and have been unable to find a replacement engine(multifuel) anywhere close to me, i know govliquidation has them well to say the least im a little leery of those engines as im sure most have been abused to no end, but my main question was in reference to anyone knowing or having know how to do such a conversion?

Thanks guys, as my blue moose is itching to start hauling and knocking down trees once again, what can i say i dieselitis and the bigger the rummble the Oo. i am...

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Why in the world would you want a 3208 (V8) Cat?



Matt

 

[ndurbin]

They have a nasty habit of welding the injection pump gear to the pump shaft when the pump gives up.



I ran a spray rig for a coop one summer that had one in it. I got to the end of the feild and was getting ready to fold the booms up and the thing died and wouldn't start again. Turns out the injection pump gave up and in the process welded the injection pump gear to the shaft.



Nathan

 

[WyattEarp]

well to be honest holeshot my reasoning for doing such would be for one availability of that engine, Im having no luck finding a replacement multifuel for the duece and one that is within my price range for an reconditioned engine. My other reason i need something with enough torq to move that mammoth(almost 14000lbs) thats was one of my reasons for posting here as i know there are alot of guys here that have done conversion with diesel but wasn't sure about one of this size. I figured a 12v cummins would probably do the trick also but i talked with a company that does the cummins setups with the M35 military trucks and they are set up with motor mounts and others stuff that will fit right up in the engine bay of the duece, but the price is outragious like 15,000 on the low side for such a repower.

Anyone here have any suggestions they will be more than appreciated, also im unfamiliar with larger commercial diesel engines

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I'd certainly like to help steer you away from that engine... the fact that there's a lot of them sitting in boneyards is not a good sign.



Here's something I remembered seeing a while back - how's this sound?:



Military take

out engines

Out of 2 1/2, 5, & 10

Ton Trucks



Mulit-fuel Turbo ..... $ 1,950

Multi-fuel Natural . . $ 1,700

Cummins 250 -

M-Series ... ... ... ... ... ... $ 2,500

(5) Cummins 300, V-8. . $ 2,500

Complete & Tested



Check out this website. They have all kinds of goodies that I'd like to get my hands on. Especially those aluminum block 2-stroke 3-53 Detroits!!



On edit: Don't worry too much about shipping them... I know of a guy that shipped two Detroit 6V-92 cross country and it didn't exactly break the bank completely.

 

[BKenny]

Those Detroit diesels have a distinct sound . They have been useing them in busses ,crane trucks,boats and more for years. I could,nt beleive it when i found out they were two stroke i beleive it was an 8v 71 it had a blower and a turbo on it

 

[Philip]

The 3208 cat is called a throw away engine. Some of the things I have seen them do is spit connecting rods out, blow head gaskets, crack heads, crack blocks, about the only thing I have not seen one do is break a crank.



If you happen to run one out of fuel you better figure three hours to get it back up and running. Needless to say they are a bear to bleed out.



Preston truck lines used to have a bunch of Fords with 3208's in them. Every driver I talked to hated them.



Now the other side of the coin. If you can get one cheap with everything you need to install it. I would do it and run it till it dies. While your running one you could keep an eye out for something better.

 

[Lnwing]

Although the 3208 isn't my favorite engine, the ones I've run have performed admirably. I think that the application has a lot to do with how they last.



One was in a New Holland combine and the other was a 3208T coupled to an Allison auto. in a Big Wheels/Topkick spray rig. Both engines were run basically wide open and couldn't be seriously lugged down, and IMO, thats why they lived.



The poorest performance I'm aware of has been in the heaviest trucks, like tandem dumps. Seems like asking a boy to do a man's job.

 

[WyattEarp]

Hey Lnwing, as i told holeshot im not that familiar with commercial diesels, the donor truck in question is a dumptruck Mack, other than that I have no other info on it. Other than i was told 800 bucks would move the complete truck and the truck is still in working condition. The duece i have is around 13,700 lbs. im guessing that is somewhat lighter than the truck the cat engine is in already, but as im not sure if the steering will work with the cat engine in there so im sort of going step by step as whether or not to purchase it. The duece will be used mainly here around the farm for hauling wood and other stuff. Thanks for all the replies i have recieved, and any information about the M35 with 3208 caterpillar conversion will be greatly appreciated.