1952 L-series

[392blue]

Has anyone out there heard of a 1952 International L-series pickup having a GM four cylinder two stroke diesel in it? Are these engines the kind to stay away from?

[lindstromjd]

I've got 2 L-series pickups... both of mine are the stock silver diamond engines. Never heard of anything other than that going in them.

[392blue]

Hmmm. Probably some farmer back in the day put it in then. Anyone have any idea about these diesels? I can't find much on the net and the current owner is as clueless as I am.

[Allan E.]

I seriously doubt there was a GM diesel option on the L series pickups.

You could fit an in-line mercedes 5 cylinder in there without too much difficulty. The IH engines were pretty good sized, built more like a diesel on the bottom end and block.

With enough money, you can fit anything into anything.

[lindstromjd]

The nice rule of thumb to follow would be "if it works, don't mess with it". I'd leave it alone until you have a solid plan and enough money to replace it with whatever you want. If you want to stay with a diesel, then either the Mercedes would make a great replacement (heard nothing but good things about it), or you could find a Chevy LUV with an Isuzu diesel, or even go with an SD-33. You can pick them up on Binder Planet for a decent price from people swapping them out for other engines.

[392blue]

I might buy it. I took it for a drive yesterday. It sounds cool. There's no blower on the engine though. The engine does not match the trans at all. The trans is either junk or the engine idles too low for a non-sincro setup. It was really hard to shift. Way to much power loss between second and third. If I get it, this things going to be a major project.

[392blue]

Found out the engine is a Detroit 3-53.