Has anyone actually tried a Valmet swap?

[BGW]

I know there were a few Valmet swaps overseas, but I wonder if anyone here has tried it. I'm sure it would be hard to find a Valmet 411/611 diesel here, but I think it could be a great swap. They seem to be pretty highly regarded engines, and they don't have that nasty nasal honk/clatter that the cummins powerplants do. Wikipedia states the Valmet 411 equipped Wagoneers could reach 30 MPG. That seems to be about par with what a 4bt would get.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woDeL2Xnino&NR=1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woDeL2Xnino&NR=1)

Another thing I was thinking about was a 4-53T or 6-53T swap. The Detroits are durable and powerful. They also come in many variants, some of which are sure to fit in an FSJ.

[BGW]

Perhaps a Perkins swap would be more practical... I'm going to look into whether or not a practical driveline could be put together with one.

[joe]

Don't know zip from Valmet but concerning a 53 series Detroit... if you don't like clatter/noise a Cummins makes a 53 series Detroit is gonna drive you to suicide. I like Detroits a lot but quiet they ain't. At least consider a lower revving 71 series. A 4-71 will still be of reasonable weight.

[BGW]

Now there's a thought... I wonder if a 4-71T would be a valid swap. I'll have to look up their bolt pattern to see what kind of transmissions could be used.

I actually like the noise of the high-revving Detroits. I've heard cummins engines sound pretty good with overize mufflers, too. The natural exhaust notes of the cummins B series engines is about the most cacaphonous I've ever heard, though.

[joe]

Who makes the Valmet dsl? Jeep/Chryco used V-design VM Motori(Italian) dsls in some overseas (Euro and China) built rigs. Dunno if Valmet is any relation to VM but VM has a good rep for reliability. The VM's aren't cheap and the added shipping costs from Euro would pretty much cover the expense of having adapters made to use your favorite local dsl and trans that you could easily get maint parts for. The perkins idea mentioned would seem a reasonable consideration. It'a a UK motor and parts are avail in the US. Never seen one in a pickup but seen lotsa inline 6 Perkins in commercial fish boats and they hold up well. Eng/trans adapter would be a custom item.On using a Detroit..dunno what would be required to match it. Had a friend stuffed a 6-71N in a 64 Ford 2WD 1 ton flatbed to drag commercial boats around his shipyard. He ran a T-18A but Bud was a good machinist so prolly made his own adapter. Don't remember much about how road friendly it was but he drove 50 miles RT to work everyday. Dayum thing would pull the state off the map though.

[Eugene 1]

The perkins could work plymouth used them in various applications in the fifties.. a relative had one My mothers"s uncle to be exac. I wll talk with her more this evening ,but she remembered it being a plymouth and that it was diesel or something smelly. sooooo.. I looked it up and came up with this:

http://www.allpar.com/history/plymouth/1946-1959/diesels.html



http://www.allpar.com/mopar/perkins.html

[maritimerCJ]

it was worth checking this out just to see the Perkins Plymouth... i dont know about how viable of a transplant it is but at the maritime academy i go to we have a tug boat that was re powered along time ago after there was a explosion in the engine room (its kinda crazy killed one guy and the floor by the helm is all bent up and its mad out of 1/4" deck plate) but its now powered by a old as dirt diesel, not 100% who makes it but i belive it is a Detroit... anyways its like a inline 8:eek: kinda long but real real small for the fact its a deisel, in a ship, and its a inline8 (i belive its a inline8 i seem to remember doing a recount when i was looking at the manifold thinking that it wasnt odd). Anyways they always talk about pulling it out and droping in a d3500 cat engine, and if they do i think i will do anything to get that engine (i decide this after i saw the exhaust manifold so so cool looking) but i feel like it was small enough that it could be shoe horned in with a little work il have to look into what engine series that is next time im at the academy.

[joe]

with a little work il have to look into what engine series that is next time im at the academy.
Before you commit make sure exactly what it is and it's specs including dimensions and "weight" and that it's not a direct drive set up. If it's an inline 8 I'm thinking pretty small tug. Really old tugs are famous for using any oddball cheap at the time "old" used dsl motors. Inline 8 huh? Maybe an old British Gardner? Next time you see it snap a pic, be fun to see it.

[BGW]

Wow! Cool. Thanks for sharing the Perkins Plymouth! That's really neat, I had no idea those existed. I've been too busy still to look up the bolt pattern of a decent-sized Perkins and see if there are any trannies that would work with it.

[joe]

Don't know what adapters were used in the CJ's with the optional Perkins dsl but they had T90s and T98's behind them. Prolly more info out there on Perkins CJ's than Perkins Plymouths.

[Mars]

Great info on the perkins engines, I enjoyed reading it:thumbsup: