so, i have this plan. sort of started when panzen realized we needed more than one veg fueled vehicle, but im on my own fukkin mission too.

here's the deal- i thought i was gonna look for a shortbus and find one for a reasonable price, but the goood medium size shortbuses r next to impossible to find(if u have one, diesel, for sale, let me know..tanx) and many of them are gas. also, these wonderbread/grunman/ups step vans seem just as rad, more undercover brother and at the moment pretty plentiful. i know a few people from this community may know a thing or two about what to look for when buyin a diesel. i'd like to convert it to veg oil too, but the step vans have many types of diesel engines. been lookin at the izuzu 4cyl, but i'd like to have enough power to tow a trailer up mountains and such, so should i get a bigger engine? or do diesel engines make power different and a 4 cyl is fine? 

ive heard that the cummins is the shit, but besides that which diesel engine do u think is best for veg conversion?

also looking for gooood links to info on  veg conversion...all info is appreciated.

o.k thank u

heath 

hteah,

I am in agreement with spukkin's soft spot for the cummins those little powerhouses are the shit, and VERY fuel efficient. there are numerous configurations for the 4BT (4-cyl cummins) with some having a Bosch VE type rotary injection pump, and some having a Bosh or i think Delphi brand in-line injection pump. The bosch in-line i've heard is the best for long life, and toughness, next is the bosch rotary VE type pump (for it's simplicity it's even better then in-line, and much easier to remove too, know this from my own experience) then the other brand in-line pump, have a less established track record, but i think are not nearly as common.

I recommend the 4BT, Bosch VE rotary (by far, the most common in Step trucks) because they are fairly robust, simpler to understand and easier to service/repair, that translates to lower costs too. In addition to that, there is a great thing about the VE pumps, one can replace a few easy to access, cheap parts, to greatly increase your horse power output. The little 4BT is usually set to 2600 or 2800 RPM and a lower fuel flow for around 110 Horses.

You can change a few small part to increase you max RPM (mine now set to 3200) and then with a twist of a bolt, adjust the fuel flow to increase/decrease horse power. It is possible to get up to 300 Horse Power from a 4BT with minimal mods, but you better get an EGT guage so you don't melt something!!

you may want to lurk this forum, loads of 4bt info!
http://www.4btswaps.com/

highly recommend going with a step van. for sooooo many reasons, they are better.. stay away from buses, and the headaches they cause.

spukkin is also right about the suspension.. you must find out what the truck was used for in it's previous commercial life? Was it hauling light loads of chips or bread? or was it hualing heavy loads of dirty laundry or packages?

my rig has a tow package, and i've been able to tow lots of heavy stuff, including another step-van, while maintaining good MPG, and also not being slowed to a crawl. the 4BT is a real performance machine, that loves the rice bran oil i feed it.

i've got contacts for several privately owned step trucks for sale in the Pan Zen area.. let's be in touch eh?

thanx guys...i will contact you k. great info.

what's the latest? the bread truck looks cool, man. I'm in the process of putting an 80 cc engine onto my mountain bike.