Truck Build: 5.3 Chevy LS + LPG or 3.0 Toyota KZ + Veg Oil?

[TomRoberts99]

I’m half way through restoring an Chevy pickup truck from the early 60s and am at the point where I need to fit a suitable engine.

I have come down to two choices and am absolutely stumped as to which is the ‘better’ option. I think it comes down to smiles per hour vs sensible efficiency. Also what comes into play is that we are in pretty uncertain times at the moment concerning both petrol and diesel engines, emissions etc etc. I sure as hell am not putting an electric motor in it. I have weighed up some pros and cons of each engine.

Petrol 5.3

Pros

• Petrol is cheaper than diesel
• LPG conversion can be added under truck bed to increase range & save money
• Torque & Sound of a V8
• Higher resale value

Cons

• Fuel thirsty - most likely about 15mpg
• LPG stations are not as common
• Reliability + Part sourcing from the US cost

Diesel 3.0

Pros

• Higher efficiency - 30mpg
• Can run on Veg oil which (if sourced correctly) will cost nothing but time to filter.
• Original behind the seat tank can be repurposed for veg oil.
• Toyotas general reputation of being bullet proof

Cons

• Diesel cost is higher than petrol
• Not as much power, or fun as the chevy LS engine
• Diesel is likely to be phased out by our oh so wise government before petrol if the UK follows the EU trend.
• It's going to sound like a modern white van

I’m probably missing quite a few things from the above list but these were the first that came to mind when writing. I would be very grateful to hear which engine option makes more sense to you guys and why. Cheers!

[Alex@POD]

Presumably this won't be a daily driver? V8 all the way, I'd even forego the LPG and accept it won't be cheap.

[normalbloke]

As you touched on, LPG is vanishing faster than many people realise.

[SturdyHSV]

A 5.3 LS is going to be as good as bullet proof for the amount of mileage I can assume you'll be doing in a home built 60s pickup with an engine swap.

Unless you're running comedy gears, put a pointlessly huge cam in it or only drive in stop start traffic, you'll get perfectly decent fuel economy from the LS.

Parts are cheap and easy to source, RockAuto will get you whatever you'd need to service it within a few days and for next to nothing.

Will you ever listen to the Toyota KZ idle or rev and think "fk yeah, I'm so glad I went with the diesel"?

[ZedLeg]

I’d be tempted to put an older SBC in imo.

The LS is more modern obviously but there’s something to be said for opening the bonnet on an old truck and seeing a suitably period engine. The older small block is as reliable and tuneable as the LS too.

[Bill]

Alex@POD said:

Presumably this won't be a daily driver? V8 all the way, I'd even forego the LPG and accept it won't be cheap.

This. No brainer IMO.

[braddo]

Most vehicles like this will only do 1000-2000 miles per year. It makes fuel consumption an irrelevance in the context of ownership costs. Basically you'll pay a few hundred quid per year to have great V8 noise, far superior performance and a more valuable/desirable vehicle.

You only want a 60s truck with a diesel engine if you're trying to imagine life in Cuba. (Or if you're doing 5k+ miles per year and have access to cheap veg oil. Hang on, that makes it even more like life in Cuba! )

[KTMsm]

Unless you're doing 20k a year I wouldn't consider a diesel

I've run loads of yanks on LPG but the three local stations have all closed so it would be a ball ache for me to run one now, so just check it's availability before you decide