1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I have read a handful of the project & builds on this site, & really have enjoyed them. So I though i'd try sharing my truck build, maybe you guys would get a kick out of it.

Back in high school, Dad & I performed ground up restorations on 3 farm tractors, 2 of them winning the Iowa State fair grand champion restored tractor in 2009 & 2010. For my senior year, dad thought if would be cool to win the title 1 more time with another tractor restoration. But, I wanted to do something different, something crazy that no one (that I know) had done before. I wanted to drop a John Deere 6 cylinder turbo diesel engine into a an 80s Chevy truck. Sounds crazy right? Stay tuned!

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I started out with a 1985 Chevy 3/4 ton 4x4 with no title that supposedly had a blown up motor. She was in pretty tough shape, but the price was right. The motor I acquired is a 6059 6 cylinder turbo diesel John Deere with very low hours, & in great shape.

I ended up getting the tired 350 gas engine to run after tinkering around with it, & eventually taking it out in a chiseled corn field to find out that the front axle jumps out of 4x4... good to know

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Pulled the V8, transmission, & transfer case. 1st time having a look at what the new powerplant looks like... Lots of work ahead!

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

With the help from a SAE JD rear housing, & a custom machined transmission plate, the engine & trans will bolt right together. The NV4500 I picked up was out of a 90s chevy 1 ton 2WD. I ended up rebuilding the transmission, replacing the rear housing & shaft to allow it to accept the transfer case. This model of transmission was used by Chevy & Mopar in their 3/4 & 1 ton trucks; commonly used behind the the early Dodge Cummins trucks. I liked the idea of possibly using an Allison automatic transmission, however, after talking with some Allison experts, I was told that the engine wouldn't turn enough rpm to allow the Allison to perform to my liking

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I'm in to watch this! Cool project and a cool engine choice. You won't see another one of them in a pick up I don't believe. :lol:

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Cool and interesting project. I'm going to follow this build!

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

This is going to be very cool!!! I seen one in a dodge done by our local vocational school a while back

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Thanks for the feedback! Some guys I talk to about this project either love it, or think it's silly. Time will tell, haha.

Picked up a John Deere flywheel & GM clutch for the project, but as you can see, the input shaft pilot bearing was looking pretty small compared to the bore in the center of the JD flywheel. Had my local machine shop turn out an adapter, & we are back in business.

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Moving along. After cutting out 2 cross members, fabricating a new front cross member, & fabricating motor mounts, the power plant & drive train are now in their final resting spot. Right away I discovered that with the stock suspension, the engine oil pan was resting on the front deferential. Nothing a lift kit wont take care of! The 1985 cab was pulled off of the frame, & scrapped. Since It was very rusty & had no title, I was on the search for a donor truck to donate a body for this project. stay tuned!

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I'll be following along

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Holy cow that is a beast of a motor.

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Frame blasted & painted with POR 15. Rough Country 4 inch lift has arrived

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Front & rear axles both disassembled & rebuilt with all new seals, bearings, brakes, u-joints, ball joints, tie rods & front hubs. Also painted with POR15

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Lift kit & axles assembled! I am not sure why the U-bolts that Rough Country sent me were so long, but I did trim them down after these photos were taken.

Thanks for the feedback!, more photos to come soon!

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Of course it is silly... That is what makes it so great. :metal::metal:

Are you putting a top coat over the POR15? That stuff is not UV stable and will turn chalky without a top coat.

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Farm boy when growing up, partial to green so I gotta tag along on this one. I appreciate the ingenuity coming up with the bell housing, flywheel clutch disc set up. Cool!

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

You won't hear it's silly from me. I say the more swaps the merrier. :lol: How has the D44 held up under all the weight? This reminds me of when I started putting a DT466 in my 76 when it was lifted on 52s. Once I realized I need to cut the firewall out to put the engine far enough back to put a radiator in it, the cummins went back in. Haha

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Yes, I do plan on painting over the POR15, I just have not gotten that far yet. I have heard that this about the paint from a lot of people though. Thanks for the feedback!

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I do like the Cummins swaps in these trucks, but i wanted to be different, haha.
So far so good. I want to get the truck completely finished 1st before I start getting carried away with bigger axles, drive train, injectors, motor performance.. ect. There is about 1/2 inch gap between the firewall & the back of the head, with the crank dampener located right in the center of where the stock radiator used to be located. More challenges up ahead! Thanks for the feedback!

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I ended up finding a very clean, rust free 1983 Chevy C10 2wd automatic on the internet for sale, rolling chassis, no drive train or motor. With title! It was a project that somebody else started years ago, that never got finished. I literally brought the truck home in parts, pieces, & tubs of parts. I wish I had more photos of all of the parts & pieces together. Here are photos of the new 1983 cab on the frame for the 1st time

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Photos of the box from the 1983 cab, I used paint stripper to remove most of the paint before I had it blasted & primed. That paint stripper is some nasty stuff! I probably wont use that stuff again if I had the choice.

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Very nice cab and bed! This state sure is hard on vehicles.

Re: 1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

I've always wanted to see this done! Looks like a good start.

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Thanks for the positive feedback guys! Now it's time for some time travel.... Like I said in the 1st post, I started this truck project my senior year in high-school, & I did get a good solid year of progress on it. But, after graduating, moving out, going to collage to get my degree in CNC machining, & eventually landing a job as a machinist at John Deere in Waterloo Iowa, the truck had sat in the barn at home for a little over 5 years, untouched. Until one day I was back home visiting, I decided it was time to drag it out of the barn & get started back where I left off. Here are photos of it after pulling it from the barn & back into the shop.

1983 Chevy John Deere Re-power
 

Update on my project, Located a factory set of pedals from an 85 Chevy 6.2 diesel with hydraulic clutch. I had to use a hydraulic master cylinder from a Dodge Cummins for the clutch; I was told by many that the factory master cylinder was not large enough for the NV4500 transmission.

I am searching for an entire brake line kit for this project... I discovered LMC does not carry kits for a 1985 K20.... Anyone know where I would go to buy the lines?? I need everything!

Thanks for looking!