GM Semis

[C10 - C90 Bill]

Originally Posted by Bob B.

That's a good point! In 1962 Chevy introduced their first diesels and they were all powered by 53 Series Detroits, both 4 and V-6's. The 53's didn't show up in GMC trucks until the 1965 DB5900, a one-year oddball version of the Chevy E80 that was replaced in 1966 by the HV/JV 7500. The 4-53 was also offered in the GMC 4000 series conventional in 1966 only. So while GMC always had the larger 71 Series Detroits, in the mid-range trucks they certainly seemed to favor the Toro-Flows. Only reason I can come up with was the the Toro-Flow was a Truck And Coach Division 'internal' product. Chevy had no allegence to either the Toro-Flow or Detroit, they were both produced by other GM divisions. Good for Chevy, I think the 53 Series were the best mid-range diesels of the era.

We were talking '60 to '66 the other day, but the same for '67 to '72. It would have been great to see GMC have a 4-53 available in one. Same for the '73 and newer as well. The first time I saw a 4-53 in a '78 Medium, I remember saying "It's about time"!! Finally, but only 18 years late. Only lasted 2 years though as I believe the EPA phased them out. Would had been a nice 20 year run though. And think of all the cool trucks that would still be around today with that great Detroit power.