Manny 6.5l Diesel kit

tmsnyder

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2014
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Buffalo NY
Does anyone have first hand experience installing a Manny 6.5L Diesel kit?

Or know anyone that did it that posted good documentation of the process that you could share a link?
 
There was a guy who posted a couple of YouTube videos with Manny about his conversion. But if I recall it was more of the grunting and groaning than actual how-to.
I can't recall the name, but likely if you searched on YouTube you will find it... maybe Wolfe Family??
 
There was a guy who posted a couple of YouTube videos with Manny about his conversion. But if I recall it was more of the grunting and groaning than actual how-to.
I can't recall the name, but likely if you searched on YouTube you will find it... maybe Wolfe Family??

Thanks, yes I've watched those, they were pretty informative. I'm glad he did those videos. It's always fun to see Manny in action.

I'd love to see some long term info from someone that did the swap; observations about the noise, driving characteristics, weight change data, mpg data, cooling system observations, etc etc.

And yes, more of the nuts and bolts documentation of the swap itself.

I guess the hatch gets raised 1"
 
There was an owner out of idaho that had one.

From rumors- it is loud. You see Jim Bounds was working hard at sound proofing. But my gas coach is loud too??

I have also heard with this diesel and others. They are hard on tranny. The way the torque pulses.

Sadly I think the original cost was supposed to less then $20k for a full “crate”
Motor install, and that is no longer the price.

I would think if it was truely the answer, we would see many of these done.
 
I would love to see the same but as someone mentioned it would be a pricey swap and i can do all the work. To do it legally you may even need all the emissions stuff which would really be a pain in the butt.

Now if your were replacing a blown motor perhaps???
 
I'm a guy in Idaho, and I'm currently waiting for my 6.5 and tranny to be shipped form Manny.

I found this post while trying to find what components get swapped when doing the 1 ton conversion..still searching!

I have the subframe pulled, got the radiator to the shop to be inspected, and thankfully it's fine.

At some point, I'll try to compile what images are pertinent to the swap, and post them on this site. Ideally, I would do a one time post, otherwise, the thread would undoubtedly become 40 miles ling with questions and comments. Trying to do a "play by play" while it is happening would make a tutorial type post impossible, unless I could turn off all comments to the build thread until the end. I'm not to "hip" on these forum set ups...

The "kit" I am waiting for includes the infamous Manny Tranny, specifically built for the 6.5td - proper gearing, proper beef where it counts. I requested that he ship my mated, since I'll be dropping it into the subframe outside the rig. Some of the swap details that I lay out will be geared towards that end.

Pricing was good for both the engine and tranny, I'll leave the pricing to Manny - call him for details. Things change, and what I have agreed to pay, may not be what they are selling for now.
 
I'm a guy in Idaho, and I'm currently waiting for my 6.5 and tranny to be shipped form Manny.

I found this post while trying to find what components get swapped when doing the 1 ton conversion..still searching!

I have the subframe pulled, got the radiator to the shop to be inspected, and thankfully it's fine.

At some point, I'll try to compile what images are pertinent to the swap, and post them on this site. Ideally, I would do a one time post, otherwise, the thread would undoubtedly become 40 miles ling with questions and comments. Trying to do a "play by play" while it is happening would make a tutorial type post impossible, unless I could turn off all comments to the build thread until the end. I'm not to "hip" on these forum set ups...

The "kit" I am waiting for includes the infamous Manny Tranny, specifically built for the 6.5td - proper gearing, proper beef where it counts. I requested that he ship my mated, since I'll be dropping it into the subframe outside the rig. Some of the swap details that I lay out will be geared towards that end.

Pricing was good for both the engine and tranny, I'll leave the pricing to Manny - call him for details. Things change, and what I have agreed to pay, may not be what they are selling for now.
As the admin, I can lock a thread so that further replies are not allowed, but then you wouldn't be able to post replies either. So, you can either put everything in a single post as you suggested, or mix your updates/replies together with everyone else's replies. The latter may not be such a bad thing, especially if you preface each reply with something like "UPDATE #2", "UPDATE #3", etc.
 
As the admin, I can lock a thread so that further replies are not allowed, but then you wouldn't be able to post replies either. So, you can either put everything in a single post as you suggested, or mix your updates/replies together with everyone else's replies. The latter may not be such a bad thing, especially if you preface each reply with something like "UPDATE #2", "UPDATE #3", etc.
Thanks for the info, Christo!
 
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ing to find what components get swapped when doing the 1 ton conversion..still searching!
Here's pretty much everything...

I refurbished the OEM, but this and Dave Lenzi's info on installing the LCA ball joint so that it doesn't move in the control arm pretty much covered that.

To document your 6.5 install, write it up in your word processor of choice, make a PDF, and post it to Resources.

Then make a forum post pointing to that, where you can answer questions.
 
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Thanks!
..but that link is broken.
If I post it to the resources, can I go in and add information as I go? Or do I just update the one pdf file and upload the new one?
 
Thanks!
..but that link is broken.
If I post it to the resources, can I go in and add information as I go? Or do I just update the one pdf file and upload the new one?
Resource posts point to or contain a single item (link, document, etc.), no replies allowed. IMHO less desirable for your situation than just putting everything in a single post that you might edit repeatedly. It's extra work to make the PDF, plus the actual content is somewhat hidden and not indexable/searchable, nor will it reformat automatically for mobile.
 
Resource posts point to or contain a single item (link, document, etc.), no replies allowed. IMHO less desirable for your situation than just putting everything in a single post that you might edit repeatedly. It's extra work to make the PDF, plus the actual content is somewhat hidden and not indexable/searchable, nor will it reformat automatically for mobile.
I assume the title of a Resource posts is searchable?

I've seen technical forums where the first post is the 'master' that gets edited for changes, updates, links, etc. and the follow-on posts are the discussion.
 
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Well I just revisited my spreadsheet on fuel savings for gas vs diesel now that gas has hit $5 a gallon and diesel is $6 a gallon. Assuming a $13,000 swap, the new higher prices for gas brings the pay back period down to about 15 years!
 
Well I just revisited my spreadsheet on fuel savings for gas vs diesel now that gas has hit $5 a gallon and diesel is $6 a gallon. Assuming a $13,000 swap, the new higher prices for gas brings the pay back period down to about 15 years!
I'm curious...what was the MPG attributed to both engines for your calculations?

In my case, it was this engine or that...I went with that.

This being a 496 stroker from Bil Travato Racing with Terminator TBI...

That being the Manny Travao 6.5l, with the front end build and a built tranny to go with it all, for less than the Travato beast.

I must admit though, I would like to have the Travato engine, but the mileage difference and longevity and high altitude torque of a turbo diesel sold the deal.
 
I assumed 8.8 mpg on gas (my current value) and 14 mpg on diesel (I've seen reported 14-15)

And I assumed a $13000 swap cost, $5 gas, $6 diesel, 6000 miles per year.
 
Using numbers that I know (or at least believe),
With Chaumière running her typical 9.2 MPG
With Sisters Sprinter burning (claimed) 15 MPG
And pump gas at $5.00/g
And diesel 2 at $6.00/g
I get a break even point on fuel alone at ~9600
Assuming the maintenance costs are about the same........
It is supposed to be an 8 quart engine and the lube oil filters are not very different.

I'm 74. I love the way the engine sounds. I overhauled it 4 years ago and will bet it out lives me.

Matt