Well gas is on the rise again, and I've been looking into a nice idea. I've been doin reasearch on gms 6.5 liter diesel engine made in the late 90s. I've been seeing a few people putting them into camaros and other cars and have seen people getting awesome highway milage. I was thinking about Savin up to get the 6.5 td engine and back It up with 4l80e. I figure it will be a nice torquey swap so that I will be able to tow some stuff to make my truck useful, and I will be able to use some biodiesele. Something to think about :)

I will start saving my french fry oil for Ya:alc: JER

It would be a cool swap, just gotta figure out a way to stuff it in the engine bay! Lol

People were sayin it's not too bad of a fit, I would like to get one from a scrap yard to test fit and build off of

A friend and I overhauled a 6.5 a few years ago. Seems like a decent engine. It is bolted to a 4L80 transmission in a big walk-in van. I often wondered if diesels are tougher on transmissions than gas engines (?)

Of the two pieces you are talking about, I think the 4l80e is going to cause more installation problems than the engine itself. The body of the trans is large in diameter and long, causing tunnel problems. It also has sensors sticking out at seemingly random places and requires an electronic system to work. Since the amount of power you can put through the drivetrain is ultimately limited by traction and tires, I don't see a good reason a 700R4 would not work just fine. No matter what, you will probably need a tougher rear end. The Ford 9 inch units work well, but they are heavy and the front rear weight ratios of the Camino make the change in unsprung weight even more noticeable by making the rear ride worse. A Grand National rear end would be my choice for your application.

My 700R4 and GN rear end are holding up just fine and I am making well over 600 ftlb of torque. A very good aftermarket converter is the key, so that you keep the heat down in the trans

i was also thinking about a manual trans, but im not sure if i would want to deal with it, ill be looking into it more on the trans side, as far as automatics i do want an electronic trans so then its programable...electric stuff doesnt bother me in any way