Yes I knew there was more involved but I am not a mechanic just a DIYer & just know the basic’s what I don’t know I go to people like you who know a lot more than me.
I believed they used an Olds 350 block rather than an SBC.
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- Americans still remember diesels from the early 80’s. They were unreliable and underpowered
- Diesel engine options typically carry a significant price premium when it’s offered in U.S. market vehicles
- Diesel is usually more expensive than gasoline in the U.S. , couple that with the high initial purchase price, the payback time for diesel is usually pretty long.
- The low cost of fuel in general in the U.S. means the diesel’s better fuel economy isn’t that big of deal.
- Fuel taxes in the U.S. are close to parity in terms of gasoline vs. diesel. In other countries this isn’t always the case.
With gasoline engines becoming more efficient (direct injection/turbocharging/downsizing are becoming more and more common) and the looming legislature regarding diesel emissions (diesels are rapidly losing favor in Europe). there’s no reason to expect diesel to become any more common in the U.S. than it already is. There are some applications where diesels have clear/decisive advantages, trucks, heavy equipment, etc. But for the average consumer driving back and forth to work, there’s not a lot of upside in the U.S. market.
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A big factor has been the changes in taxation since the 1970s. Used to be diesel was way, way cheaper per gallon. Not for decades now. That was more a matter of taxation than of actual cost to produce and distribute the stuff. When and why the taxation changed, IDK.
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Costs did go up when all the sulfur had to be removed (ULSD).
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That was fairly recently - Bush2 administration did something about that. But the tax increases in diesel happened long before then, no?
I was about to point out that the diesel tax rate hasn’t changed in a long time at the federal level, and then I found this: https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/consumer-information/motor-fuel-taxes/diesel-tax
Evidently, some states are taxing the heck out of diesel fuel, while others aren’t, and it seems to cut across political lines.
If I was an owner-operator, I’d be sticking to the yellow states on this map as often as possible: https://www.api.org/~/media/Files/Statistics/Diesel-Tax-Map.pdf
That was up through 1980 I believe and then they beefed them up some. Still not like an industrial engine but better. Maybe it’s normal but seems to me the head bolts were $10 each and could not be reused. The Stanadyne pumps though were very sensitive unlike the pumps used in MBs, etc. So they just didn’t make them for heavy duty use.
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According to my BIL some years ago, truckers were required to buy fuel in the state they were driving through. They’d check receipts at the weigh stations. Maybe not all states but some for sure that needed the revenue. Maybe it’s changed now or illegal.
Your BIL was right but that changed after NAFTA they would check the receipts to see if you bought fuel in that state proving you payed road tax to the state & if you did not have a receipt they asked where you entered the state then figure how many mile’s you drove in the state and and you had to pay the tax based on that before you left, If you were going to be going through the state on a regular basis you bought a sticker ( AKA known as bingo stamp’s ) to the company you drove for & the company kept up with the mile’s & paid every quarter You may remember that most truck’s you would see had had a lot of sticker’s from different state’s.
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I’ve often wondered why all the state stickers on semis in years past. Now I know. 
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The most recent change in diesel refining sulfur standards was in 2007, the rise in the price of diesel fuel seemed to remove any advantage in fuel costs for a diesel car. According to fuel economy.gov the annual fuel cost for a gas powered 2014 Cruse is $1300, for the diesel, $1400.
The fuel consumption between a car that gets 40 MPG and one that gets 50 MPG is far less significant than the difference in trucks that get 10 to 15 MPG.
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My wife was a store manger for many year;s all she knew about truck’s was that delivered merchandise to the store she got an education about the trucking industry & truck river;s after we got married,
Did you notice how much higher California was compared to the lowest state
I don’t think so.
Germany 138,062 sq. mi.
Ohio 44,825 sq. mi.
Just saying.
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Had a new 2003 Opel Vectra rental in Spain. 2.2L turbo diesel, 5spd M/T. Impressive performance and fuel mileage. I sniffed the filler cap the first time I refueled to be sure. Diesel was $2.60 per gallon and regular unleaded was $4.30 per gallon. At that time diesel was more expensive than gasoline in the USA. Win! Win!
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ok. germ is 3x size of ohio. so why does merc like diesels motors?
The 350 Olds diesel was a beefed up 350 block. They may have used the casting cores for the 400 engine with the bigger bore to beef the 350’s smaller bore. The block was heavier but the bolt holes were the same. Guys used to convert them to gas by swapping cylinder heads and adding a carb because the injector pumps were so unreliable.
Hot rodders used them with superchargers running gasoline because the blocks could take the pressure.
They were actually pretty nice to drive. The low end torque of a 455 with the fuel economy of a 6.
Diesel pollutes and require additional fluids to avoid that. Low end torque is good not the horsepower. Finally, short trips are bad for diesel engines. They don’t get time to warm up.
For some, maybe. The BMW 5-Series diesel is the quickest 5 they build short of the M-car.