I have read a lot here, about the multi-fuel used in the 6x6 Duce and
some five ton's recently. I just purchased a Duce and a half and am
interested in mods for power and or speed and longevity. A word about my
new passion first.
A friend of mine and I became interested in the Duces a couple of months
ago and began sifting through the DRMO beaters, finding nothing really
road worthy. We did however, find two good ones privately owned and
bought them both last friday, driving them over 300 miles through
saturday morning! Mine is a 67' with around 5000 miles indicated and
appears to have a recent overhaul or replacement of the engine and rear
diffs. New paint (NBC), new rubberized troop canvas and a hard top on
order (I am hoping the hardtop quiets things down a bit!). It has a
front winch and is in pretty nice shape overall. My friend's is a
similarly equipped 74', less the winch, (any winches for sale?).
Now my questions,
Is NBC paint as dangerous as claimed, (resporators required for sanding
and cutting) We have some rust spots we would like to touch up and are
wondering if a typical, high quality, painters cartidge mask is adequate
protection? Are there other hazards when living with NBC, ie washing,
paint chips or even touching the stuff?
What is the stock hp and potential hp of the multi-fuel?
How do I remove or modify the governor?
Does anyone have experience with equal tube lenght exhaust manifolds (a
header) on diesels? I have read of great claimed benefits to the GM's
small truck diesel from the addition of a header. This makes a lot sense
to me because the high compression of a diesel may mean more volume
needs to escape, and that's what headers do for a living. I am
reasonably sure no one sells a header for the Duce, I will make one if I
can determine that it will mesureably improve power.
Has anyone installed an intercooler on the multi-fuel?
What about millimg the head for greater compression? I don't need the
multi-fuel option, straight diesel is fine.
Is a larger turbo or injectors beneficial, or even possible?
It may seem like I am building a race car out of a truck, however; I
simply believe these are neat 13,000 lb trucks with what I believe is
around 130hp, and furthermore; belive they would be even neater 13,000
lb trucks with 200-250 hp!
I know I have asked a lot of questions, but if any one knows the answers
to one or two of them, I would be greatful to hear from you.
Salute!
David