Detroit Diesel 71 - 92 series fans

12v71T Would be nice but are hard to find anymore, although you could go all out and twin turbo with the biggest injectors (N90?) You can find and easily break the 1000hp mark...although I dont know why for an actual working truck

 

i ran a V-12 in a 65 pete 2-2 1/2 mpg average, duel superchargers, world class oil slinger, and loud

 

Driven a 12/71 that we put bigger injectors in it had twin turbos drove 16/71 in a Coe kw. Several silvers and a few 318's you just had to remember to get mad a d stay that way

 

there was an8v92 silvertip or grizzly in the early to mid 1980 the guys all ran around here. they were 475 hp from the factory the n the guys put 100 injectors in them and they would fly. We would load 30 ton of sand every night and haul it to pittsburgh and then haul about 22 ton of coal back in across 68 in the daytime. At about 800000 miles they were ready to be rebuilt. Milage was about 5 mpg

 

My father ran 8v71's and 8v92's from the late 70's into the mid 90's. These trucks are what I learned to drive in. He always said the key was to keep the engine rpm's up high enough to maintain 40lbs of oil pressure.

The last one we had was a 475 silver in an '85 General bought new. We ran it for 8 years as a log truck. Lot's of hours logged loading an unloading trucks, never did anything to it but routine maintainence. It probably would have gone much longer but it was involved in an accident and totaled out.

 

Seems like they ruled the Great American Truck Racing Series in the 80s, along with some Cummins. Cats didn't have a change. Some interesting pics and stories in Facebook GATR group https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/120728709491/

8V92 had 800 hp in industrial/marine configuration so that should be easy to build. 15W/40 oil is OK if you choose the righy oil with high enough HTHS number.

 

I had a1972 International transtar with an 8v71 set at 290 hp 13 speed 444 rears and11.00X22 tires,that i hauled sand and coal with 30 ton out at night and 22 to23 ton back in the daytime.It would climb the hills on the Pa pike between breezewood and donegal about 18 mph with 30 ton on coming back across 68 which used to be 48 when it opened with coal I could climb some of those hills about 11 miles an hour but I could break the sound barrier coming down off of those hills.fuel milage was 4 to 4.5 mpg. Every now and then the train would get lost and they would call the trucks down to Montpelier,Va at the emergengy rate. They would let us load up to 100000 gross which was about36 to 37 ton depending on how light we would scale in at. these loads went to Zanesville Ohio coming north on 522 up to 70 I could climb some of those rolling hills at 7 to 8 miles an hour. It took all night long to get to Zanesville but we made a ton of money doing that and going around the cambridge scales we never got caught I was usually the first truck to load and the last truck to unload

 

In 1972 detroit diesel advertised the 12v71 as haveing 434 horsepower

 

Is that the same special k that used to run with Southern Shaker sometime? I saw your name at the bottom just wondering.