ARB, your conversion also interested me, in that I currenly have a 90 caravan from down south that came with and still has a 2.5 turbo engine in it...plans include a manual trans (have everything already) and a built 2.5 running 72lb injectors and about 25psi of boost.
The consensus seems to be that a 1.6 would be adequate for my needs, especially after reading ARBs thread...I have access to a free 1.6 right now as a core (sitting in the back of a van with no oil pan on it, so definitely in need of a rebuild). I will make plans to acquire it and then start collecting bearings, oil pump, etc., and then see what the bores look like when I get the slugs out of it. I have several intercoolers from old TDs, as well as an SRT, turbo Sprint, talon and volvo, so that area is well covered. I also have a few garret t3s from TDs around, so I'd be looking for specs (AR, trim, etc) on a stock 1.6 turbo to compare with.
burnt_servo, you mention hopping the motor up to the 150hp range...what does that involve? Keep in mind that other than understanding the diesel process for combustion, and what I have seen on the web, I have no real experience with diesel mills...built 350s, and changed several major and minor components on turbo dodges and toyotas, but this is a foray into uncharted waters for me...one of the things I have seen is that there can be interference with the exhaust/turbo and the toyota starter; in that I will have a north/south orientation, would using weld els (
http://sdsefi.com/techheader.htm) to fab a header be of value? I notice that few have gone this route, likely due to the exhaust being on the back, although the TD crew has had a few people step up in this manner...
Any other opinions, or general discussion on this swap, especially in the areas of cold starting without always being able to plug in the truck would be appreciated/welcome.
Thanks