Performance or problems from 6.5L V8 chev owners

Sandy G
My son inlaw has a mate with a GUpatrol with that engine in it, shoehorned in! It does get warm sometimes AND it loves DIESEL FUEL. The vehicle goes well with 1 1/2 engines in it and has 33" tyres. I think he regrets buying it as he has found why the previous owner sold it. A normal 100 series turbo has sufficient power, you really don't need another 50% more engine to fill the engine bay. Working on the patrol is a DAYMARE, you wouldn't try to begin at night.
Good fun but at a cost.

I have a 98 105 5 speed with a 6.5 turbo [converted by Brunswicks] only used for towing our van 3180 kg [ weighbridge] Any way
normal driving about 12.5 l/100 , towing anywhere from 18 to 23 at around 95kph. As far as problems , I had a couple, had to put a much larger radiator in it around 3 grand , a decent lift pump and a cut down Duramax fan , seems to have solved the overheating. They are quite noisy inside the cab , I have had it scince 2013
and are reasonably happy with it , lots of torque , but will never win a lights race. Just did 17000 ks towning the van , didn't miss a beat . If I had my time over would I still do the conversion , I dont think so!

SG,

There has been some mention ofthis conversion on the forum, over the years, so I did a search for “Patrol V8 Conversions” on the forum, using the search bar at top of page and got 20 hits. Not all were about patrol conversions but there’s some good reading there for you.

Then members Roachie & Bilbo are 2 blokes that had patrol conversions. Bilbo had one done by Brunswick & gives plenty of info on the conversion. Threads 32178, 32851 & 73565 are some that may be of interest to you?

Happy searching,
Bob

I have the 6.5 chev with turbo and intercooler in my 100 series, and use it to tow the caravan (22 ft 6 inch)..
I did have problems during the warranty period including the harmonic balancer and these were all fixed but naturally, those problems happen at inconvenient times.
I’ve done around 125000 since it went in and I log the fuel use at refill time.
On my last trip up north, towing, I was getting between 19 litres per 100 up to 24 between Karratha and Carnarvon ( I have long range tanks) but there were some headwinds. I. Had an egt fitted and drive to that so I don’t overheat. Generally I tow in fourth and sit between 90 and 95 mostly, depending on conditions. I do have big driving lights on the front which restrict air flow through the radiator and I’ll remove them as I don’t drive at night in it anymore.
I am a member of a couple of 6.5 Facebook groups and seen posts that the owner of Brunswick has passed away so I don’t know what happens within the business now as a result. I do enjoy the towing as it just chugs along nicely.

not ment to be there, plenty of issues if not done right, a hdfte turbo 100 series motor would be a way better proposition, and not have any 1 off parts

Would I get an instal done again—— well at the time I needed the motor, I didn’t have a lot of info about their possible problems other than overheating and that hasn’t been an issue for me.
There are more mechanics who have worked on these nowadays so knowing what I know now, I’d have one of them do the instal and make sure that I was getting what I’d paid for. There have been complaints from people who report not getting new parts in their motors.
I also had the weight adjusted when I had the instal done, by another 450 kg as I was carrying a roof top dinghy and outboard. Yes I know it doesn’t change the gcm of the combined car and van.
New tow vehicles with the power you want are pricey whereas you could buy a good but cheap 100 series and drop a motor in and pull your van no probs, and not need a loan. I don’t have a handle on second hand prices for 200’s as a comparison.

My instal was done 2015.

Any chance of getting to drive it for a couple of days ?

Cheers
Jim