[BobBray]

It all depends what you are going to do with the truck. The 6.2L was originally designed to be a high economy engine with roughly the same power as an early 80's low compression 350 gas. Which it did, more or less. They were fairly reliable if not overloaded, started easy in cold weather if the glow plugs worked right, and did give excellent fuel economy. Like many GM engines, they got better as years went on. Continuous improvements were made, in particular better block and head castings to resist cracking. The 6.5L came out in 1992 with more improvements, including a factory turbocharger option with helped a lot with performance but didn't hurt the fuel economy. Unfortunately, in 1994 GM when to an electronically controlled injection pump that was not reliable with the new low-sulphur diesel fuels that were coming out. It took a few years but eventually even that problem was solved. The later 6.5L's had a better block (cast by Navistar) and those engines were quite good. Keep in mind the U.S. military has been using 6.2's and 6.5's for decades in CUCV's and Hummers. The 6.2/6.5's are a pretty good candidate for swapping if you don't need too much power. They have some significant advantages. First, the engine mounts are the same parts and are in exactly the same location as a 454. These engines have the common 'Chevy' bell housing bolt pattern, which makes it possible to use a very wide variety of both manual and automatic transmissions, including the Turbo 400 and 4L80E automatics. The engines weigh about the same as a big block Chevy, so usually front suspension modifications are not necessary. These engines are almost 'bolt-in' in many GM light trucks. Another big advantage compared to other diesels is that the 6.2/6.5's will turn to 3000 r.p.m.'s, so re-gearing isn't necessary. Many people swapping in Cummins 4BT's run into trouble when they find those engines will not turn faster than 1,900 r.p.m.'s and make a tremendous amount of noise and vibration when they get close to redline. Not much power either. Parts for the 6.2/6.5 are readily available and not expensive, and last time I checked new engines were still being manufactured. Banks still makes a turbo kit for the old 6.2L, because they still sell a few every year. These engines are popular with survivalists because of their reliability, use in military vehicles, lack of electronics, and compatibility with different fuels. They are not all bad. Oh, and one bit of advice from someone who has a running Toroflow: Don't consider one! There are almost NO parts available anymore.