5.7L Oldsmobile diesel

The Chevy Diesel has a sordid past, and a less than stellar reputation. Not all of it is deserved, but some of it, unfortunately is. It all started when a few GM technicians got together one night. My suspicion is that there was alcohol involved, and someone jokingly suggested they take the 350 gas engine, slap some diesel heads on it and call it the 5.7 Oldsmobile Diesel. Bad Idea. You have to build a diesel from the ground up.

The engine was plagued with bent rods and blown head gaskets. The engine just was not built to handle the compression of a diesel. This engine had a lot to do with the negative stigma that is associated with the diesel engine here in the USA. There is nothing wrong with the fuel injection system, Stanadyne, or running the 5.7 on Veggie oil, but the overall engine is not reliable. If someone gave me one, or it was a few hundred bucks and in good shape, I might buy one, but I would not go out looking for one. You would just be buying yourself headache. If you have one already though, it can be converted.

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