The time, effort and expense people will go through for certain projects...I don't understand but more power to them.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/655102639761734/?

"You know what's wrong with this car? It's not slow enough. I know how to fix that."

Wonder if that's a case of "idle hands", or "hey, we have this laying around"...
Or maybe they just needed to slow the car down from its hairy Slant-6 days

There was a period of time when there were lots of diesel swaps into cars. The reason was gas prices vs diesel fuel cost.

I think this is probably the case; we have this engine and this might be fun. And also there is the expensive going through so many rear tires as you mentioned

I kind of like it. Might be a economical cheap daily driver.

I have to admit I kind of am intrigued by it too. I'd never do the swap myself but it's kind of cool.

Moparts Gold right there.

Having owned a Dodge 4wd (1977?) with the Mitsu “forklift” diesel I chuckle.

My employees hated that pickup because it barely crawled up our steep gravel road hills.
They beat up and mistreated it hoping to kill it.
I gave in and auctioned it off, brought $1100.

Thing is, I continued to see that black Dodge diesel running on local roads for at least 15 more years.

To replace it I bought from Memphis Equipment a refurbished US Army 4x4 pickup.
Super stiff arched leaf spring packs.
Would jar the fillings out of your teeth.
Employees complained about that too.

One day I noticed that 3 leafs had disappeared at each corner.....

Wait, is that a turbo-Diesel in there? While never a swap for Car Craft, magazines like Popular Mechanics and the like often had articles and how-tos on swaps to Diesel engines and electric motors during the 'gas crunch' years.

As I have written before,
I would like to swap a Deutz air cooled diesel into a mini pickup truck.

Deutz air cooled diesel powered ‘trash pumps” really impressed me.
Easy start in freezing weather, durable.

I understand in Europe there were Deutz powered farm tractors.

It might be a “death wish” but a air cooled Deutz diesel powered Kitfox STOL airplane might be a better fate than years of Dementia.

I have read about Soviet WW-II era diesel engine bomber airplanes.

I have never ever seen a more complicated vacuum system than what some of those Mercedes 300D cars had as standard equipment, even though turbo diesels do not generate a vacuum like gasoline engined autos do.