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my 1998 cushman truckster is powered by a 850cc Daihatsu

Discussion in 'Performance' started by Dan, Sep 21, 2008.

  1. Dan

    Dan Member

    I made a new discovery last week at work. while replacing a clutch in an older cushman "turf truckster" utility vehicle. i noticed a Daihatsu "D" cast in to the top of the motor and after looking through all of the indstrial governors and accesories, i saw a very familiar looking engine in there... I went straight to the specs in the manual and it is actually a 850cc 3cyl carbureted daihatsu motor. its called a 327 option in the manual. (3cyl-27hp) its only rated at about 3000 rpm though. I locked down the rpm governing slides and took it for a drive... It snapped up over 6000 rpms with impressive power and probably a little more rpm's to spare. I know they changed engines a few times after they abandoned the "OMC lincoln" motors and am not sure how long they stuck with the daihatsu but thought it was worth mentioning here. I used to be involved in the golf/turf forums and saw cushmans for sale or trade often. the engines should be in decent shape if they were held back in the 3000rpm range for pto driven acessories. Most were dedicated trucks for spraying or some other low hours of operation task. I wonder how it would perform in a mini concidering the extra few hundred cc's???
     
  2. Mighty Milt

    Mighty Milt Active Member

    i wonder where they get the 27HP rating from... is it the governed HP? or the 6000rpm HP? because a stock 660cc is rated at 45HP 45 ft lbs torque.
     
  3. Acerguy

    Acerguy Moderator Staff Member

    Interesting. I just emailed someone on the local Craigslist that had a Cushman HAULster. Trying to find out more info.
     
  4. Mini4WD

    Mini4WD Member

    I just sold a 1992 Cushman Haulster 1 Ton that had the 22hp OMC engine in it. From all the forums that I have come across, the 27HP engine is used but is not a very common engine in most Cushman Trucksters or Haulsters. There is a Yahoo Group site that is strictly dedicated to Cushman Trucks that has a ton of information if anyone is even thinking of an engine swap. Only thing is, that a Cushman in good shape with a good engine will usually sit you back a few dollars. I got $1900 for mine and it was with only the 22hp OMC engine.


    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2008
  5. larryn2o

    larryn2o Member

    power

    don't mean to hijack , but can you post something that shows the horse power of this motor?
     
  6. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

  7. greg0187

    greg0187 Moderator Staff Member

  8. Dan

    Dan Member

    It's hp rating is at the governed rpm's.(3600rpm) someone just put a 660 on a dyno... i wonder what the power curve showed at 3600?

    I 've had many of the old trucksters over the years at golfcourses and all of them had the omc-lincoln motors except these. when they wore out, we repowered them with bigger v-twins from briggs. they were a lot of fun with the conversions and custom exhaust. Sounded like a rowdy road bike...
     
  9. Dan

    Dan Member

    I just looked at the performance curves that are posted in the links above and it looks like they are all in the same vicinity. probably not a significant gain in performance. maybe a couple of hp or ft#'s of torque. anyways, i thought it was interesting to see the Daihatsu stuffed in to something bred from good ol lincoln nebraska.
     
  10. Timetripper

    Timetripper Moderator

    According to the link given @ diahatsu thats 26kw not 26 hp :rolleyes:
    Also just for reference that was intermitant rating and 26 kw = 34.87 hp
    Also the quoted torque of 65nm = 47.94 lb/ft @ 2800rpm

    My truck on the dyno sheet had max hp of 69.6 @ 7500 but it does not give a hp for lower
    rpm but it does give a average hp for the run which is 46.8 hp FWIW
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2008
  11. larryn2o

    larryn2o Member

    power

    I've seen a few sites list it as 31 horsepower . we forget that it's in KW and not HP. one site did say that the Midget motor was somewhat de-tuned. mine didn't have a catalytic converter in the factory exhaust . not sure if others came this way in 1996?
     
  12. Dan

    Dan Member

    heres the page from the manual that i found for the daihatsu 850 motor.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. larryn2o

    larryn2o Member

    looking at the high cranking compression and low peak RPM , i'd say that it has a really small cam. easy enough to fix!
     
  14. oldsnowman

    oldsnowman Member

    hey dan...have you ever come across any info on the engine that is in my truck the 660cc 12 valve:frustration:, all the info i ever see is a 6 valve engine:confused:
     
  15. Dan

    Dan Member

    Nope, can't say that i have. If I do, it will definately show up here though.
     
  16. oldsnowman

    oldsnowman Member

    thanks...are all the mitsu's in the US 6 valve engine?
     
  17. Dan

    Dan Member

    All of them that i have seen are just 6 valve so far.
     
  18. oldsnowman

    oldsnowman Member

    sweet :D i got a race truck :D just kidding. my truck does have a lot of power and is pretty fast :)
     
  19. Dan

    Dan Member

    I want a race truck...I've been adding racing stickers to mine since i got it and i think the "MSD" sticker really helped a lot. I gained about 4000rpm's and 40 mph.:D I think i'll be adding the off-road stickers next...see if i gain any travel in the suspension.. look out baja 1000!!!:eek:
     
  20. oldsnowman

    oldsnowman Member

    i think the OFF-ROAD or BAJA stickers will really help when your in the sand:D:D
    back in the day we would always say "if the part comes with a sticker its got to be good" :D:cool:
     
  21. Turfspray

    Turfspray New Member

    The Daihatsu engine used in the Cushman was a 47 hp at 7500rpm. It was restricted in two ways. The governor controlled the speed. It was a Cushman exclusive called a ground speed governor. It was accurate + or - 25 rpm. It kept the speed accurate for spraying, top dressing, etc. The truckster used models also had a small resticter bracket on the trottle arm that kept the carburator from opening no more than one third. This was because the rest of the drive train was only good for about thirty HP. I was in the first service school in Lincoln NE when it was introduced. I just purchased a 93 turf truckster with that engine Saturday. It is different in important ways from the On road truck and the off road truck imported in the same era. Breater, carb, intake differences make it very difficult if not practical to swap parts. The 327 was 3 cylinder 27 hp at 3600 rpm.
     
  22. mikewinship

    mikewinship New Member

    I have a 327 and I cant find out what fluid goes in the transmission as mine is a 3 speed standard trany.
     
  23. Turfspray

    Turfspray New Member

    Old thread but it seems to work, EP 80-90 in the modern fluid groups. Nothing special. turfspray@aol.com if you have other questions or need some parts. I have 4 of these for spares.
     
  24. GaryC

    GaryC New Member

    Just picked up a Cushman Police truckster, it has the 3 cyl engine, I have no manuals. I was wondering where to locate the engine serial numbers, for parts ordering. I may be needing a water pump, or a thermostat. It hasn't run in over a year, the previous owner said it was overheating when he last used it. I just ordered a "hijet" rebuild kit off eBay, hope that'll get it running. ( it would only run with my hand over the carb intake) Gary C
     
  25. fmartin_gila

    fmartin_gila Well-Known Member

    Don't know if this is what you have but worth a shot. Go to Jacobsen website. They have (downloadable) Parts list and engine service manual for the Suzuki K6A engine used in their Cushman Truckster. If you do determine that you have the K6A engine, parts are available at a number of sites. This may be for a later unit than what you have.
    Fred
     
  26. GaryC

    GaryC New Member

    I actually bought manuals on-line from "all things mechanical. The thumb drive didn't work for the model I needed, I emailed them, they sent a downloadable file to my email. I printed them off today, used three black print cartridges, but now I have two paper manuals to read and reference. I haven't looked through it yet, but it looks like the service manual covers both the Susuki and the Diahatsu engine. Always great to have reference material
     
    fmartin_gila likes this.

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