What an awesome thread!!!!!!! I was looking at replacing my 465 with a cummings but after reading this thread I really can see how the same money will get me a remanufactured engine with more horsepower and better reliability and keep the stock appearance. If I can get 40 more horsepower and not have to do this again for a while it's win win.
I'm going out on a limb a bit here but I
think you can probably take any of the earlier LDT engines and with the appropriate parts being swapped for the late LDS-1 and -2 engine parts you can get up to the 215+ hp level without too much worry as long as you're not expecting the engine to rev much above stock. If you rebuild and balance the rotating assembly, blueprint the engine, etc etc pretty much as you would approach hotrodding a stock small block or similar engine you can increase durability. Will you have an engine as durable as the Cummins 6BT? I don't believe so. Will it rev as high so you drive the truck faster on highway? I don't believe so. Will it be as durable as a Cummins 6BT at the same level of power output? Not a chance.
But if you want to stay original and keep the MF capability then you can enhance the 465 to modestly higher power levels as long as you're not expecting much in the way of higher rpm. By the time the 215hp LDS-2 engine was being installed Continental had already pushed the engine to substantially higher power output and the engine was never known as being extremely durable -- it wasn't built for that. It was built to burn ANYTHING in the path of an advancing military force under combat conditions.
Yeah, I agree about the thread -- very interesting!