On one hand they are very reliable and will bolt up to nearly any transmission, hydraulic pump, generator, water pump etc. under the sun. On the other hand they are stupid loud (again stupid loud) and didn't really put out the power you'd expect from a supercharged/turbocharged diesel. I've seen a few swapped into farm trucks. Rumor has it you could get the 4-53 as a very rare option in Dodges and GMC pickups sometime during the 60's but I've never been able to confirm it. I did have a scan of an advertisement for the Dodge--which I can't find to save my life :-\ EDIT: My bad it was a Perkins diesel available in the 60's Dodge pickups not the Detroit Diesel.
The first engine I ever rebuilt was a 3-53. Brings back memories---going from a crank lying on a workbench to WOT on the dyno was a pretty cool experience for a high school student I must say.
24V-71 anybody?!
[video=youtube;YqkY8GB9VW8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqkY8GB9VW8[/video]