Measuring the engine height isn't going to necessarily give you the answer you want. Assuming that lowering the transmission is out of the question, the important measurement is the distance from the centerline of the /6 crankshaft to the lowest point in the hood structure (e.g. brace) in the area where the engine will be located. This does not account for the sump on the diesel engine which may be problematic anyway. They are usually deep and hold a lot of oil.
In a previous life, I provided parts support to a very large John Deere Industrial Equipment franchise. Our shops got a contact to convert a bunch of hole drillers (powered by Gen 1 Industrial Hemi) to a 6 cylinder Deere diesel. Besides the usual engine conversion stuff of adapters and all, we needed to fit return fuel lines to the tank and re-route exhaust. There also were fuel control systems that needed to be fabricated because the diesel fuel pump was located on the side of the block, where the carburetor was located on top.
The diesel requires a BIG starter. Ours were all 24 volt. We had done some rigs where we put 12 volt batteries in series, so the system could be jump started with a pickup if there was only a single battery failure in the system.
The diesel cranks out a bunch more heat than a gas motor. You'll need a lot more radiator. Finally, an industrial diesel engine weighs a bunch more than the /6.
The other issue for automotive conversion of the industrial diesel is rear end gearing. An industrial diesel typically won't rev past 2500 rpm. Those old 2.45:1 & 2.21:1 7¼ axles might have a good use after all.
Here are some specs on a current Deere diesel.
http://www.deere.com/en_US/rg/ESC/SpecSheet/Ind/4045HF285_D_S0_R0.html
This little guy has 115 hp but 354 ft/lbs torque. Ought to be more than enough to light a few tires.