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4cyl cummins turbo in my k5?

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obijuan

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my neigbors brother just visited with his 80 something stepside. good looks train passed this truck up but when he rolled down the street it sounded like a big ol tractor. it was the coolest thing i had ever heard. he had swapped in a 4 cyl cummins turbo deisel in there for the 350. it fit nicely in the engine bay, and looked great in there too.
i want this setup.
what truck did this come from and where can i start researching this? i only got to talk to him for a little while, hes also the proud owner of this incredible truck. i **** my pants when i saw this.
IMG_2734.jpg
 
Are you sure it was the 4BT 4 banger and not the 6BT inline 6? The 6BT is the one that usually sounds like an N14 with 5" exhaust, and the 4BT sounds like a Case 580 Backhoe.

Lots of people have swapped in both 4 and 6 cylinder CUmmins into early and late chevies. It's not that difficult.
 
well i have no idea! it looked like the 4bt i just saw pics of, but whats so good about the six? milage differences or power? which is a more desireable swap for a weekender mostly road driven truck like mine?
 
obijuan said:
well i have no idea! it looked like the 4bt i just saw pics of, but whats so good about the six? milage differences or power? which is a more desireable swap for a weekender mostly road driven truck like mine?
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Depends. The 6bt is the 5.9L Cummins turbo diesel that you will find in many 2500 and 3500 Dodge trucks. Reliable, powerful and they are all over the place.

The 4bt won't make as much power (duh :doah:) but is a good motor too. 4bt's are lighter and you can probably find one cheaper and easier.

If I were you, I would probably take the 4bt.

If you can find a 6bt for the right price :whistle:
 
4bt is literally identical to a 6bt, cept it has two cylinders hacked off the back. Just like a 4.3L V6 is identical to a 350, less two cylinders hacked off. They make good power, and get incredible mileage (reports of 30+ mpg).

Best part is that if you buy a donor breadvan with one, it already has the chevy engine mount adapters, and transmission adapters to bolt it straight in with literally zero modification to your suspension, firewall, or frame. The 4bt weighs about as much as a BBC, so you don't need any suspension / steering upgrades like when you run a big heavy 6bt

Of course, gotta change your fuel system over, but the wiring is extremely easy, just run a power wire to the injection pump, and your sensor wires to the engine (probally need adapters)

These engines are extremely beefy, and anything you can do to a 6bt, you can do to one of these 4bt, from pump mods to injectors. 300 horse is well within reach with just pump mods, injectors, and lotsa boost. Only problem with them is that they apparantly vibrate a fair bit when they run, and despite what you'd think, they are not particularly cheap...

I think a couple of guys have swapped them in on this forum, just search for 4bta and 4bt :)

If I could find one, I'd swap it into my truck in an instant! Oh, and as far as the exhaust note -- I saw one in a FedEx truck once, and if I didn't know any better, I'd have guessed it was a 6bt, they have a great exhaust note just like their bigger brothers :)
 
 
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wow thanks for the vids and great tech support. do these that come with the bellhousing and mount adapters come from the P30?
 
If I had the money to swap any engine into my K5 it would probably be a 4BT. I'd definitely like to learn more about this swap as well. I see that alot of these 4BTs on Ebay have a 4 sp. Ford transmission. Is that any good? I'm guessing you would be better off getting the right adapter and an SM465?

-Wes
 
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