74- Project K20 "Cummins Swap"

[74 chev]

After running a propane setup on my SB350/465/203 combo for nearly 10 years now i have made the decision to swap in a 1st gen CTD NV4500 and a 32 spline 205. I dont know a lot about diesels but i will be learning along the way and doing all the work myself with the help of friends.

My plans are to put around 350HP and 600+TQ to the rear wheels and still maintain a reliable engine with decent fuel economy.

I grew up in Washington state and originally built the truck for mud and some minor trail use (I was also in high school and college up there and had to rely on it as my DD)

That is no longer the case J and I have since moved to California where the Rubicon is now my new stomping grounds. The drive train swap will be the first phase of the trucks transformation in which I plan on completing this summer and phase two will include a D60 4-linked with coil overs lots of tubing and 46” claws that I plan on completing in 2012.


Here are a few pics of the 6BT I picked up on Sunday. Only 115K on the odometer when pulled

 

[tRustyK5]

Looks like "Moab dust" all over that engine...

Rene

 

[74 chev]

Looks like "Moab dust" all over that engine...

Rene

It does but it's actually just overspray.

 

[74 chev]

Well i went ahead and pulled the motor, transmission and transfer case along with the front clip.

I started cleaning up the frame and undercarriage today and spent a lot of time grinding off rivets to get rid of all the stock brackets i will no longer need.

I plan on getting the underside and frame all cleaned up so i can box the frame in and use some DIY bedliner product on the fire wall and underside of the body. I'll be using POR 15 on the frame when i am finished boxing and welding on it.

I am looking for a NV4500 at the moment and a 32 spline 205 to finish gathering the drive train components. Finding a used NV4500 is not proving to be an easy task! I may have to fork out the cash for a reman unit if i can't get one by next month.

I also need to build my own engine stand for this motor so i can start tearing into it.

Here's some pics of the progress of my true "Driveway/Street Build"

 

[kdoske]

Looks really good. I wish I had a nice rig to start with like yours for my 4BT swap. I can't believe you can work on your car on the side street like that. Over here If I tried that my car would be towed in a day or two. I only mention it because I don't have a drive way and i actually am doing my build in the back yard. Doing it on my side street would sure make things easier

 

[74 chev]

Looks really good. I wish I had a nice rig to start with like yours for my 4BT swap. I can't believe you can work on your car on the side street like that. Over here If I tried that my car would be towed in a day or two. I only mention it because I don't have a drive way and i actually am doing my build in the back yard. Doing it on my side street would sure make things easier

Thanks,

Yours is looking good too. My buddy is swaping a 4BT into his CJ5 right now too. Trust me though the day i bought this truck 10 years ago it was in pretty bad shape, i have been working on this thing for a long time to get it to this point so hopefully i will be able to finish it fort the most part in the next two years.

 

[rjfguitar]

My plans are to put around 350HP and 600+TQ

Just an FYI, if you get the motor up there in the 350HP range, it will have more like 800ft lbs. It's not real easy to get the older VE motor up there past the 300HP range, but can be done. I have the same engine as yours on a stand in my shop. Good motor, especially if it's a later intercooled version.

 

[74 chev]

Just an FYI, if you get the motor up there in the 350HP range, it will have more like 800ft lbs. It's not real easy to get the older VE motor up there past the 300HP range, but can be done. I have the same engine as yours on a stand in my shop. Good motor, especially if it's a later intercooled version.

Thanks for the heads up. Mine is the non intercooled model but i am going to intercool it. I know they don't make power as easily as a P Pumped motor but i have been doing a lot of reading on cumminsforum.com and i think i may push for 400rwhp and around 1000ftlbs at the wheels with a single turbo.

So far i know i will need

S300 Turbo
Head studs
Denny T fuel pin
VE pump mods
3200RPM governer spring
60lb valve springs

This should put me in the 350-400 range but we'll see when i get there

 

[rjfguitar]

I just thought you might want to know on the torque in case that makes any differences for what to use through the rest of the drivetrain.

I'm not real familiar with the VE motor, but I remember when I was looking into it for my motor that Bully Dog also made a fuel pin worth about 40HP. I plan to get mine around 250HP, but mine is going into a piece of custom farm equipment.

 

[jt512]

Awesome more cummins swaps to get me remotivated on mine , looks good so far, check out the engine stand that "sixb" used or the one I used in my thread, I copied his, works like a champ. Keep up the good work
What engine mount set up are you using?

 

[74 chev]

Awesome more cummins swaps to get me remotivated on mine , looks good so far, check out the engine stand that "sixb" used or the one I used in my thread, I copied his, works like a champ. Keep up the good work
What engine mount set up are you using?

Thanks i was looking at your build the other day, looks like we are going for close to the same power numbers! You got the P pump though so it should be pretty easy to get that out of yours. I wanted the P pump 12V but found a deal to good to pass up on the 1st gen motor so i went with it.

I saw your stand too im def going to copy that design for mine just need to pick up some steel for it.

I haven't decided if i am going to build my own yet or just buy the kit and go with that. The kit seems nice as there wont be many questions but i'am just not sure how much freedom it's going to give me to place the motor where i want in the frame rails. Have you decided on yours yet?

 

[jt512]

If you want any measurement on the stand set up let me know, mine works great overall but I would change a few things if I built another one.

I am in the process of beefing up the frame on mine, I had redone the frame when I was planning on staying with the original BB but I have doubts to how well it would handle 1000+ ft lbs of torque . I am running a crossmember built by a guy dcubb who used to be here , not sure if he still builds them or not. Im using "crewcab59"s engine mounts, (tennesee diesel conversions), very beefy, not cheap , but strong. There is a build I found using the same basic combo as I am and it placed the engine really nicely in the engine compartment . He used a crossmember by the same fabricator as I did, of course mine was originally for a gas engine, so I had to cut it up and redesign the center section.

 

[74 chev]

If you want any measurement on the stand set up let me know, mine works great overall but I would change a few things if I built another one.

I am in the process of beefing up the frame on mine, I had redone the frame when I was planning on staying with the original BB but I have doubts to how well it would handle 1000+ ft lbs of torque . I am running a crossmember built by a guy dcubb who used to be here , not sure if he still builds them or not. Im using "crewcab59"s engine mounts, (tennesee diesel conversions), very beefy, not cheap , but strong. There is a build I found using the same basic combo as I am and it placed the engine really nicely in the engine compartment . He used a crossmember by the same fabricator as I did, of course mine was originally for a gas engine, so I had to cut it up and redesign the center section.

Ya those measurements for your stand would help a lot. I hoping to buy some steel for next weekend to get started on it.

I need to make a bending table too for my brand new JD2 bender with the Hydro option!

 

[jt512]

I'll break out the measuring tape tomorrow for you, and I will tell you what I would change if I built another one. I used 2x3 3/16 tube on mine, I think I used around 16' IIRC.

 

[74 chev]

Made a little progress this weekend. My buddy and i built a bender stand for the JD2 bender i bought a month or so ago. Still need to add a little gusseting to it and then add some casters to be able to move it around. Looks like we may need to widen the platform a little on the side that the die hangs off of as well. We have some tubing coming tomorrow so maybe next weekend we will get to make some trial bends!

Got my 2nd gen Intercooler too with all the piping and clamps. Spent some time cleaning all of it up and repainting the piping.

I think i am going to go with the Avalanche Engineering engine crossmember as it looks real well made and the price is right. I will probably order it this week.

I still haven't built the engine stand yet, hopefully i'll get that done next weekend as well so i can get the motor all cleaned up and start getting it ready to throw in.

Bought me a (new to me) Welder yesterday. I got a great deal on it, it's a Miller 250X with a full bottle of Argon some extra tips a cover and a couple of spools of wire. Its like new with only about 8hrs of welding on it.

 

[74 chev]

Some more pics

 

[74 chev]

Since a normal engine stand does not work to support a Cummins i had to build my own. So i picked up some steel this weekend along with a new Dewalt chop saw and got at it.

I pretty much just tried to copy jt512's design as best i could from the pics in his thread.

It turned out pretty well but there are of course a couple things i would do differently if i had to do it again, overall though it will work great for what i need it for.

 

[74 chev]

Also got some Cummins "Beige" motor paint. Even though it doesn't match anything on the truck i kind of like the look of motors with this color.

 

[jt512]

The stand looks great , I like your rectangle bottom better then my square base, I never bothered to think about the width of my base in relation to the width of my engine crane legs . That is my only real gripe about mine.

 

[74 chev]

Thanks

Yeah i got lucky and when i bought the casters they sat up a little higher than i had thought they would but it helped because the engine hoist legs just slid right under it so that i could just approach it from the side.