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cummins in a chevy

C

chevy4x4boy

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hey guys,
how hard would it be to put a cummings diesel motor in a 78 chevy 1 ton truck??? i've heard of it done before but i was wonderin if there was a kit or something to ease my pain of putting it in?? these motors are really something and thought that it would be really trick if this were to happen. any feedback will be appreciated!!!
 
Post this in the Diesel page and do a search there too..... It's been talked about a thousand times! /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
It's not too terrible (not too easy either). Most of it is pretty straightforward. I searched aroud quite a bit and didn't find a kit to put one in a Chev. The biggest issue you will need to deal with is the Cummins with fan and fan clutch is too long for the engine bay. You can make it fit by using electric fans, but in AZ, pulling loaded , on a hill, it WILL heat up. I am putting a 5.9L 6BT in a '72 Suburban, and I am going to section a chunk out of the core support and move it forward 2.5". I have the room to do this and still have room for the intercooler. I am not sure if this is possible on a later model such as yours. Another issue you will run into is keeping the motor low enough. I was told that I will need a body lift (Iwon't do this), but if my measurements are correct, I can shrink/modify/reinforce the forward x-member (the one your proportioning valve is mounted to) and mount the motor a bit lower in the chassis (the balancer will hit this by my measurements). You may have to make your own engine x-member. I made a new one just to not have to deal with modifying the factory unit. If you shop around, you can find appropriate mounting devices to mount your GM alternator on the Cummins. Your hydroboost will hook up to the Saginaw pump on a Cummins from a Dodge. The big-ass four core radiator that you probably have already should keep the Cummins cool if it is in good condition (and providing you use the belt driven fan/clutch). Intercooler plumbing is going to be a custom affair. A good exhaust shop should be able to help with this if you need assistance. For ease of servicability I would recommend going with a complete Cummins/trans from a Dodge to keep things "simple /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif". The preferred units are the 94-97 Cummins out of a Dodge because they have a wastegated turbo housing and the Bosch P7100 injection pump.
That is about all I can think of now, but it is rather late. If I think of anyting else I will post back. Feel free to ask away, any questions you might have. I haven't actually installed the motor yet, but hopefully real soon.
Good Luck,
Nick
I will try to forward some links to you next week from my 'puter at work about this conversion.
 
i read about this in either FourWheeler or 4x4 & Offroad magazine, and there was a company that does this swap. The only thing is, is that it was about $9000 for the engine and swap. If I remember where I saw it, or find it again reading a back issue, I'll post up on it, or you could write to one of the magazines..
 
I have heard of a company also that does this. I was thinking it was about 10K, but I just the difference is just taxes. LOL
 
Like Batmanjr said if you go on the GM diesel forum in this site, you will find more info, like GM offered the 4bt cummins in the P30 step vans in the early years before they had their own diesel. It came behind a 465 tranny so if you look hard enough you might find one, both the 4bt and 6bt have the same bolt pattern, or so I heard.
I personnaly have a Perkins 5.9 turbo, which is physically the same size and it's bolted to my 465 with what looks like a stock cast iron belhousing, no idea what it came from and if it was modified or not.
I did have to put electric fans because the engine is 1.5" from the radiator.
I bought the truck with the engine in it, and I just finished up some minor details.
The cross member where the brake prportionning valve mounts is cut down to fit the engine, and the stock engine cradle was removed and they fabbed their own.
I will be switching to another frame and body soon and my plans include moving everything (engine tranny and body) back a couple of inches to clear the cross member (I din't like weakening the frame ) and gives me clearance for the axle from the oil pan (they modified, notched the pan to fit).
 
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