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Cummins Turbodiesel in a Chevy pickup?


zeitgeist57

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There's one on ebay...

 

Does anyone know of a Cummins conversion into another pickup instead of a Dodge Ram? I love my 3/4 ton Chevy pickup, but I also am a big diesel head and would love to do this conversion if it's realtively feasible for a shadetree mechanic with air tools and a MIG welder.

 

Thanks! smile.gif

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is your truck 2 wheel or 4 wheel? 2 wheel trucks are cake very easy to do. as far as 4x4 they are a little more involved but they are still pretty easy. i know of a few chevys that run around the perry county area that have 5.9 cummins in them. thanks to help from enterprise truck repair hellbound here on the board should know who i am talking about
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Thanks, Rolla!

 

It's 2WD. I just want massive amounts of power for decent performance, low weight and simplicity of 2WD for less parasitic power loss and better fuel economy, more torque for towing and hauling, and better all-around longevity from the truck itself.

 

Does hellbound check the board often?

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I don't want to even imagine how much a Cummins motor/harness and tranny would cost. It would make the most sense to either get rid of that truck for a Dodge that already has a Cummins, or swapping in an LT1, which is what I personally would do with the truck you've already got.
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uh you can get a complete 5.9 for 1500.00 to 3000.00. find a dodge w/diesel in good shape for that. besides i have some plans of doing the same thing in my 79 f-350 4x4. the cummins isnt much heaver than a big block so the frame isnt a big deal.

plus there is a lot of people that like the 5,9 cummins diesel(which dodge does not built they buy from cummins)but dont care for dodge trucks, including myself

food for thought 500ftlb 280hp and 25-30 mpg sounds good to me plus 500k is no sweat for a diesel ( the # are just a general figure not actual but they are close)

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  • 2 weeks later...
my buddy just had his chevy duallie sent out too indiana i think to put a cummins in. the big thing is dont put a dodge automatic behind it, they couldnt build a heavy truck automatic to save their life. If i were you i'd go more for the Duramax/Allison Combo
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Originally posted by Ridenred27:

uh you can get a complete 5.9 for 1500.00 to 3000.00. find a dodge w/diesel in good shape for that. besides i have some plans of doing the same thing in my 79 f-350 4x4. the cummins isnt much heaver than a big block so the frame isnt a big deal.

plus there is a lot of people that like the 5,9 cummins diesel(which dodge does not built they buy from cummins)but dont care for dodge trucks, including myself

food for thought 500ftlb 280hp and 25-30 mpg sounds good to me plus 500k is no sweat for a diesel ( the # are just a general figure not actual but they are close)

Ok you have a F350 which is a HD truck. He has a 1500 which is a light duty truck, not made to haul 15000LBS.
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Guest buckeyefarmboy
Originally posted by copperhead:

I don't want to even imagine how much a Cummins motor/harness and tranny would cost. It would make the most sense to either get rid of that truck for a Dodge that already has a Cummins, or swapping in an LT1, which is what I personally would do with the truck you've already got.

mike you think to much in to things. the harness would be insanley simple to take care of as long as he used a 1989-1998.5 12 valve engine. using a 24 valve with the vp44e pump would not be as simple and not for the faint of heart or wallet
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Guest buckeyefarmboy
The engine to use is one out of a 1994-1998.5 these were the mechanical injection engined with the bosch p7100 pumps by far one of the baddest diesel injection of all time. These engines have east 7-800 HP potential with a minimum of work and $$$ compared to any v8. the transmision choices are kind of thin, the most obvious is the dodge 47re don't let these guys fool you, that can be made in to an excelent tranny very simply with a few mods (as a point of intrest there are no stock auto tranny's that can hold up to a mildly modded b5.9 not even the allison it will start to slip the over drive bands on a mildly chipped dura max) the nesceray modds to the dodge trany are as follows valve body, converter (sun coast or ats), kevlar clutches and bands, and various internal mods to attain higher line pressure. the other choices are a modded th400 kits are available to complete the conversion. If you like to shift for your self an NV4500 5-speed or NV5600 6-speed the 5600 with a short shift kit would be an awsome setup in a 2wd but your best bet is a built 47re auto for a combination of mileage and performance, if you do not plan on power above stock the 47 will hold up fine in a conservately driven 2wd. butifperformance is in the future get ready for a 4link. diesel trucks are in the low 8-second range you know. :D ipersonally know several people with b5.9 engines running 1000+ HP through that tranny on the pulling track (the ultimate tranny tourture chamber)
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Ok you have a F350 which is a HD truck. He has a 1500 which is a light duty truck, not made to haul 15000LBS.

 

 

what is your point? he asked about the swap. i gave him my opinion and that i was thinking about the same swap in my truck. i mean if it is good in my heavy truck why wouldnt it be better in a lighter truck. the diesel would last forever in a light truck application and would get better fuel milage.

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My point is that IT IS A LIGHT DUTY TRUCK. There is a reason why ONE has to buy a 250/2500, or 350/3500 to get the DIESEL.

 

 

IMO its a pointless swap because it won't allow him to haul anymore as the frame isn't up to the task.

 

Anymore questions? Or did it sink in that time that there is a difference between a light duty and heavy duty truck?

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Originally posted by Zeitgeist:

There's one on ebay...

 

Does anyone know of a Cummins conversion into another pickup instead of a Dodge Ram? I love my 3/4 ton Chevy pickup, but I also am a big diesel head and would love to do this conversion if it's realtively feasible for a shadetree mechanic with air tools and a MIG welder.

 

Thanks! smile.gif

what part of 3/4 ton did you not get the frame is up to the task what does e 2500 series dodge mean ask around that is a 3/4 ton and the 3500 is a one ton. chevy is c-20 3/4 ton and c-30 is one ton

 

so did it sink in on your end 2500=3/4 ton cummins 2500 cummins c-20 what is the diffrence graemlins/wtf.gif

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I know that a 2500/250 and a 3500/350 are 3/4 ton and ton truck. I was speaking of the 1500/150 which are half ton trucks and not up to the task of hauling heavy loads like the 3/4 ton, and ton trucks.

 

Sorry for the banter I did not know the heavy half was a heavy duty chassis.....back to my hole. :(

 

Edit:

 

If it was a half ton truck I still think it would not be advisable to put the diesel in there. If they were meant to come with it they would. I'd think the tq would rip the chassis apart.

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Guest buckeyefarmboy
What year is the rig? If it is a 1973-1988 chevy the frames between the 3/4 and 1/2 ton trucks are the same. if you doubt my 79 will be at mr. geeros tonight. the only difference in those years was the springs and axles. bieing a 2wd truck the front coils will have to be replaced and i would recomend a 14 bolt or a dana 70-80 rear axle the dana 60 would be marginal but would be a nother option.
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farmboy you are very right about the frames on the chevys. what is the problem with this swap i mean i have a 429 in my truck it was never offered with a big block (the 4x4's were not offered with a big block 2x4 was) no frame ripping here and my 429 was rated at 370hp and 470 or so tq so i have near the same #'s as the 12valve cummins. let me ask you what is the diffrence in this swap to some one with a b18c1 swap in a civic or a huge turbo on a supra or a big inch small block in a mustang all of these cars have thin sheet metal frames. even if it was a weany s-10 that he wanted a cummins in at least they have a full frame that you can use a tape measure to see how thick it is.

by the way call up banks and tell them that there land speed 5.9 cummins dodge dakota needs to have a bigger frame so the tq dosent rip it apart.

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Guest buckeyefarmboy
precisely ridenred. the only frame concerns on this particular truck is that the dry weight of the cummins engine is about 1250 LBS. :eek: while the dry weight of a full dress big block chebby or even a 6.2-6.5 gm diesel is about 700. now do you all see the problem. those trucks had channel frames not fully boxed frames like the new heavy dutys of all the big three. If one was to take on this swap in one of these trucks i would strongly recomend boxing the frame in front of the firewall and behind the cab or optimally tip to tip. without this precaution the 2x4 frame would not hold up to the added weight of the king of light duty diesels.
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Guest buckeyefarmboy
another option for this swap and the route i would personally take is. the dodge cummins baby brother the cummins B3.9. quite an easy engine to fin these were quite plentifull in some international tractors and were widly used in grumman and other panel vans. with this engint the approximate power of a mildly warmed over 5.9 could be achieved with an engine that has only about the weight of a big block. and this bieng a small displacement diesel would get exceptional fuel mileage when geared correctly and driven with some restraint, while still having the power to tow haul and spank big blocks. if you have any more questions about any cummins, general truck, or transmission options feel free to e-mail me at buckeyefarmboy2003@yahoo.com
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Originally posted by 89Z24:

my buddy just had his chevy duallie sent out too indiana i think to put a cummins in. the big thing is dont put a dodge automatic behind it, they couldnt build a heavy truck automatic to save their life. If i were you i'd go more for the Duramax/Allison Combo

Duramax's are crap.

 

Cummins>Powerstroke> dog poop > duramax

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Just a little FYI since you guys are battling over this one smile.gif :

 

My '85 is a "Heavy Half" (1/2t 2WD with 3/4t springs). When I got it, I bought 1100lb diesel front coil springs and wedged them in. They fit, and a tree could fall on the front of my rig without any sagging. The driver's side rear spring is bent at the forward eyelet, so it sits cockeyed in the rear. It still hauled an entire '51 Ford pickup parted out (including the tranny, bed, and flathead motor) and STILL towed a tandem axle U-Haul trailer with the bare rolling chassis and cab sitting on top.

 

It's a great truck. I'm going to piece it out to paint it in the coming weeks, and after a trip out to Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago to Ikea (it came back again with a sectional sofa, king and queen mattresses and two bed sets, and a couple easy chairs ratcheted down in the bed) the carbureator has been acting funny.

 

If this ever happened, I would want a manual transmission behind the engine.

 

Farmboy, I like the idea of the 3.9L Cummins. I'll email you for more info (what it takes to swap, where I can source the engine/transmission).

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