Hi guys,
Need info on fitting a cummins into a 69-71 dodge 1/2 ton short bed. It's my dream truck that I'll build when I leave the Army. So two years from now I hope to have enough info to do the swap or have it done.
Any shops out there with this kind of background? Companies that sell kits to fit it in? Internet will allow me to buy the parts before I leave overseas. Thanks, Jim.

 

I would think you could get the little four cylinder Cummins to fit under the hood real well but you don't have enough truck there for the six.

 

there's a dude building a little red clone with a cummins, but it's a tube chassis full on deal

 

Now that would be awsome. Not cheap, but awsome.

 

I think it's pretty close to being done, IIRC its a two-in-series turbo deal, like a pulling tractor would run

 

1970 dodges are a neat looking truck but that 1/2 ton leaf sprung front axle will not support the Cummins. Not just the springs, but the front axle is too light. It will be a pig for handling too with the short wb and all that weight on the front end. measure a 72-93 truck from rad support to firewall, and inner fender to inner fender. I think width will be okay, but length will be critical. I am thinking you will be fabbing a lot of parts. I am not aware of anyone making the parts for this swap (not enough early trucks to make it commercially viable. But if you still wanna go ahead and do it, have at it man. It will end up a unique and very interesting project truck.

 

Thanks guys, this is the kind of info I need from people who know. What is the little 4 cyc cummins and what trucks did it come in. I know the 4 cyc used in gen sets, as power generation is what I do in the army. Finding parts is very important to me, as I do live on a budget. We don't join for the money.

 

Check this out.

http://www.cummins.com/na/pages/en/p...re/aseries.cfm

 

except for the work on rad core support it is a relatively easy swap in an 82 half ton . just did it this summer. will even have air and after cooler

 

Took me a while to find it again, but I knew I'd seen something helpful on the internet. This is a 1 ton chassis, but getting the motor to fit in the engine bay is the same on a 1/2 ton. My suggestion would be to get a 3/4 or 1 ton chassis to scavenge suspension from. I think it'll be a fun project and a blast to drive.

 

I love this kind of project . . .

Firstly, though, I would strongly caution against using a 4 cylindar direct injection engine. If you aren't disappointed by lack of power, you will be disappointed by the vibration. Fours do not run nearly as smoothly as sixes (or eights). And that same vibration is harder on the drivetrain too.

Secondly, the answer is always that it will fit, it just depends on how much you are willing to spend.

As far as parts/fabrication, I would want to swap in a complete engine & transmission assembly, which means fabricating frame brackets to fit the mounts on the new engine and x-mission. The engine mounts seem to line up with big-block mounts, so that might even be a freebie, and the transmission will bolt to a flat pad, so even if you have to add a crossmember, it shouldn't be too hard.

As was mentioned alreay, if you want an aftercooler, it might be hard to fabricate a radiator support. The aftercooler is optional, though, depending on your HP requirements. I am not sure if you will need additional tunnel clearance, and those modifications can be a real pain, but if you are lucky, like the motorhome in wannadiesel's link, you can find the sheetmetal that you need without making it.

The last problem is front suspension. I don't know enough about the 2WD late 60's dodges to speak to that, but you can always get custom springs to support the load, and Wannadiesel is right about looking at 3/4 and 1 ton trucks as donors for axles & parts. Unless you plan on abusing the truck, pretty much any 3/4 ton set-up should work for you.

I ignored wiring, because you really don't need any to run these engines. A pull cable will work the fuel shut off, and it isn't rocket science to wire a starter. The alternator will work with an external regulator. Everything else is just fluff (and not too hard to make work if you do want it). I suppose the exception to this would be setting up an automatic O.D. transmission, in which case I think you would have to run the "computer" that Dodge uses with the engine. This falls under the same difficulty category as the other electrical "fluff".

Do you have the recipient truck yet? When you are ready for transmission mount to fan, bellhousing overall diameter, flywheel housing to fan, centerline to outside of drivers side accessories, etc. measurements, just let us know

Good luck,

Alec

 

I've been toying with the idea of installing a direct injection (DD=Direct injection Diesel) 4cyl into either a mid-80's Isuzu Trooper or '95-'96 GM Tahoe/Yukon & have done some research on the idea. One of my sources indicates that the Isuzu 4BD1T ranks quite low in terms of "Noise & Vibration" relative to the Cummins' 4's & 6's. Even tho the table in the link above doesn't list the 4BD1T as DD, another source does (just go down to the "18.2.1 Isuzu Engine Specs"). Is the 1st source mistaken?

FWIW, another source claims that the 4BD1T's 121 stock HP can be 'bumped' up to ~200HP. Another false/unrealistic claim?

 

Thank you guys one and all. The link to the motorhome is great. And it looks like I may have to get a 3/4 ton and do some parts swapping. When I return from overseas I'll put what happens to me on this site for others to learn from. Thanks again and Happy New Years, jimharold.