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Old 12-19-2007, 02:14 PM   #1
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1979 28' Airstream Excella 28
saluda , Virginia
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Talking Just bought my cummins donor vehicle

This forum has always been a lot of help to me throughout my restoration process. I saw a lot of interest and replies to the cummins swap thread, so I will document my swap with info and pictures. I just bought the vehicle, a 1991 dodge intercooled Cummins 2WD. I will be using a rebuilt and beefed up 47RH tranny out of a 1994 Dodge for the lockup torque converter option as mine doesnt have it. .69 overdrive with the converter locked and 4.56 gears will yield 55 MPH at about 1800 RPMs (cummins sweet spot and aerodynamic sweet spot). Fuel mileage is my main concern. It will take a while to get the engine out of the truck. Should be mid to late january. Wish me luck. If anyone has suggestions on the best way to get the 454 out, that would be appreciated. I plan on coming straight out the front.
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Old 12-19-2007, 02:40 PM   #2
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I did not see the original thread but just wanted to offer to make sure you have a beefy torque convertor with the correct stall speed for your diesel engine and gear ratio. (you probably already knew all of this)
Good Luck - sounds like a great swap!
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Old 12-19-2007, 05:42 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gwbaker
This forum has always been a lot of help to me throughout my restoration process. I saw a lot of interest and replies to the cummins swap thread, so I will document my swap with info and pictures. I just bought the vehicle, a 1991 dodge intercooled Cummins 2WD. I will be using a rebuilt and beefed up 47RH tranny out of a 1994 Dodge for the lockup torque converter option as mine doesnt have it. .69 overdrive with the converter locked and 4.56 gears will yield 55 MPH at about 1800 RPMs (cummins sweet spot and aerodynamic sweet spot). Fuel mileage is my main concern. It will take a while to get the engine out of the truck. Should be mid to late january. Wish me luck. If anyone has suggestions on the best way to get the 454 out, that would be appreciated. I plan on coming straight out the front.
Well you certainly got MY attention .

Thats a upgrade we would love to do to our 454 powered 1984 310. Definitely document your swamp extensively and be ready for lots of questions .

Good luck and keep us posted!

Brad
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Old 12-19-2007, 07:50 PM   #4
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Yeah, I am going to splurge on the torque converter. Plenty of heavy duty versions out there, and the price is coming down. That seems to be one of the weak links with the dodge trannys.
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Old 02-07-2008, 10:21 AM   #5
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Engine is out of the motorhome and out of the truck. Just got the tranny back from phoenix reman transmissions. ACD engines out of Salt Lake has motor mounts that advertise to work for this application. They bolt to the Cummins and drop right in to interface with the Chevy rubber mounts. Got a 220 amp alternator to push the 2500 watt inverter for the roof air. Should be installing the engine this weekend. Had to remove the head from the Cummins to get it in through the front.
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Old 02-07-2008, 10:30 AM   #6
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Oh boy, I am looking forward to seeing this all come together.

It is amazing how much is readily available for these kinds of swaps.

Barry
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Old 02-07-2008, 06:13 PM   #7
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All I can say is PICTURES, lots of PICTURES

I really would like to see your progress.

Thanks!

Brad
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Old 02-07-2008, 08:48 PM   #8
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This is the most interesting project I've seen on here for some time. Sounds like a well thought out solution. I can't wait to read and see more!
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Old 02-07-2008, 09:08 PM   #9
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swaps

We Have a 68 Ford F111 4W that I took the straight 6 out of and replaced it with a 93 Ford Bronco 5 liter. I used the wiring, engine, gas tank, fuel lines, etc. With the straight 6 I got 11 miles to the gallon at 55. With the swap I get 22 mpg at 55. Great upgrade. We now have over 20,000 miles on this rig and are very pleased.


Why do I mentioned the above? We also have a 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. I'd like to convert it to diesel and run it on home made Bio fuel. Anybody have ideas on a doner vehicle for this project?

This should open a can of worms.
Don
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Old 02-07-2008, 09:26 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi
Why do I mentioned the above? We also have a 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. I'd like to convert it to diesel and run it on home made Bio fuel. Anybody have ideas on a doner vehicle for this project?

This should open a can of worms.
Don
Ok, you have a very desirable, collectable car you want to switch to diesel. Obviously you are crazy, but you are here so it’s a given. How about a John Deere? As far as I know they have never been mounted in anything but farm and construction equipment, but that just adds to the challenge. Their 6 cylinders with the Bosch pumps do have incredible throttle response and the quality of their crankshafts is unbelievable.
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Old 02-07-2008, 10:48 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi
We Have a 68 Ford F111 4W that I took the straight 6 out of and replaced it with a 93 Ford Bronco 5 liter. I used the wiring, engine, gas tank, fuel lines, etc. With the straight 6 I got 11 miles to the gallon at 55. With the swap I get 22 mpg at 55. Great upgrade. We now have over 20,000 miles on this rig and are very pleased.


Why do I mentioned the above? We also have a 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. I'd like to convert it to diesel and run it on home made Bio fuel. Anybody have ideas on a doner vehicle for this project?

This should open a can of worms.
Don
Don,

I'd still consider using a truck power train. The Caddy is not a lightweight by any stretch of the imagination and with the heavy frame it is a good candidate for a swap of this nature.

The only challenge I can really see is finding an acceptable donor for a price that makes it worthwhile doing. However, don't let cost get in the way has seemed to be my motto through life. If this were me I'd try to stay with a GM product but a Cummings would work just fine as well. The engine bay is big enough to accommodate a good sized engine.

I don't remember what the wheel base is on your car but I know there was a period of time when folks were using early eighties full size Oldmobiles and cutting the body off but leaving the floor pan and firewall, then doing the same to a 50 Merc and swapping the body on. I think the only thing that was required from a wheel base perspective there was to move the rear end back 2" or something like that. S10 frames were also being used for various vintage cars (52 Chev BelAir is one I know of) that gave them all the latest in suspension technology and providing a good foundation for an engine swap.

I do remember a '55 BelAir hardtop showing up at a car show in the late 80's that had a diesel installed. There seemed no half way with the audience, they either loved the idea or hated it, but the owner was pleased as heck with it and that is pretty much all that counts. It was really well done but it had one of the very noisy diesel engines in it which made for a noisy interior. If I remember correctly his one big issue was cooling and it took quite a bit of effort to come up with the right solution that still looked good in that regard, but technology has advanced so much in the past 20 years that this should not be an issue now.

Yes, there are some who would wince at a car of this type/vintage being converted to diesel but you own it, you are the one driving it, and it is yours to do with as you please. You of course will be required to post a ton of pictures you realize.

Barry
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Old 02-08-2008, 07:53 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NorCal Bambi
Why do I mentioned the above? We also have a 1948 Cadillac Sedanette. I'd like to convert it to diesel and run it on home made Bio fuel. Anybody have ideas on a doner vehicle for this project?Don
Man, I wonder if that new Isuzu v8 diesel that GM is using in their pick-ups would fit in there. Really is a nice motor. Here is another one way out in the woods. We have the VW Jedda Diesel and that engine has incredible power. Lot smaller too. The Jedda weighs nearly 4000 lbs loaded and gets 40+ mpg.
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Old 02-08-2008, 08:46 AM   #13
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Smile Hi All,

AS a former torque converter rebuilder the suggestion of getting a low stall heavy duty torque converter is a must do item.
The second item is to make sure that your gas tank is completely dry before you put in diesel. Deisel engines do not do well with gas.
Regards from Russell in sunmny and cool Tucson Az.
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Old 02-08-2008, 09:35 AM   #14
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Yes, I've purchased an upgraded torque converter that would have come in the 94 dodge cummins 2500, so obviously the stall will be correct. As far as getting the gas out of there, of course, but I will say that a little gas wont hurt. I even know of folks who run a little gas through their diesels to clean injectors, and it doesnt appear to hurt anything. Would I do it? No. There are products out there that are made for this.
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Old 02-08-2008, 09:54 AM   #15
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Pictures of progress this weekend, I promise
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Old 02-14-2008, 03:21 PM   #16
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I have been waiting for this for 2yrs now. so much talk, and someone is actually going to do it. I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself. Take too many pictures. Every time I do a project like this I always end up not having enough pictures. I have about 200 questions, but here's just a few:

1.Are you in Virginia? Why did you go all the way to Phx for tranny work? Something special?
2.What aftermarket Tq converter are you using?
3.Did you rebuild the donor motor? How many miles? How much?
4.Are you going to turn up the power on the motor? (1991= 190hp?)
5.Do you have a gas genset? What are the plans there?
6.Are you using the old power steering/brake booster set up?
7.Do you have ideas for cruise control?
8.Where are you going to put the cold air charge cooler (intercooler)?
9.Are the gauges on the dash going to work?
10.Have you fitted the doghouse yet? Any clearance issues so far?

That's only 10 questions, but it will get me started.

take your time answering me, I hope you have time to entertain us all, but I'm sure there's a ton of fans of what you're doing.

-Kevin
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Old 02-14-2008, 04:59 PM   #17
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Really cool project. But, I have one of the same questions as Kevin. Do you think the '91 Cummins will have enough power as-is? Or are you going to hot rod it? My dad has a '99 Ram with the Cummins. I think his is rated at like 215 or 230hp or so with about 420 ft-lbs. He's pulling a Holiday Rambler 5er and it's not powerful enough. My '04 has 305hp and 555 ft-lbs and it's a night and day difference. Are you going to upgrade the turbo? I know you can do a lot to those Cummins to really ramp them up. A friend of mine has a 12V engine in his '99, but he's modified it and is making about the same power as my newer 24v one. And he didn't get radical. Just curious. That's a big ol' motorhome you have. Cool project though. Keep up the great work!
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Old 02-14-2008, 05:27 PM   #18
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gw, sounds like a plan....sounds like fun. I have done a number of swaps in my day but never worked with a diesel.

A pal once took a cat engine out of a bulldozer and stuffed it in a Burb. It worked out and he used it to pull a large TT south for many years.
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Old 02-14-2008, 06:24 PM   #19
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Actually I think the 91 intercooled is powerful enough, I was just curious about the upgrades because they are so easy/tempting. He's going for plain efficiency - and the 91 is great for that. "enough power" is a subjective requirement. I drove a garbage truck for 8 years with a 92 cummins and every day it was 25-26,000 lbs gross to the dump and 55 was the max, but it would get there.
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Old 02-14-2008, 09:29 PM   #20
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I was looking at "Diesel Power" magazine. I liked the '03 Cummins they featured that made 700hp and 1400 ft-lbs of torque.

That is getting close to "enough" power!
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