My build... 69 Cummins 12V conversion

[8mpg]

So I started a different thread but deleted it...better pics this time. The old thread was all cell phone pics.

So the details of the truck... This truck is a 1969 396 BB auto truck short step. Bought it from a 14 year old who decided his girlfriends opinion on the truck was more important than his. Heck, I tried talking him out of selling it when I was there to buy it. The truck was blown apart. It was stripped down to the frame, rear end rebuilt, new suspension and all frame and suspension components were powdercoated. The cab needed/needs work. The rocker replacement write up inspired me to get going on this truck again. Got the inner and outer rocker done in a couple hours and I was motivated.

Anyways..here is the plan:
Cummins 5.9 12v swap
NV4500 swap
Air suspension
C notch (debating...I really dont want to cut into a nice powdercoated frame)
68 front end swap
Intercooler
Ford crayon blue (like the 2011 mustang)...might end up with HotRod Flatz Speed Blue
Black interior (whole interior), no body color on the inside.

How it sits now:



Powdercaoted frame, suspension, rear end




Some guys might not know much about this motor...but its huge, weighs about 1050lbs dressed, and another 200 for the NV4500. Dad had to help me out with this task. It is a true shoe horn technique.





Fabbed up trans mount (pics will come later) from 1"x2" 1/8" wall box..simple mount. Should ahve done this in the very beginning to center the motor/trans...so word to the wise when you have to fab both mounts. These are the motor mounts. The motor is set in place. They are ugly but work for now. Im planning on another angled piece to hold the middle of the mount and bolt to the crossmember or the frame inside the channel.
Close to level as it was ever gonna get. Its about 1-2* off level.



There is about 3/8"-1/2" clearance from the bottom of the pan and the top of the front crossmember. The front of the pan is about 1/4" from hitting in the front. Its a really tight fit. I will try and get pics of the transmission...its way into the cab. If i used the stock shifter, it would be around the top of the dash.

[8mpg]

So the high hump had to be modified... would have come out a little better if I had taken the time to make some square cuts and planned a little better. I still have to fill in the missing strip and grind it all down. Im not going for pretty since it will be covered with carpet. You can see how high the NV4500 sits in the cab.




Did most of the firewall work a long time ago... layed down some 2k primer a couple weeks ago and saw it had some small pin holes. Im going to try and do the bodywork, but I have a feeling atleast the cab will be headed down to RustSpot (boardmember) for the body work:

[67_C-30]

VERY COOL! I did a diesel swap myself, but a Cummins would be great! BTW, what that hump come out of? My NP435 shifter comes out right at the front of the factory high hump (I'm going to have to just about cut the whole front off of it to clear), and that one looks like it has more material up there.

[8mpg]

Originally Posted by 67_C-30

VERY COOL! I did a diesel swap myself, but a Cummins would be great! BTW, what that hump come out of? My NP435 shifter comes out right at the front of the factory high hump (I'm going to have to just about cut the whole front off of it to clear), and that one looks like it has more material up there.

To be honest...I dont know. I thought it was off a 67-72 truck. I bought it off a board member here a couple years ago.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by 8mpg

To be honest...I dont know. I thought it was off a 67-72 truck. I bought it off a board member here a couple years ago.

Hmm. Maybe it is, but it looks different than my '67 does. Maybe they changed them in later years of this body style. There's a lot of oddball stuff about a '67 anyway, so maybe the hump is just one more thing.

I stole this pic, but mine look like this:



This hump is in a another '67 also.

[Chevymaniac]

I'll be keeping my eyes glued to this one. Excellant write up and keep the good work coming.

[gm4x4chris]

Originally Posted by 67_C-30

Hmm. Maybe it is, but it looks different than my '67 does. Maybe they changed them in later years of this body style. There's a lot of oddball stuff about a '67 anyway, so maybe the hump is just one more thing.

I stole this pic, but mine look like this:



This hump is in a another '67 also.

i have found thier is a diffrence in were the hole is in the hump on factory v8 trucks and 6cylinder trucks , i currrently have a 72 factory 4x4 with granny gear and the shifter hole is way back by the seat and shifter has very little curve to it,

[Yukon Jack]

Definitely a cool project!

[Spray-Bomb]

Sweet

[Ackattack]

I wanna do a cumins swap into a burb........someday!

[Painter D]

Interesting, I'll be watching this one.

[files007]

Awesome!!!! big fan of the 12 valve

[8mpg]

Ok...little update:

I decided to rob Peter to pay Paul. I stole the fuel cell out of my old 69 Mustang from that has been sitting in pieces for years. This build is a low buck build because I just dont have money like I used to now that Im back in school and working part time.

So here is the fuel cell in... I was pissed this morning. The 2nd to last crossmember is crooked. Is is supposed to be that way? I dunno. Stock rivets still in place. Its 17" on the passenger side, 18" on the drivers. After screwing with trying to pop rivets out and ears ringing, I gave up and cut the darn crossmember:



Picked up a new oil pan gasket today... biggest darn gasket box I have ever seen. Its a flat 1 piece gasket:


The old oil pan had a huge dent in the bottom. After trying to swap oil pans I found out the new one is about 3/4" shorter...SOB, I had to cut down and weld the pick up tube:


Thank god I switched pans... I found out that the oil pickup tube wasnt even attached. The previous owner must have run into the same problem and taken the pan/oil pickup for his other motor.
With some help, I got the motor back in...hopefully for the last time. Love it or hate it...let me know if you like the engine color. Honestly its a crappy paint job, The motor is just way to hard to clean really well. I might try again with a pressure washer now that I can get the chassis out of the garage. The color is a Cummins industrial beige color.

[67_C-30]

Originally Posted by 8mpg

Ok...little update:

I decided to rob Peter to pay Paul. I stole the fuel cell out of my old 69 Mustang from that has been sitting in pieces for years. This build is a low buck build because I just dont have money like I used to now that Im back in school and working part time.

So here is the fuel cell in... I was pissed this morning. The 2nd to last crossmember is crooked. Is is supposed to be that way? I dunno. Stock rivets still in place. Its 17" on the passenger side, 18" on the drivers. After screwing with trying to pop rivets out and ears ringing, I gave up and cut the darn crossmember:



Picked up a new oil pan gasket today... biggest darn gasket box I have ever seen. Its a flat 1 piece gasket:


The old oil pan had a huge dent in the bottom. After trying to swap oil pans I found out the new one is about 3/4" shorter...SOB, I had to cut down and weld the pick up tube:


Thank god I switched pans... I found out that the oil pickup tube wasnt even attached. The previous owner must have run into the same problem and taken the pan/oil pickup for his other motor.
With some help, I got the motor back in...hopefully for the last time. Love it or hate it...let me know if you like the engine color. Honestly its a crappy paint job, The motor is just way to hard to clean really well. I might try again with a pressure washer now that I can get the chassis out of the garage. The color is a Cummins industrial beige color.

LOVE THE COLOR! I did something similiar with mine and painted it Detroit Diesel Alpine green since Detroit designed the 6.2's. I love the look of an all painted diesel. The industrial and commercial engines are done that way, and IMO, it makes a big engine look even bigger.

[deek114]

If you run into any problems check out this thread by mosesburb

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=303017

He put a cummins in a 4x4 suburban. He did a really nice job too. He covered all of the problems he came accross in this thread.

[68jewel]

That 14 year old kid is going to be sorry in about 20 years and 100 girlfriends later when he's 34 and is older and wiser and wished he'd never sold that truck. By then he'll be able to appreciate them and look back like we all did and realize all the dumb stuff he did when was younger. Ver nicely done motor swap by the way too.

[my67chevytruck]

glad to see you back on the project!

[panhandler62]

That crossmember was crooked in my truck also. I had to move the right side forward about 2 1/2 inches to get it square.

[fishingjred73]

Originally Posted by panhandler62

That crossmember was crooked in my truck also. I had to move the right side forward about 2 1/2 inches to get it square.

They were put in "crooked" from the factory, to keep the frame from racking.

[chevy_mike]

Originally Posted by fishingjred73

They were put in "crooked" from the factory, to keep the frame from racking.

I also think it was for clearance for the panhard bar when the suspension compresses. Might want to double check that with the rear springs out.

Nice work BTW.

[8mpg]

Havent had time to put into the truck with finals at school.. but got the front cup done last night after work (1am) and did the rear on the other fender today. THe rear one fit much better than the front, but neither were that great. The front cup patch was short by a good 3/16" I just couldnt find a way to make it fit...so looks like a metal filler or glass filler will have to recreate taht 3/16".

Before:

During:

After:

[8mpg]

Little progress...working on the fenders while I wait for the CPP notch to get here (tomorrow)

Im really torn on the bodywork. The truck will be painted flat...kinda going for the aged/patina/possibly shop logo look. Not sure if I want to fix all the dents or not. Looking for a shop truck look, not flashy. I think the dents might give a little more character........... and I hate bodywork

The drivers fender was down to metal and primed by the old owner. Passenger side...not so much. The paint is sticking really well, so I just smoothed it out. Going to epoxy prime after I finish the mud work.

[my67chevytruck]

nice progress Tim.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice progress, and very nice project! In case you ever need to change the rubber engine mount, you can get a polyurethane one from www.autoworldmt.com . They are well worth the money. I see you got the shifter flipped back around the way it should be. That engine must have came out of a late 97 or early 98 if that tranny is stock. That tranny has the nicer shifter and top plate. That should be a 913 injection pump and it should be a 215hp engine. Nice score. You can get a lot of extra power out of that for very little money.

[8mpg]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

Very nice progress, and very nice project! In case you ever need to change the rubber engine mount, you can get a polyurethane one from www.autoworldmt.com . They are well worth the money. I see you got the shifter flipped back around the way it should be. That engine must have came out of a late 97 or early 98 if that tranny is stock. That tranny has the nicer shifter and top plate. That should be a 913 injection pump and it should be a 215hp engine. Nice score. You can get a lot of extra power out of that for very little money.

Yes sir!! 215 pump. I made sure I got a 97-98. Honestly probably wont be hopping up the motor much due to the old frame strength.... Probably a 04.5+ HE351 turbo, maybe some 370 marine injectors later, who knows.