After looking at what some of you have done I'm heavily leaning to doing this conversion.After driving a couple modded diesels I've always wanted one but it always was impractical for me seeing how I dont use a truck for work or towing.Now I have this '78 F250 4x4 Supercab as a toy and am thinking "what the hell".I'm just in the planning stages but want to get as much info in my head before I even start buying parts.So heres what I'm thinking- '94-'98 12v Cummims/nv5600(or nv4500 if its signifigantly cheaper)/np205, I already have the HP D60 front-3.54 gears I'll keep, and will probably swap the rear D60 to a 14bolt,I keep hearing the 60 COULD last but the 14 is virtually bulletproof.Also going to upgrade Ujoints to what?-1350's?Seeing how I want to crank this motor up-would eventually like a 300-400hp/800+ft/lb motor-I want a bulletproof drivetrain.I'll also fully box the frame.This will be a multi year project,hopefully while I drive the truck, by spring I'll make a final decision on wether to do it.All the fabbing and whatnot isnt an issue. I'd like to buy a whole truck, like a wreck, but they're kinda hard to find,I did some looking over the last couple weeks. So questions- is the frame boxing/14bolt overkill?What are good forums for Cummins performance? I dont really want to touch the long block but want to do any mods that would be easier outside the truck.I've read about the KDP and will fix that immediatly also gonna get good gauges.This stuff has been rattling round my head for a few weeks and kinda driving me crazy-lol- so I figured I throw it out the and get thoughts and opinions,especially from those that have done it. What did you do that worked great and what sucked horribly and you'd do differently? Oh yeah and this is a factory A/C truck, can I make it work or will the A/c box under the hood be in the way? I'm sure I'll have other questions but this is a good start I think. I'm thinking It could be done on a budget of $5-6K, is that realistic?

 

Lots going on in the 1st post so I'll respond to what I have experience with.

NV4500 should be "significantly" cheaper than a 5600. 5600's are expensive and hard to find parts for from what I've seen/heard. NV4500's while not cheap are more readily available and cost less than the 5600.

As for the frame boxing and 14 bolt overkill - not sure. I am not boxing my frame as these ford frames are designed to flex. I boxed a little bit of mine at the very front of the truck, but this was mainly because the idiot PO had a hack job steering box conversion that I had to cut out. I plan on running a 14 bolt in the truck at some point (opnce I get other aspects of the project wrapped up), but for now the 60 will be fine.

As for good forums - check the "motor swap" forum here as well as cumminsforum.com

Now for the A/C truck - I think I remember seeing it done somewhere before but it gets TIGHT on the pass side with the turbo right there.

And last for the price - it should be able to be done for $5-6k IF you do bargain parts shopping, do all your own work/fabrication. You'd also need to get a pretty good deal on a wrecked donor. Keep looking on that one - be patient as they ARE out there!

 

in the middle of this my self.

i have a 94 motor i paid 1500 for

a zf5 i paid 350 for

an adapter, fly wheel and starter i paid 900 for

motor mounts i paid 170 for

thats all ive bought so far as far as the conversion goes but i fugure im done with the big money items, now its time to nickle and dime my self to death

i plan to keep my stock axles but only plan on 300ish hp (yeah right)

i have a build there int his forum so check it out.

 

be prepared to spend a TON on nickle and dime stuff...

 

im fully prepared, well not financially but mentally

i had about 400 bucks in hoses, bolts, clamps blah blah blah when i did the blower install on my car.

 

yup - I dropped about $300 on fasteners last week and that was a pretty small quantity (just big sizes). I've done that 3-4 times in this build, but then again I'm doing a lot more than just the motor swap.

 

same, full on resto mod

 

chase, you brought up something I hadn't considered-frame flex- I'm still thinking in the hot rod mentality of making the chassis stiff- but I fully intend on wheeling this thing, so maybe I'll forgo the frame boxing. That already saves me some time and money,thanks.

 

just as a point the guys on trucks tv show on spike channel are building a 78 crew cab shorty on dodge frame...same drive train minus 4X4.. you can order the buildup on video from the network.. you might find it useful... as a note they rotated the turbo to clear the ac box...

 

If I remeber right they are also putting the dentside body on a dodge frame.

There are different exhaust manifolds and turbo configurations that allow you to clear the A/C box but it looks like a bit of effort.

 

I was thinking of pulling the A/C seeing how there is no compressor(removed by PO for a hyd pump for plow),but the older I get the more I like A/C, so IDK.

orfordguy, they just rotated on the flange, or did they cut and reweld the flange?

 

different applications of the 6bt had different flange locations on the exhaust manifold. I think they found one with a compatible location.

Oh - and AC is nice, just expensive. I will be adding it to my '74 crew at some point. I'm planning on doing an aftermarket setup though as my truck wasn't originally an A/C truck and I hate those fugly, oversized boxes sticking into the engine compartment.

Oh - one note on the AC deal. Look for the compressor mount off a Ford with the 6bt as it makes it easier to mount. If not the compressor is "entertaining" to make fit with the stock cross member location. I wish I would have known about these brackets before I went through the trouble I did on my crossmember...

 

they rotated it and rerouted the oil feed line... i believe the donor was a 96 ram 2500 4X2..trust me the show is informative on the subject..you might try googling the show..

 

spent the morning watching those Trucks! episodes, very informative.By flipping the exhaust they got clearance for the stock A/C box. just had to clock the turbo and grind a little off the housing and manifold. Not to keen on welding the 5th gear nut, must be a better way to retain it,grove and snap ring?Now I just gotta wait for the next installment,they must be getting close to the detail stuff.I wanna see what they do with the rad/intercooler/A/C cond.

 

Haven't people been waiting for the "next installment" on that project for a year or more?

I saw the original episode of that build and i think it was almost 2 years ago now...