I'm planning on running hummer wheels on it (37", about a foot wide, they're massive and yet not red-reck 60" massive, lol). I live on the outskirts of the mountains and we get some really cold winters here (-20). From what I've seen one of the benefits of a diesel is when you are up in the mountains and the air is thinner, you don't loose power like you do on a gas, least not the same (so I've been told). I would think that would also make sense for having more power in the winter when it's cold as the cold air is thinner. It would be super convenient in the winter to have a truck that won't get stuck and can pull anyone else out.

And I swear half the time I speak of using my truck hard I get the weirdest looks from people. But she should be on the road, out there being used. Nothing cooler to me than to see an old truck out there being put to work still. It just brings magic into the day lol

 

Ford used the 5.9 cummins in the med, duty trucks in the 90's.

My mileage has been 14-20 mpg.... 18 seems to be the average mpg.
I have 3.31 ratio rear end from a 99 freightliner = 62mph @ 1800rpm

you will need a flywheel housing with the starter on the pass. side to clear the steering box. ( look at freightliners for that one)

I used a stock style four core radiator from mid-fifty. (if your radiator is good use it.)

cummins gear driven vac. pump (off a dodge) for the stock hydro-vac brakes

 

Thanks, that's important to know. Though it now seems even more difficult needing to find a different housing, lol.

 

Ford has been putting the 5.9 Cummins in F550 and larger trucks for years. I hear that its nothing like the 5.9 in the Dodge, but who knows. I don't think our frames will hold up to too much torque from the diesels. But just to throw another thought out there, I found this on my local Ebay:

Ford : Model A - eBay (item 170697606019 end time Sep-20-11 21:07:48 PDT)

He told me that this 4 cyl Cummins came out of a bread truck and that junk yards are full of them. I don't know.

 

Ha, neat looking rat rod.

I might be iffy on the torque and the frame on an F100, but I think the massive frame on the F600 should hold up well. The thing is 1/4" thick and much wider and taller. Worse case scenario I get to have a story of the truck I had that twisted itself, lol.

 

390 or 460. i had an 83 ford flat bed with a 390 and it would pull that heavy truck up hill in top gear at 1500 rpms all day.
probably got 12 mpg pulling that heavy thing around. my 59 has a 460 that i've just gotten tweaked and it will haul ***. mileage would probably be ok if my foot was lighter.
keep in mind that my daily driver is a 2011 ram with a hemi that drops to 4 cylinders all the time and it only gets around 16 mpg combined city and highway. my concept of good mpg's may not be the same as yours.

 

Yeah I'm still on the fence about going diesel. It doesn't help that there are a lot of red-neck trucks around here running diesel's without any mufflers and making huge clouds of black smoke as they take off. And they just don't sound the same, makes me feel like a UPS truck sometimes, lol.

The 390 for whatever reason seems like it might be a good choice all around. I'll check out some gas mileage differences, if they're close enough the gas engine would have cheaper fuel.

Good mileage isn't a huge concern, but it's a daily driver and something with 4mpg is not daily drivable. I'd be happy around 12 in town. But if I could get more I'm all for that too.
Thanks for the input.

 

I'm going to suggest against the diesel, go look at the pump price and then decide if you really want the hard to start, have to plug it in during the winter, smelly, loud, dirty, more expensive, less mpg... There's only one diesel I would buy if someone put a gun to my head and said I had to - Duramax, quiet as a gas and gets almost as good mileage... but why on earth would someone put a che** motor in a ford truck, anyhow.

My own experience with gas is limited to the following: 302 - good power, but not the mule that the 351w is - mileage is "claimed" by most to be terrible, but my experience was better than 351w, 351w (1986 ford f150) - 8mpg brand new from the factory, 8mpg after 10 years, 8mpg after a tuneup, 8mpg running on anything, I6 300 - kinda like my 226 rogue 6 flathead, more torque - a beastly motor, better fuel efficiency than any v8 - almost impossible to put that motor down. Also been through various commuter cars with little 4 banger fords, and pops had a few diesels, drove a v10 diesel F450 a bit in the last job, Kenworth K19 in one job... Diesels are just inconvenient as all hell, lots of extra worries and issues, bleeding at the pump is enough to put me off my feed.

 

Diesel around here is about $0.30 more a gallon. The Cummins are supposed to get pretty decent gas mileage, around 20, though the other types of diesel engines seem to be something all together different. The Cummins 5.9 seems to be it's own sort of thing, less parts, easy to work on, doesn't use glow plugs, ect. But like I said I'm still new to them and just researching. Most people around here swap out the 460s in bigger trucks for diesels.

And it gets to -20 in the winter, so I'm use to having to plug it in, lol.

Lot to research and debate, I'm sorta in a different spot with my build than where most people have a clear choice. Want it to be a daily driver, but around here that means mountains and lots of snow, also means a lot of high way miles if I plan on going anywhere. So the mpg of a Cummins with the torque is appealing. Though the initial cost and the sound/ smoke (I prefer a V8 sound over the I6) is off putting.

Guess we'll see what I can come up with, lol.

 

Got a question - if you are going to toss all 6's out of the running due to sound, why would you consider diesel at all then? (still just a "opinion" questions, not all pointy finger here ). I've never heard anything diesel 'cept a detroit 500 that sounded good at all... a NEW Duramax being quieter than a gas I like too cause it doesn't sound like a diesel (I run the I6 because my truck does do work too and I like the torque, and I'm not rich, so I like the slightly better fuel efficiency - I baby the pedal so as not to donate my paycheck at the pump)... I don't care about sound at all, a plain or throaty 6 versus a split header 6 versus 8 is all "meh" to me, but if sound is a factor to you, and diesel is ~10% more expensive ... starting to sound like E85, to me: same price, but less mpg = bad equation to me. 10% more expensive, and less mpg = really bad equation to me.

Side note: if I can't get my compression up on cylinder 6, I am considering pulling it and temporarily dark siding (engine/trans only) myself - so I am very curious to follow this through and see where you light. Not emotionally attacking diesel, but they don't make sense to me at all (I kinda hate "opinion" boards cause someone is liable to come shred on me for my opinion - so be gentle and logical on the rebuttals).
My grandad has a diesel and we use it regularly to carry his tasks, the K19 I drove is still on my sisters farm haulin corn - it's not like I had 1 or 2 bad experiences, I have driven more than my share and hauled short, long and 18 wheels before.

UPS...?
Around here (Denver) all the UPS and Fedex guys (along with a large portion of busses) have converted to natural gas or hybrid and are almost completely silent... I loved driving the Kenworth, absolutely despised the Che** Bruin. Driving a blaring bawling diesel takes me more remember more the trucking days than feel like one of the delivery guys.

 

I followed up on the 4bt cummins after you posted this, pretty interesting! there is a forum dedicated to swapping these into just about anything! I was interested in the thoughts of this for my truck, but the 4bt Cummings weighs
somewhere around 750 lbs( what I read) that sounds pretty heavy for a 4 cyl.
I know where one is, its in a genset and it has an hourmeter on it, it only has 40 +_ hours on it....I know the genset has been separated from use, wiring and all. So its just collecting dust, and i could probably get it. but technically it would be theft, and I wouldn't even consider it. But I know it will never be used again, it's been sitting for a good 15 years. Ashame.

 

Not tossing them out, just prefer the sound of a V8. It's not a big card, but if I had two options that where exactly the same I would chose the V8 for the sound over an I6 that was the same spec wise. I'm not going to chose solely on it or anything, but it's a factor even if just a small one.

If I did go with a diesel I would work on the exhaust of it all. Nothing against anything diesel with it, but there are A LOT of red-neck trucks around here that basically straight pipe their truck and pour out clouds of black smoke. And I can't stand it (comes from living on a busy street corner). But if I can set it up where it sounds like a truck and not a moron and doesn't make a cloud 4 times larger than my truck when I move it, then I'm happy, lol.

I do have a lot I need to consider with it, hence why we're on page 3 and I still don't know, lol. I won't always live here and I don't want to limit myself if I move else where. Diesel is probably a lot cheaper around here than else where.


I'm all for different opinions. I prefer it actually. When everyone has the exact same one it always makes me wonder if I'm missing half the story. Though I have to be honest this is the first mention I've heard of a diesel getting worse mileage than a gas engine. I thought that was one of their main draws, loads of torque and good mpg for it. The info I've come across on Cummins 5.9, most people got around 16 in town and 20 freeway. Like I said, I don't have experience with them, but the 5.9 seems to be in it's own ball park.

I have a feeling this is all going to end with me doing a crap load of math to see which is actually cheaper annually. MPG doesn't answer everything, initial costs, repair costs, part availability, and fuel costs other than just where I'm currently at will come into play.


I should note that I am planning on making it a 4x4 with Hummer tires (they are 37" and about a foot wide. Perfect considering they're the same height as what I have on there now, so they should fit beautifully and require minimal custom work)

 

I know nothing about the 390, but when I was a teen all the kids were putting in 400 short blocks in anything they could shoehorn them into. My sisters boyfriend at the time had a 400sb in a tiny toy truck - no hinges, no room for the hinges... And lots of people loved em, lot more economical gas than the 460. Will anything around the size of a 400 fit or is that why people jump from 390 to 460 - nothing fits between?

 

No idea, I think it's more of having an FE engine in there.

Another thing I need to consider from listening to some 4x4 people, a big block engine makes for a lot more fun of a truck over a diesel. Diesels are thought to be more of a towing rig engine. And though I don't plan on ever towing regularly, this still all said a diesel would be the way to go.

So hell if I know, lol I think I will just make a dart board, spin it and toss a dart at it to make up my mind.

 

Putting myself in your shoes... as I almost am in your shoes - just investigating the need right now, not sure I have to yet :P)

Off the blocks I myself lean towards a 300 I6, or a 302... mainly cause I don't have the need for speed and I am very conscious of gas prices - they are only going up from here. That said, if someone says xyz is a DIRECT bolt on NO mods needed, I would most likely do the straight swap cause I plan on fixing my cylinder #6 and putting the 226 back in.

I've followed the "accident" thread so know where you are coming from, have you thought long and hard about a temporary swap and getting the original back in there?