Is the 1992 12v Cummins a good motor for a Cummins conversion?

 

Yes but you want the 93-96 I think it is, do more research. They are known to be the most reliable diesel on the road and very easy to make power with cheap. Keep in mind the engine is only rated for 190 hp from the factory. There's a point in which hitting big power numbers gets very expensive. For almost $0 you can add about 100 hp to the cummins I'm talking about. Whatever you do be sure not to buy a B53 block. It's stamped B53 on the front driver side of the block no matter how good the deal sounds RUN. Do a search on most reliable cummins ever built I'm sure you get your answer, I'm going off of what I can remember off the top of my head

 

Define good...

The 92 12V (assuming it is coming from a dodge not an industrial application) runs a VE rotary pump, fairly reliable but not overly powerful. The 94-98 12V has the p7100 pump that can support a TON of power if properly tuned. If your going for a tow rig or daily driver, a VE truck (89-93) is good donor...if your going for power the 12V or CR (much harder wiring but great power potential) are better options.

IIRC the 53 involves the 24V VP44 engines (98.5-02), not as much the 12V. The killer dowel pin is more common in the older CTDs.

Cummins #53 Block Info

Cummins' Fatal Flaws - Diesel Power Magazine

 

The ve pump is good for power to but not nearly as much fueling potential as a p7100. Also the p7100 had 4 different pump models throughout the years. The best being the 180hp pump found on 1996-pre98.5 12v automatic truck engines. The manual trucks after 96 had the 215hp pump it has a retarded timing setup so once you go for large power the timing of the 215 is a fault. The auto trucks pre 96 had 160hp pumps and the manuals had iirc a 175hp pump. The automatic trucks that were early ppump automatic trucks got a wh1c turbo instead of the hx35 which means they cant boost as high in stock form as engines with the factory hx35. All first gens run a wh1c so this will also be a limitation of a early ve pump motor unless you swap a hx35 onto it. I would say find a 96 to early 98 12v p7100 stock without any mods out of a automatic truck so it has a 180p7100 and swap that in. A 96-98 automatic has the hy35 turbo but it still is superior to a wh1c so i say hold off on the ve. But another route you can go is put a p7100 on the ve motor if you buy it. That swap is very easy a simple cake walk to do and then you have all the fuel you ever want. Also the 53 block is not a problem in a 12v motor so dont worry about that. The KDP is no biggie a 2hr driveway fix then its bulletproof. Hope this info helps only reason i know this much is i have owned a 12v for a while now.