As far as I can find no one has attempted or discussed this possibility. Ok so i am swapping in a cummins in my 86 f350 crew cab with getrag 5 speed and np205. now i wanted to use my highboy transfer case and swap guts but the bearing diameter was the small kind and i don't have money to have it machined or buy a large bearing transfer case, plus i would half to make an adapter plate anyways and still buy the dana 60 kingpin. I do have a complete drivetrain(motor/tranny/married transfer case/dodge dana 60 kingpin/ dana 70rear) from a 1990 dodge truck. So what would it take to put it under the 86 ford. The steering is the biggest issue. Would i be able to use a ford dana 60 tie rod and tie rod to pitman arm set-up and lop of the draglink br4acket on the dodge axle? relocate the steerbox and run the dodge draglink set-up? Do the dodge axles have different braking styles? My whole project just got more complex and i need some advice please. Also plz don't just say "get a new front axle or get a new transfer case", i already know that, i'm trying to make it work with what i got right know. thanks, tony

 

Your post has me kind of confused. You want to do a Cummins swap on an 86 F350, with a Getrag? (never heard of that brand before) 5 speed and an NP205 transfer-case. But, you can't use that transfer-case so you want to do a complete drive-train swap from a 1990 model dodge into a 1986 model F350?

I want to ask a few things and don't intend to cause offense, but...

1) Why can't you just fix whatever is wrong with the 1990 Dodge and drive the Dodge without butchering up the Ford and trying to make a Ford work with a completely different drive-train? Swapping on a new cab and body panels where you rolled the Dodge would be easier than doing a drive-train swap...

2) Why not just stick the Ford body on the Dodge chassis and drive-train?

3) With all the other work that is involved because you don't have the right transfer case, just get the right transfer-case. It might not be what you want to hear, but we don't always hear what we want 100% of the time.

Projects like these take a lot of time and patience. You'll be better off waiting until you get the right transfer-case than going through the other headaches.

If anything else, sell some parts off the Dodge to fund your work. Or, sell the old Ford motor, transmission, and transfer-case.

 

I am taking on a similar swap myself. However my F350 is 2WD 6.9 IDI and a dually, that I am getting ready for the Cummins. I myself am finding some useful info on both Ford and Dodge/Cummins forums.

 

Kind of off-topic, but I saw a Ford Ranger in my neck of the woods and the guy had a Cummins in there. It was freakin' AWESOME

 

1983, I think the donor is the 1990 Dodge, with the getrag trans. Getrag is a German box that made the original 6spd in the LT1 Corvette and now makes a 6spd for the new 5.0 Mustangs. They also make boxes for various foreign cars.

At first I was going to say that I would not get too involved with putting dodge suspension under the ford; then I remembered that a 90 would be leaf sprung and not a multi-link like the newer ones. If the center to center dimensions of the leafs are the same and the steering boxes look like they're in similar spots they it may be a possibility. Just dropping in a cummins means fab work so what's a little more.

If things are too different another approach, assuming the donor frame is good is to do a body swap. Get out a tape measure and start checking that. If that seems too different then you're back to plan A which is a hybrid drivetrain with ford axles.

Why do this over just rebuilding the dodge? You get the best of both worlds. Good Ford looks with reliable cummins power that can make a TON more power than a 6.9/7.3 IDI.

For me HP isn't everything and I'm likely do simply grab a 6.9 IDI parts truck and drop a turbo kit on it.

 

Hello,
1 and 2 - The 90 dodge is a single cab where the 86 ford is a crew cab so that 1 reason for the swap, other is because finding a good 90 dodge cab is really hard.
3 - Yeah that's probley what I'll end up doing. hopefully theres a good deal around somewhere.

I am selling the running 6.9L w/ banks sidewinder turbo w/ t19 4 spd and transfer case for $500 in salem oregon area.
the 1st gen manual dodge cummins(up to 91 i believe) came with 5.9l non-intercooled cummins diesel with a 5spd getrag transmission and a married np205 dodge transfer case.

The perches on the ford dana 60 are 36" i believe where the dodge perches are 32" apart. moving isn't that big of a deal except on the pumpkin side are stud in the housing. I may half to weld on studs or another though would be to build a custom upper bracket that would conform around the axle/house. The steering is situated a little bit back on the ford chassis where it becomes 32-33" so i may be able to put the dodge gear in that area but still not sure, I still haven't sold the donor truck.

Yeah 86 crewcab f350 with a 5spd cummins and np205 with the dana(s) underneath...The meanest, bulletproof, practical, reliable truck out there.

 

The fellow I have been getting a lot of stuff from has probably done about every Cummins swap possible. He even has a GMC he pulled the Duracrack out of for a Cummins.

I did some digging a while back, and found a bunch of Cummins swap information. If it would cost so much, I might have done that to mine.