Hi I'm new to the forums and ill start off by saying that, I do not have a ton of knowledge of mechanixand how to do everything. I am 18 going to school for diesel mechanics. Hopefully get a job Iin a garage as I go to school so I can learn from experience as well. I do know what I want to do, I'm just not sure if there are certain parts that I need or not.
I would like to (in the near future) swap a CAT turbo diesel into a 76 f250. Now I know its possible to do. I understand there are other engines tgat are lighter and have the same performance. But I want a CAT! Lol. But I have a few questions.
Is there a certain type (s) of transmission and transfercase I would need to use?
I would like to have it be a manual transmission as well.
What would I have to do to the suspension to make it capable of holding the heavier engine?
Is there anything else I would have to change to put in a CAT engine?
And I know I've heard of a certain CAT engine that is popular and very reliable for swaps into a pick up truck. But I don't remember which one it is. Lol can anyone help with that as well.
I would also like to be able to lift it at somepoint as well. Maybe tires as big as 40s or 42s. I'm not sure if having the heavy engine would make this a problem to do or not. Lol.


Any help is appreciated. And thanks in advanced.

 

3208 is what your thinking...I think.


I think theres a few guys out there that have swapped this.

 

Was going to say an Allison of some sort for trans then found this is this specific enough? Lol

 

HMMMM! where to start. You need a front 60 from a 78-79 to handle the weight from the huge engine. Next, I believe the smallest cat is a I6 like a 9 liter or something. Now, even with the super cooling radiator, I am not sure you have enough cooling. So that problem might need to be addressed.

Transmission I would say a good manual, but remember that the bigger diesels don't rev as high as say a 5.9 or a 3.9 cummins, so your power band is not going to be useable throughout your gears, you need low final gearing, so as to split the transmission; So as to use all your gears up sooner, or install a splitter. What this means, is if you have 3.5 differential gearing, you can run maybe 65 mph at 2000 rpm, meaning you have maybe 5 gears to use to get to 65, if you run 4.10, you will have 2000 rpm to go about 55 or so, meaning you now have the same 5 gears to use to get to 55, enabling your engine to stay in it's power a higher percentage of the time.

The alternative to this is a splitter. I have installed them in the past and they are strong, dependable, and help greatly. It gives you the ability to split every gear up, meaning you can start in 1 then go 1 high, then 2 low then 2 high, then 3 low then 3 high and so on. Do your research and make a good decision on a good combo of parts first. Good luck.