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59 Chevy / Cummins-3

1K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  Buck 
#1 ·
Now that I have the truck stripped all the way down to the frame, I am glad that I went ahead and removed the front clip.



I had already notched the crossmember so the 6.2 oil pan could set down into it to get the transmission and bell housing to slip back under the cab.
However this notch isn't wide enough for the Cummins oil pan.
It only needs to be about 1/4 inch wider but I'm going to open it up to an inch on each side so I have plenty of room for side adjustment on the engine.



Each side is cut out with the torch.



The modification is completed and primed.



The oil pan can set down into it now and I think it will slip on past once I can level the engine out more.
If not, I'll have to trim some off the back of the notched area.



Right now the air conditioner pump is hanging up on the side of the frame and this is keeping the engine from dropping down in any farther.
Once I notch the frame rail to clear the pump, then the front cross plate is going to keep the engine from setting down where it needs to be.



The front cross plate supports the frame rail so the steering box doesn't twist and the brake lines are mounted to it.
If I remove this cross plate, I can box the front frame rail to support the steering box and then run a piece of angle iron across the underside of the rails to mount the brake lines to.



Links to other post.

http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/13304-59-chevy-cummins/

-1 http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/13395-59-chevy-cummins-1/

-2 http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/13700-59-chevy-cummins-2/

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#3 ·
Makes life so much easier with the front clip out of the way. Looks like it is all going your way, glad you don't need a larger shoehorn!
 
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#4 · (Edited by Moderator)
Just greases the fender wells good and you'll be ok. I have seen quite a few motor swaps and some of them looks like 'Hack the Butcher' did it, and some have looked factory. Probably the best one I ever saw was a V555 cummins in a 1/2 ton Ford pickup. That baby was wall-to-wall motor.

The V555 is a V8 motor normally found in a 2Ton truck. 555 CID and about 250 HP. WAAAY to much motor for a 1/2 Ton.
 
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#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
This would actually fit a lot easier if the 59 still had the original frame.
The stock frame is wider and doesn't have any cross member under the engine because it had a straight front axle.
The stock frame and suspension would never handle the weight though.
With this cab setting on the 1-ton chassis, it will handle the weight and torque of this Cummins engine with no problem at all.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Slowly making progress. ..
The front cross plate is removed and I trimmed the top of the frame rail on the passanger side to clear the air conditioning pump.
I'm not going to put any supports back in until after the engine is fit into place.

I also moved the fuel lines.
The supply line from the tank that use to run across the front cross plate to the passenger side of the frame now comes up along side the frame under the steering column and has a green plastic cap on it.
The fuel return line that runs along the passenger side of the frame is brought down and fastened to the front of the cross member and has a red cap on it.



A piece of angle iron is welded to the outside of the frame to add strength for the section of frame that I removed.



The engine is lowered back into the frame and is able to drop down until the Cummins motor mounts hang up on the Chevy frame brackets for the 6.2 motor mounts.



These Chevy frame brackets can't be removed because they are also the support brackets for the upper "A" arms.
I'll remove the Cummins motor mounts for now and make new mounts later.

That lets the engine set down a little farther.
The engine still needs to level out more but the exhaust manifold and the bell housing are both up against the cab.



At this point, the oil pan is just catching on the back lip of the frame's cross member so the engine can't level out more.
After lunch, I'll lift the engine back out and trim the lip on the cross member so the oil pan can drop behind it and allow the front of engine to drop down more.



The back edge of the cross member is notched out so the oil pan can clear it.



When I first built this truck back in 95, it didn't have any heater in it.
There was a heater unit out of a 76 Nova up in my storage so I adapted that over to the truck mainly because it was a lot better heater than what these trucks had originally.



This heater unit is now going to be in the way of the exhaust pipe coming off the turbo.
During this swap, I'm going to update the truck to one of the newer heater / air conditioning units that are available now.
These new units fit completely inside the cab so I figure this is as good a time as any to remove the old heater.



The engine is almost in position now.
It sets low enough but still has to go back about 4 inches.



Part of the fire wall and the bell housing hump are going to have to be modified before the engine will move back any farther.



I did some comparison measurements between the 6.2 engine and the Cummins engines. ...

The 6.2 is 21 inch high from the bottom of the oil pan to the top of the valve covers.
The Cummins is 32 inch high from the bottom of the oil pan to the top of the valve covers ( that's 11 inch higher ).

The 6.2 is 29 inch long from the back of the heads to the front of the fan.
The Cummins is 37 inch long from the back of the head to the front of the fan ( that's 8 inch longer ).
 
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#9 ·
so much easier with the clip out of the way. Now you are finding the areas that need to be opened up for clearance. And can get them fixed right!. Good decision on the 'new' heat/air unit! Probably work much better, too!
 
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#10 ·
I can't imagine doing what your doing now with the front clip still on. The best thing you did was take that off.
This engine is turning out to be a very fug snit. Could turn out to be like the old Carol Shelby Sunbeam Tigers. Absolutely no free space anywhere.. The nice thing is when your done with it you will probably never have to do another engine swap on that truck.
 
#11 ·
The nice thing is when your done with it you will probably never have to do another engine swap on that truck.
I am looking forward to that.

When I first built this in 1995, it was on a half ton chassis with a 350 / automatic.
Then I went to a 368 Cadillac engine and transmission.

In 2001 I became interested in antique tractor shows and as a result I started building longer trailers to haul more tractors to the shows.
It didn't take long to realize that I needed to up grade to this 1-ton chassis and the 6.2 diesel engine.
So this makes two frame changes and four engine swaps on this truck.
 
#12 ·
Wow! That's a lot of work! But the truck is still an awesome looking GT hauler. Not many like it around, even stock!
 
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#14 ·
I have seen a few guys try to stuff a Cummins into some older Fords. The idea was great. The end result, not so much. They really misjudged on how much torque those baby's put out! Your project looks like you have planned out well and that will be one sweet ride when your done!
 
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