87 Chevy Crew Cab 4x4 Converion/Cummins swap

[DieselRat]

Anyone know what this plug goes to? Its under the dash near the gas pedal. Its 2 prong, I can't see where it plugged into.

[NastyBuzzard]

Cruise control or brake switch one I do believe.

[DieselRat]

Had a couple days away, and bought a new car in the past couple weeks of no activity here, BUT I am making good progress.

First up I sold the 54 GMC in my sig and had been looking for a muscle car of sorts. Ended up getting a 72 Duster 340. Not my first color choice but we can change that!



Now back to the project. I got the engine sat in last week and realized it was a little crooked (thats what I get for doing this conversion blind) so I yanked it back out and welded a plate to the passenger side engine stand and that brought it up to level.



Pretty pleased so far with positioning being that I was just measuring off the 4x4 frame as far as mount position and all. Gives me good valve cover to firewall clearance, and should leave me plenty of room for the stock mechanical fan in the front.

Picked up some fuel hardline to re-route my lines, but first I need to figure out how I am hoisting the 250lb trans in by myself! The fuel lines are going to have to come across at the Xmember to hit the ports on the driverside of the engine.

Also started to dissect my wiring to figure out what is what. Pretty basic for the Cummins, just need to get some different senders for oil/water as well as some reducer fittings. I'm at the point where this could all come together quickly once I get the ball rolling. Goal is to have the trans in and be able to start it up with the key by the end of the weekend. Well see how that goes!

[DieselRat]

Just like my other build thread...:::crickets::: Guess I need more useless banter instead of progress???

anyways, moving along as always..Got the floor cut out for the 4x4 bolt in piece, also to help aid in hoisting up the NV4500



couple hours later with a little help from the wife



and the cover sitting there for now

[DieselRat]

Dont have a picture of it but I ended up re using the stock 2wd trans crossmember. Added a plate to the top of it and drilled a few holes and bolted it all into place. Engine and trans are finally supported on their own in the chassis.

Started to sort through some wiring, decided I'd rather have my electrical guru buddy come help me with that, so I went ahead and got the front clip mounted back up so I'd have a place to sit the batteries and all

Heres a together pic with my little 2 year old in front. Shes gonna be my future helper, shes always laying on me while I'm on the creeper under the truck



and a side shot which gives sort of the whole feel of where this thing is going.



hoping to at least get the electrical 'hot' tonight, then to get the NP205 on and fluids filled up and fire her off. Didn't quite meet my goal of running by the weekend, but enough progress that I am happy with where I am at.

[chevyfreek]

Originally Posted by DieselRat

Had a couple days away, and bought a new car in the past couple weeks of no activity here, BUT I am making good progress.

First up I sold the 54 GMC in my sig and had been looking for a muscle car of sorts. Ended up getting a 72 Duster 340. Not my first color choice but we can change that!



Now back to the project. I got the engine sat in last week and realized it was a little crooked (thats what I get for doing this conversion blind) so I yanked it back out and welded a plate to the passenger side engine stand and that brought it up to level.



Pretty pleased so far with positioning being that I was just measuring off the 4x4 frame as far as mount position and all. Gives me good valve cover to firewall clearance, and should leave me plenty of room for the stock mechanical fan in the front.

Picked up some fuel hardline to re-route my lines, but first I need to figure out how I am hoisting the 250lb trans in by myself! The fuel lines are going to have to come across at the Xmember to hit the ports on the driverside of the engine.

Also started to dissect my wiring to figure out what is what. Pretty basic for the Cummins, just need to get some different senders for oil/water as well as some reducer fittings. I'm at the point where this could all come together quickly once I get the ball rolling. Goal is to have the trans in and be able to start it up with the key by the end of the weekend. Well see how that goes!

What, you don't want a slant 6?!?!

[DieselRat]

Originally Posted by chevyfreek

What, you don't want a slant 6?!?!

I see what you did there

Definitely dont want a slant anything!

[DieselRat]

Haven't given up on this yet.

3 weeks to the day, I finally bothered the guy enough that he finished my drive shaft. While waiting is not my strong suit it was well worth he, he does quality work. (for any PA guys its Associated Truck Parts in Boyertown PA, Ernie is the guy) Perfect fitment and correct U joint which I was concerned I gathered false info about!

So first drive impression was, this thing sucks. Brakes were pulsing and hardly working, power steering was not even an option. Its slow as a turtle and bouncy as hell. All things I set myself up for HA!

With the hydroboost setup I failed to bleed it fully, and somehow got air back into the system, once I got it bled properly everything worked flawlessly and started to feel like a real truck, now I just need to fix my wobbly tilt column. Its bouncy because I forgot to mention I dont have rear shocks yet I wanted to make sure it settled before I order shocks.

And the slow part I was anticipating, for now.....I wanted to make sure everything worked stock before I went messing with the pump, changing turbos, fuel pin, injectors etc.

And LASTLY my oil problem seems to have gone away. I have no clue what happened or why, but I pulled the downpipe last night and other than some risidual goo, it was dry and just had normal diesel exhaust build up. I almost thing my gasket was restricting the drain back to the pan and it spit up into my manifold and just took a good running temp to burn it all off.

So for right now I'm in test and tune mode until I can afford some more parts.

[daddyjeep]

Little helpers are always good. Those small hands are good to get into tight areas.

As far as the crickets go...we are still following, maybe not commenting a bunch, but following none the less.

[DieselRat]

Originally Posted by daddyjeep

Little helpers are always good. Those small hands are good to get into tight areas.

As far as the crickets go...we are still following, maybe not commenting a bunch, but following none the less.

I know I know, I guess its partly my fault in that I rarely ask for much help, not saying I know much of anything about anything, I just research stuff to death then go get my hands dirty, Keeps the chit chat out of my threads I suppose! I browsed your whole thread as well and your truck is looking great!

I'm at the point now where i need to slow down and focus on finished one thing up instead of bits and pieces of all at once. Get myself overwhelmed when I do that!

on a side note I like your style with the jeep and tow rig mentality. I USED to wheel, before I had kids and got myself into doing dumb things like putting a cummins in a chevy lol, but one day soon I plan to get back into that. My current DD is a YJ, with a little lift etc. Used to wheel rausch and reading anthracite a lot those a few years back. Sorta miss it!

[daddyjeep]

I'm the same way myself. There is so much information out there that I feel I'm taking a shortcut if I ask a question.

I have been preaching that thought process to one of my boys with his car project. Focus on one task, get it done, then move on to the next. He was jumping all over the place and getting nothing done.

[COS399]

Thanks for the updates and as stated previously, we are still following along.

[Greenlee]

Nice work! This truck will be a beast.

[DieselRat]

Well last night was a big success of simplicity really. A little key info for others who are in my swap about powering your fuse box etc. If you are using a chevy alternator that will plug into the factory harness, once your batteries are connected your golden. Since I am going to be using an external reg on the first gen alt (like i said because its new and it fits and its just simpler right now) I didn't have any power wires hooked to the alt and had no power. On the chevy harness you have an orange wire and a brown wire. The brown is a key hot which I assume is the exciter wire for the alt. The orange wire needs to see 12V or you get no power fed back to the fuse panel and there fore have nothing. SO I was hooking up a red wire that originally went to the starter main post that I had assumed was grabbing power and bringing power to the main power distribution block, well when I hooked it up I had nothing. I put the ORANGE wire from the dist to the junction block, and everything came to life!

Maybe everyone already knows that, but I searched EVERYWHERE to find that info in black and white to no avail. So there it is for the future searchers.


On a side note, the wire to power the fuel shutoff solenoid will come from the PINK wire that originally went to the distributor. That is also a key hot.

That previously mentioned red wire (larger dia wire) that went to the starter, will go directly to the battery to give power to the junction block.

The trigger wire is the same as the factory chevy I believe is a purple wire that goes to the small post on the starter.

I will update this list with the rest as I narrow them down, but basically it leaves oil pressure and water.

[COS399]

My 88 was wired with an external Dodge regulator and the surging of the lights every time the regulator kicked in and out drove me nuts. I installed an internal regulator and problem solved. I have the part number in my thread if your interested.

[DieselRat]

Good to know, did you add the internal to the dodge alternator or just change to an internally regulated alt?

[COS399]

Originally Posted by DieselRat

Good to know, did you add the internal to the dodge alternator or just change to an internally regulated alt?

I used the Dodge 1st Gen alternator. The box is marked as being made by "TRANSPO" and the part number is "IN8315." Below the part number it reads "V R INSERT NIP/CHR." I am assuming it means, voltage regulator insert Nipondenso and Chrysler.???

[DieselRat]

Thanks for that I will definitely look into that!

So I got a lot of my old wiring loomed up and tucked to the firewall. Had to modify the battery holder bracket on the drivers side as it was a little tall and I didn't want my post to be so close to the hood. Finished welding that up last night so today I plan to get the battery in there and finish up the headlight harness and put the washer bottle etc back on the fender. Got all my wiring DONE on the truck short of starting it because I dont have my TC bolted on or fluid in the trans yet. If all planets align once the fuel system is bled it SHOULD run. Basically now I am down to front brakes, rear ebrake cables, steering (undecided against factory push pull or a crossover setup) and at least a rear driveshaft for now and it should be mobile.

Heading away to the mountains for a week for some fishing and hanging with the family. Original plan was to have the truck done to take it on the first voyage, and I almost made that happen, so I am satisfied with my progress nonetheless.

[DieselRat]

Haven't taken any pictures to share but still making progress. Got my wiring all sorted out and loomed up, everything is hooked up except for oil and water. Hit the local junkyard and pulled a 4wd steering box, decided against the crossover steering for now. Got all new steering links and arms.

Last night got the transfer case bolted in, which was easy and hard at the same time. 150lbs isnt easy to muscle around laying on your back. And now that brings up a new problem, which is going to be where the heck the exhaust is gonna go. Almost need body lift to get a pipe down over the xfer case. So for now I am stumped on that one. Hoping to get fluid in it and a downpipe attached and try to fire it up for the first time. Gonna finish up my steering lines and new ends tonight and I think I am finally onto the 'short list' of things to do.

[Dieselwrencher]

Very, very nice truck, and awesome build! I just read through it now. Seeing this makes me want to finalize the deal to lengthen my frame and make my 76 a DRW again. You really saved your self some time by starting with such a nice body too! By the way, nice new to you car as well!

[DieselRat]

Thanks! Maybe you say my 54 build posted in my sig below, after that project I had enough fixing rust for a while! In the beginning this square wasn't exactly what I wanted in factory configuration, but now that it has become what it has, I absolutely love it! Got my trans and xfer case filled up with fluid last night, need to make some sort of downpipe to just keep the exhaust from blasting my firewall and I'm going to try to start it!

[DieselRat]

Got a bunch done this weekend, not sure what all updates I posted last so I'll just list it all.

Got my steering all done, lines hooked up etc. Finally found a lower rad hose by browsing listings online and looking at pics and dimensions. Part number is B71212 and it fit PERFECT I used a sleeve inside the radiator size because I kept my 454 radiator which has smaller hose inlets. It was brand new in the truck when I got it and saw no reason to spend 150 some bucks on a dodge one.



got the engine about complete in the truck, dual batteries wired up and still just need the correct reducer and sender for oil,water gauges.



ended up using amsoil for the trans and transfer case since I had to take the seal out of the back of the transmission to fit the np205 to the nv4500, this way theres no worries if fluid bleeds from one to the other.

I live in the heart of amish country and have for all my life, yet it still amazes me the little amish run shops that are hidden in the country...when I first started this truck and needed parts for the cummins, and was too impatient to wait for stuff to be mailed, i stumbled onto a little cummins dealer in the middle of paradise (literally paradise PA) and so far every little dumb gasket, piece whatever...they have had it in stock. Gotta love that!

Last but not least, I finally had everything done enough to try and crank it over. Primed the little lift pump lever a bunch of times and without hesitation it came to life! Very very happy. (the squeaking you can hear in the video I later found out was the line from the vacuum pump which I didnt plum into the system yet.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jouY4A4rmZU

[DieselRat]

So back to the amish shop, I have been trying to find someone with a first gen downpipe just for initial startup and to see how much room I had. No luck anywhere and I didn't really wanna buy one online and have to wait etc etc only to find out I would have to hack it up anyways, so this shop ended up having the weldable flange for the VBAND connection, so that and a couple of 3" 90's and I made my own downpipe. Also after it started I realized my lift pump was leaking a little, they had that and the gasket in stock as well, genuine cummins parts none the less!


So for now I am down to, clutch hydraulics, front brakes, driveshaft.

Then of course all the smalls like working gauges, vacuum lines, rear ebrake cables, shocks, sound deadener, and eventually, seats, carpet, dash pad...guess I'm not that close yet HA!

[Dieselwrencher]

Very nice! You've still made great progress so far!

[DieselRat]

A little more last night, and some more good swap info for everyone in futureland..

Searched high and low for a definitive answer to temp sensor infomation, and of course one know nothing says this and another that...Not that I couldnt figure it out woulda just been nice to be on a mission to get what I need, not what I dont need.

To put a CHEVY temp sender in the STOCK cummins location (driver side rear of the head...12v anyways)

you need a 3/4" NPT to 3/8 npt reducer. Couldnt find one in brass so I opted for SS that was on the shelf instead. NAPA part number for the sender new is TS4052.

Also took apart my 2wd stuff to steal the calipers and backing plates from and started to disassemble the dana 60 to do new rotors and such on it. Got as far as the spindle nut and didn't have the right nut wrench for it so had to call it quits. Hopefully got the right one this morning and can get the rest of it off tonight.