1976 Chevy K30 Crew Cab Short Box Cummins Build

[Mattman2010]

Looking good man!

[tecky11]

damn that loks great, cant wait to see her finished

[1985-GMC]

Wow lots of progress, the polished VC and intake is gonna look great on it!

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by Mattman2010

Looking good man!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by tecky11

damn that loks great, cant wait to see her finished

Me either.

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Wow lots of progress, the polished VC and intake is gonna look great on it!

I wish I could have gotten more done but every time you think you have gotten it, you see something else that won't work or isn't right and you have to modify. I'm planning on polishing the turbo compressor cover as well eventually.

[tecky11]

ryan, you are making me look bad. trying t fight the damn engine in the bay and i cant get it angled in just right

[FrankieD]

Nice work, it should be a torque monster. Are you going to have to beef up the frame I know they like to crack by the steering box?

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by tecky11

ryan, you are making me look bad. trying t fight the damn engine in the bay and i cant get it angled in just right

Tecky, I've done this once or twice. Getting the engine right where you want it is usually half of the battle. I had to move mine a few times. Wrestling these heavy things can be a pain, but worth it in the end.

Originally Posted by FrankieD

Nice work, it should be a torque monster. Are you going to have to beef up the frame I know they like to crack by the steering box?

I plan on building a plate with a brace that extends to my front cross member to help support that area. I'll post pics when I get that far.

Today I welded up the LH engine mount. I have to make a few more cuts and drill a hole and it should be done. I'll post pics tomorrow.

[Dieselwrencher]

Got the LH mount finished up this morning and installed back on the truck. I then put a dummy trans cross member in place and jacked the truck up and removed the jack stands from under the engine. I have been worried that the weight would sag my front springs and kill my clearances. I sat the truck down and it didn't settle much. I then bounced the crap out of it, and it's good to go. Everything I was worried about is just fine.














I then moved on to start the modifications to the front cross member. I thought about hacking the rivets and building a new one, but decided I'd concentrate that time on the engine cross member because I know that'll eat up the most of the time any way. I'm going to add a piece to the top and bottom to follow the original cross member's lines. Plus it will be plenty strong as well. Then I'll have to decide how I want to do the steering box brace.

[madcow75]

Is it just me or do you have negative arch on those front leaf springs? I think you may need a set of 5 leaf 1 ton stock leaf springs with that motor.

[Mattman2010]

Looking good man!

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by madcow75

Is it just me or do you have negative arch on those front leaf springs? I think you may need a set of 5 leaf 1 ton stock leaf springs with that motor.

These are stock springs and that's how they are stock. They're rated for 1400lbs each. Those springs jad negative arch with no engine in them. You can kind of see it n this pic. That's the only pic I seem to have showing it.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by Mattman2010

Looking good man!

Thanks Matt!

[1985-GMC]

My K30 came with 9 leafs in the rear with 2 overloads and 4 leafs in the front with just a slight positive arch with or without a 454 sitting in it. It was a cab & chassis model and it also has the camper special badges on the cab so I guess that's why it was so beefed up.

The truck keeps looking better and better man!

Could you have torched the rivets out of that front cross member, slid it forward then re-drilled and bolted it in place?

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

My K30 came with 9 leafs in the rear with 2 overloads and 4 leafs in the front with just a slight positive arch with or without a 454 sitting in it. It was a cab & chassis model and it also has the camper special badges on the cab so I guess that's why it was so beefed up.

The truck keeps looking better and better man!

Could you have torched the rivets out of that front cross member, slid it forward then re-drilled and bolted it in place?

I was originally going to buy 4 leaf fronts for this. but then I rode in a truck with a BBC and 4 leaf springs. My wife would never drive this thing if it rode like that! So I figured I'd go with the 3 leaf and see what it does. The 3 leaf springs can hold a BBC and a 8' Western snow plow for years, so I think the extra 300lbs of the cummins won't bother them too much.

I thought about that on the front cross member too. But the problem with that is I'd have to put it in front of the steering box bolts and then there goes my support in that area of the frame. That's why I decided to leave it in the original location and modify it.

[1985-GMC]

Oh ok I'll have to see what you're going to do for your bracing up there.

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by 1985-GMC

Oh ok I'll have to see what you're going to do for your bracing up there.

I haven't quite figured it out yet either.

[tecky11]

looks pretty damn good ryan

[yousesteers]

Originally Posted by Dieselwrencher

These are stock springs and that's how they are stock. They're rated for 1400lbs each. Those springs jad negative arch with no engine in them. You can kind of see it n this pic. That's the only pic I seem to have showing it.

On my Crew with the cummins it originally had a 350 I measured the frame to the floor with the 350 in, then no motor, and the cummins in and there was less than 1inch difference in all 3 measurements and about a 1/4in between the 350 and the cummins it was about 400 lb different by the specs so that less weight than me and one of my buddies sitting in the front seat. I am going to put new springs on but mine the bushing are completely shot

[Dieselwrencher]

Today I continued on the front cross member. I was making great progress until I ran out of mig wire. So I cut out templates for the pieces I need to cut out to weld in place. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get it done.




Here's a pic of what this truck would look like with big meats.

It was a bad idea, cause it'd look bad azz!

[rs72z]

Your build is coming along nice.

What auto trans would you use on a cummins swap?

[tecky11]

it does look great

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by rs72z

Your build is coming along nice.

What auto trans would you use on a cummins swap?

It depends how much money you want to spend really. Ford 4R100's are real tough trannies and work great behind them. However, you'll have about $5k in one before it's done. GM 4L80E's will work too, but you still have to buy an adapter plate and a controller. I like the 47RH's because they can be directly bolted to these engines using a dodge engine plate. You have to use 2 toggle switches or vacuum switches to control over drive and lock up. I'm going to put both on mine and will post up when I do so. I'll have all the good parts in this trans except billet shafts but it'll still be a super strong transmission.

Originally Posted by tecky11

it does look great

Thanks Toby!

[tecky11]

once we both get our projects done will have to play tug o war :0 and thank you for the incenteive to keep going ryan

[Dieselwrencher]

Originally Posted by tecky11

once we both get our projects done will have to play tug o war :0 and thank you for the incenteive to keep going ryan

Tug o war is done on a 300ft track! I used to hook trucks all the time. It's not all about power for sure. 2wd trucks don't stand a chance most times.

[Dieselwrencher]

Over the weekend I didn't get as much done as I would have liked to. I had to make some repairs to the shop, and we had some family stuff to attend to. Here's what I've gotten done lately.




I was curious how the turbo was going to fit over there and here is what it looks like with a S362 on it. I plan on running a HX35W as long as the turbo is rebuild-able.