Need advice building up motor
 

I have a 98 cummins 12bt, I am using it in my truck build and want to boost the power to handle the weight of the truck. It will be mated to a Allison 3500 series auto trans (out of a bus) the rear axle is a Dana Spicer 19060s and there are dual semi truck tires on the rear. So there is a lot of weight the motor will have to spin before making power at the wheels.

I have a HX35W and a HT60 turbo that I plan to use in a compound turbo system.

So my question is given the turbos and the rest of the truck what would you suggest using cam, injectors, etc? My goal is to have enough power to tow and haul I also want to get better fuel economy. I am thinking around 500HP would be good, it may end up with more but that is the goal.

I would like to do this one time since the only way to get to the engine is by taking the entire front end off the truck. So I would really like a full list of items that go well together for this type of build.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

And yes this is for the 1939 Dodge 1.5 Ton flatbed truck.

500 horse should be fairly easy but do you know what exhaust housing that ht60 has? depending on that housing size it may be to your best interest to find another housing or a better primary turbo.

On the fueling side

A good lift pump in the 150 GPH range is what you will be needing
A 5x.014 injector is what I would recommend
A set of 4k gov springs
A set of either 191s, 024s, or 7mm DVs
A mack rack plug
Depending on what p pump you have a fuel plate
Pump tuning and timing in the 20-22 range.

Other than that some head studs, your turbos ( opening up the wastegate on the 35 is also needed) , and basic things like intake and exhaust should get you there.

Here are some photos of the turbos I am using. I have not seen them for over a year so I do not recall which housing it has... Possibly you can tell. I thought they were a great match when I purchased it.

I was planning a stage 3 Colt cam or a similar Hamilton cam. I want power but not just due to blowing tons of fuel through the block. Sounds like this will end up with more than 500hp which is fine.

Will I need to worry about the tappets or push rods with this set up?


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If your going to do a cam swap than upgrade your tappets to a 24v style tappet, but for your goal a cam swap is not needed. Pushrods wont hurt but I don't think your going to need them. I did forget to mention in my above post the get a set of valve springs.

From your photo I can't tell what housing is on the ht60 23,26 and 32 are the popular ones the 23 is what you want.

There is so much variation in quality and price with each of these items. I am looking for better than stock quality, enough to hold up for years in this type of truck at an affordable price.
If I spend $500 on springs it does not leave much for the rest of the build, if I spend $60 I may need to toss them and replace them...

So what specific items do you think would work best in combination for this truck? I know this is the question everyone posts and there is literally millions of posts on this subject. The issue is that my truck is so far from the norm I assume (yeah I know) it will be a different build to handle these specific stresses.

Does anyone have specific brand suggestions?

I am leaning towards the SAC injectors but there are so many brands at different price levels for injectors that all state 5X.014 SAC, so how do you decide which ones to use? Is there a great brand for a great value, one that is way over priced for what you get?

Anything else I should consider to build this engine once?

Typically you get what you pay for so keep that in mind as well. Ducky Fuel injection and Infinite Performance are the two that I normally deal with for injectors.

Power driven diesel is also reputable, diesel auto power, I've heard great things about ducky aswell. As for things for building an engine if money isn't an issue Id go through a bunch of web sites engine sections and badically get one of everything. Depending on goals of course. Are you caming it? You'll want bigger tappets from hamilton, diff push rods, valve springs, head studs, cam retainer, cam gear retainer, adjustable pump gear maybe if you want, fluidamper, arp studs and bolts all around, billet oil sprayers, Mahle powerpak Pistons, hardened 12v rods unless you have money for carlillos, kdp kit. The list goes on. I just finished getting my engine built and I basically got a new everything except my crank. And valves. 24v oil pump. just ideas for you. Do you need a girdle? Probably not but insurance is nice. So it depends on your goals and budget but basically everything in the engine can be upgraded one way or another. And there's lots of vendors so shop around. I have great luck with diesel auto power, pure diesel power, Cpp I like because of their choices but they are a bit off on customer service. I do live in Canada so it's hard to fully judge them but dap, and pure diesel are a pleasure to work with. As well as power driven, I got afc live and they are nice to deal with. Just my 2 cents.

All these things are nice but not needed for the OP's power goal.

For example my 97 is a stock long block with 163,000 miles on the clock. Mods are s362 over a s475, o ringed head no port or polish, ARP 2000's, valve springs, 12mm benched pump, 5x.016's, AD 220, stock cam, stock lifters, intake, and an exhaust. Dynoed 543 RWHP with a good amount left in it.

Exactly, I am looking for the supporting mods required to spool the compounds and move the truck. Budget is an issue, but I do have some to spend.

i totally agree, don't need all that to make 500. I'm just going by the fact he wants to build it once. a lot easier to spend money on a stout engine now and maybe skimp out on some expensive external parts that can be bolted on later then go jeez i sure would like a cam or a adjustable pump gear etc when its really easy to do when the engines apart but not so easy when its in the truck. basically is all I'm getting at. needed parts. exactly what your 97 has, plus a 3-5 ask which i assume you have. easy 500 hp. I'm just thinking long run because he's doing the motor. might as well put the parts you want now if a budget allows of course

I see your point and agree it is best to do an much internal now as possible, but to the extent that it is relevant to the overall goal. I doubt this truck will need more than 800hp ever so I doubt the girdle and some of the internal mods will be needed. Thank you for the post, not trying to gang up on you :-)

So what internal mods are relevant to this situation? Please note brand preference.

I do want to still have good fuel economy so I want to build the power through efficiency not just burning more fuel.

I'm not sure what you ment by a 3-5 ask?

For internal mods in my opinion all you will need is balanced and polished factory crank, line hone the mains, balanced rods with good rod bolts, Mahle pistons the 1 gen style gets my vote, 12mm main studs would be nice, and check your bores if it needs bored bore it if not just a good hone.

i ment a 3-5000rpm gouverner spring. depending what you want. auto correct got me there. the mhale power pack pistons are nice, and a decent price i thought. they have the 1stgen/marine bowl in them. i noticed a pretty noticeable weight diff just handling them. much lighter than stock. i got cpp hardened/polished and balanced stock rods which may or may not be something your interested in. they come with arp bolts. they don't break the bank compared to billet ones.

I have 5ks in my current pump