1979 chevy cummins conversion
#1
08-09-2013, 06:02 PM
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
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1979 chevy cummins conversion
Alright guys I'm fixing to start my cummins conversion and I've got a few questions that y'all could might answer. It's a 1979 chevy c20, right now it has a 350/th400, 14 bolt rear end, vacuum boosted brakes. My plans were to buy a donor truck and run a nv4500 from the donor. Will my 14 bolt hold up to the cummins? Can I use the donor trucks rear end? What do I do about the clutch since my truck is an automatic now? And is there any way to make the vacuum boosted brakes work without changing them to hydro boost? Any comments would be GREATLY appreciated!!
#2
08-19-2013, 04:25 PM
What I did...
Hey man,
I just (mostly) finished my Cummins swap so I can help a little...
1) Vac/Hydro brakes: depending what year truck you get the motor from, 1994 to 1996 i think, had good vacuum pumps on them that you could hook up to your trucks vac system to run the brakes and other stuff. The problem with that is you'll need to have a shop make up a high pressure line for your power steering as the '79 box will require a different fitting. Now, the way around that is to hit the pick-n-pull and find a late 80's steering box, it will have the right port for the dodge PS line.
what I did: I converted over to hydroboost to get some better brakes. I used the hydro master and the steering box from the same truck
2: 14 bolt will be fine. Running one straight from the junkyard in my 'burb. yes, you could switch over the rear axle from the donor but you're just asking for more work. The payoff here would be if your Chevy is rolling on 4.10's and you want 3.54's, or something like that.
what I did: I almost tried to use the D80 from my donor but went 14bolt when I found a wider van 14bolt. I swapped out the yoke to a 1410 so I'd have the same yoke on both ends.
3: Clutch: you'll want to find a brake/clutch assembly from a hydro clutch chevy and swap that in. It was tough but I wrestled my way through it. I've read about guys using the old style pedals and redrilling for the proper geometry...but that just sounded like a PITA to me!
I think I hit all your questions. Feel free to hit me up anytime.
Matt
I just (mostly) finished my Cummins swap so I can help a little...
1) Vac/Hydro brakes: depending what year truck you get the motor from, 1994 to 1996 i think, had good vacuum pumps on them that you could hook up to your trucks vac system to run the brakes and other stuff. The problem with that is you'll need to have a shop make up a high pressure line for your power steering as the '79 box will require a different fitting. Now, the way around that is to hit the pick-n-pull and find a late 80's steering box, it will have the right port for the dodge PS line.
what I did: I converted over to hydroboost to get some better brakes. I used the hydro master and the steering box from the same truck
2: 14 bolt will be fine. Running one straight from the junkyard in my 'burb. yes, you could switch over the rear axle from the donor but you're just asking for more work. The payoff here would be if your Chevy is rolling on 4.10's and you want 3.54's, or something like that.
what I did: I almost tried to use the D80 from my donor but went 14bolt when I found a wider van 14bolt. I swapped out the yoke to a 1410 so I'd have the same yoke on both ends.
3: Clutch: you'll want to find a brake/clutch assembly from a hydro clutch chevy and swap that in. It was tough but I wrestled my way through it. I've read about guys using the old style pedals and redrilling for the proper geometry...but that just sounded like a PITA to me!
I think I hit all your questions. Feel free to hit me up anytime.
Matt
Alright guys I'm fixing to start my cummins conversion and I've got a few questions that y'all could might answer. It's a 1979 chevy c20, right now it has a 350/th400, 14 bolt rear end, vacuum boosted brakes. My plans were to buy a donor truck and run a nv4500 from the donor. Will my 14 bolt hold up to the cummins? Can I use the donor trucks rear end? What do I do about the clutch since my truck is an automatic now? And is there any way to make the vacuum boosted brakes work without changing them to hydro boost? Any comments would be GREATLY appreciated!!
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