1997 Chevy 3500 Cummins 12v Swap?
 

IS it a good project? We have a 1997 Chevy 3500 Cheyenne Dually 350 gas V8, 5 speed NV4500 trans, and its 2WD. It is a 2 door regular cab and has a CM skirted flatbed on it. It has 123k miles but those have been hard miles always towing a trailer. The engine has bad rings on the #7 cylinder and spits oil out the exhaust. Front end is screwed up, brakes are shot, paint is horrible, windshield needs replaced, and the interior is not in great shape. My plans would be to put a Cummins 12v in it, keep the NV4500 trans, repaint it, fix the brake issue and front end and then add air ride suspension. Since this is a 2WD it would be a highway cruiser which is why I am considering air ride. Who thinks it would be worth it? Of course it would cost a lot and take awile but would it be worth it? Also how hard would it be to drop a 12v in this?

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IMO, not worth it with that truck. Those front suspensions and frames aren't very heavy duty. I've seen them cracked all over and thats with only a gas engine.

The older chassis (73-87 1-ton) was far more cummins-worthy. It would be kind of cool to pre-build one of these with a cummins, and swap the body, deck, and NV4500 at the very end.