Chevy body on a dodge frame
 

Ok, i have a 93 cummins i want to build up. I really love the old shortbed chevys from the 80s and have a good body i can use. I figure instead of transplanting the cummins into the chevy i could just put the chevy cab on the dodge frame and shorten the frame to the correct wheelbase.

Anyone know what will be involved other than the obvious? Will my intercooler and everything fit? Can you get wiring harnesses from painless wiring or anywhere else to make the gauges work in the chevy dash? Or where can i buy new gauges that will fit in the dash and work with my cummins?

Chevy body on a Dodge frame? Sacrilege! :ha:

I honestly don't think you're saving yourself any work by doing this. You'll have to make all new body mounts which I imagine could be a real pain if the frames aren't the same width due to having to move them and widen of shorten them. I think you'd be better off just dropping the Cummins in the Chevy frame and strengthening it where you need to. The axles from the Dodge can be used, just move the spring perches.

I believe Painless or LMC truck both have wiring harnesses for the older GMs. I would just buy Autometer gauges or whatever brand you prefer and stuff them in the in the dash. The holes in the cluster trim are already the perfect size. You'll just have to make some lights for the turn signals and brights. I can't remember if you can get a tach or speedo with a brights indicator or not, I think you can though.

a bunch of people tried to talk me into doing this when I did my swap. I seriously wanted a chevy, not a chev body on a dodge. Personally if I could go back its been a total pain in the ass but I'd do it the same way again.

Thanks for the input. The only reason i was thinkin about doin just the body is because i want a short bed. So im lookin at a half ton. And im worried about a half ton frame holdin up to the cummins. Also, im just throwin this out there for input, because what i really want is an old crew cab dodge from the 80s, but they are like hens teeth around here

Did anyone attempt or complete the swap?,
Ive come across a 95 12v 5spd 4x4 1ton cab and chassis, cab is FUBAR.
I have a 95 ext cab stepside k1500 with every mechanical issue known to man, Body's Mint.

Any serious input on the matter? And the end of the project a guy can have a badass solid axel heavy chevy, acording to my tape mesure making the mounts is easy breezy. Running all the wiring from the dodge to the chev cab using chev pig tails for lights ect.. Robing the break booster and chutch gear from the dodge aswell, gas pedel if i have to. The trim for the shifters is a swap over to, make my own cluster aswell.

Dude, I've got no friggin' idea whatsoever if this is a feasible project, but, the Dodge is tough, the Chevy's comfortable, and, at least it's harder to set a Diesel-powered truck on fire. :pca1: :c:

I agree, I have just purchased a 90 w350 5 speed 4x4 that got rolled. I am swapping my 72 Suburban body onto the frame of the dodge. Just gonna build my own mounts, and shorten the wheel base by moving the rear axle forward. Dodge had all the engineering figured out on the frame dimensioning, so why mess with what works. The dodge only needs a couple of wires to run, so I am going to use the gmc wiring, and make it happen.

Ok so a few years of hum'n and haw'n went by.. Good deals on cummins part trucks come and gone..
But one i couldent refuse..I picked up a 99 2500 ext long bed with a nv complete and running with 30k km's on rebuilt 24v for 1500$:mafia:
Have a 89 c2500 dually my wife wants me to scrap.. C/k chevy conversion is a full go!!
Gonna have tons of pic's and full write up for all you dreamers! Just gotta go get my ram from the arctic first
Here is somthing to drool over for the meantime
http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/Shottzillanwt/media/IMG_20150913_134842_zpsrpkixd6g.jpg.html

http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/Shottzillanwt/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsyoplj3gd.jpeg.html
Oh yah! nbs ext cab.

http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/Shottzillanwt/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsuzwjegnm.jpeg.html

http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/Shottzillanwt/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsuzwjegnm.jpeg.html
Badow

rad support mounts are the only keepers, gonna chop and reweld the other 4. Had to cut the front most box perches off(chebby can is 10.5 inches longer)Kinda mocked the hydroboost, the 2 holes on the inside fit perfectly the outter ones i gotta poke holes in the firewall, what a pile of crap with the abs motor... Clutch master ill have to wing it.. Looks to be a stamp on the firewall where it would have a clutch master if it was a manual unit?. The nbs cab has a stamp on the floor for the shift tower, cut that out and had to trim a little extra, gonna have to run efans.. Hopefully low enough profile ones exist.. Then i will attempt to intergrate the bcm to the engine harness.
That was a good weekend :rocking:

Anyone have some insite on the integration of the cummins to the chevy bcm?

Awwyeaaa! Got a hold of a 02 2500hd Big hood! Not that it needs it to be cool..but now its turned up to 11!!
Attachment 30873

Dont know why any of my photobucket img's come up black.. Is it me or is it the forum

They look black to me too

Any updates on the project?

Yah idk why they are blacked out.. Maybe the forum doesn't support img links??
Its all bolted down and im wating on a ebay order the clutch pedal assembly, brake line junction to get rid of the abs pump, and the headlight's

http://s1156.photobucket.com/user/Shottzillanwt/media/98B0FF5F-504C-4B11-92F5-D7EACE5B921F_zpsujb4v7wm.jpg.html

Did you finish this?

Not 100%. But it runs and drives. Put it away for the winter.. spring time will bring the lift, front end overhaul.. lift pump and all the other gadgets. I have the BCM controlling the cummins ECM.. have to make a cluster.. the Chev data bus interface for the cluster was a PIA without the stock ecm.. i have a whole bunch of pic's and could do a build write up but their wasn't a whole lot of interest on here. Also posting pictures never worked..

Attachment 31048
Attachment 31049

re
 

Pretty nice work.. im thinking of doing the same swap and i joined this forum as soon as i read that you were doing this exact swap. what gave you the most grief. im thinking of doinog it with a OBS chevy with no bcm ecu ... and my donor is a 1994 dodge 2500 with no complicated electronics aswell. :tu:

Sweet! Lol yah ironically this thread is the reason i signed up too!,
what kind of OBS cab do you have? what kind of ram?

Their are plenty of hurdles to get over but its worth it!:yeah:

still on the hunt..!:humm: i currently have a 1994 dodge ram 2500 w/ 12 valve p-pump with a auto trans and 4x4

what is the dodge wheel base i ment, ext cab long box? You should find a 6.5 donor has IC and hydro boost provisions Ect..

haha im new to this!! its a regular cab long box. 137.4 whellbase. well according to wikipedia
and i wasnt lookin for a 6.5 only because out here in Quebec they rust faster than you can blink .. so the one thats decent that comes my way is the one to be parted.. i was thinking of doing it like you for the brake and all .. using the dodge master cylinder and brake booster..im comfertable with a welder and metal working so .. thats whay i was thinking of doing a body swap on the dodge instead of a cummins swap in a chevy.. might happen next who knows.!! :tu:

Oh haha i didn't notice your location! Yah the rust belt isn't very nice to any machine especially 16+ year old ones. But luckily back then chev and Chrysler shared the same parts suppliers for alot of stuff so it should be pertty close like mine. Originally i was going to do the OBS swap untill i came across free NBS parts. Plus my cummins ended up being a 24v insted of a 12v. Luck of the draw i suppose. So do you want to keep it a reg cab long box? If i recall years ago when i was doing my measurements for OBS swap you can do a EXT cab chev short box on that wheel base perfectly. The body perches and the chev are about 1.5 inches wider then dodge. A big challenge is gonna be getting the cab on the frame without looking out of place, the dodge frame has a longer front kick up so the cab will sit pretty high on the frame, i pushed my cab as far back as i could while maintaining some wheel well fitment. I have about an 1 1/4'' from the fan mount pully to rad and 3/8's clearance from the 4" down pipe.

awesome. sounds like they fit great together... i would sure love to find a good condition crew cab but the options are limited. mostly ext cab and regular cab are available.. but i keep good hope of finding a decent crew cab.. any how, i have more faith in making a cab fit that engine mounts trans mousnt and drive shafts.. my experience with truck isn't that advance..one day tho:w2:

All done. I present to you a Chevram!

Chevy on a cummins
 

OBS Chevy ext. cab regular box on 2nd gen dodge single cab long box
 

I was wondering if anyone knew how well a 93 Chevy ext cab regular box Body would fit on a 2nd gen 12v dodge single cab long box chassis

just minty, with a little bit of effort

Do you think it would be easier to do the body swap or to just drop the 12v into the Chevy

Because I’ve heard that they sell a motor and trans mount conversion from the 5.7 to a 12v but I have no idea where I would find that kit

the front end will be the biggest draw back dumping the Cummins in a chevy setup, IMO body swaps are the way to go because the drive line science is already done. Then Its just a matter of cab mounts and linkage with a bit of wiring and the brakes. Provided you or someone is a competent welder to safely make the cab perches.

Well I’m proud to announce that the start of my Chummins has begun