8.3 Cummins in a "pickup"
 

I am thinking of putting together a truck and need some input. I have a p-pumped 8.3 mated to an allison MD3060. I am planning on getting a remote transfer case out of a duece, building a custom tube frame, and finding a crewcab body for it, either a ford or a dodge. I need some ideas for axles... I know that the 8.3 is a pretty heavy engine, and I dont know what will handle the weight. I know rockwells will do the trick, but the 6.72:1 gears are kinda nasty. I also dont want it to be overly tall, so I would like to avoid the toploader axles, and keep the tires around the 35 range. Any ideas are appreciated

Alot of 35" tires arent a true 35" diameter. IMO I would suggest military surplus tires on recentered H1 beadlocks. You can get 36's or 37's with 95-100% tread on em.
A guy on pirate4x4 forum named 100dollarman sells them, he also has a website.
You can pick from 12 or 32 bolt beadlocks with free runflats or you can get custom ones and he will re-center the wheels for the axles your going to use. Your mainly paying for the wheels and the tires are free.
Just an option.
As for axles, a 14bolt will probably hold up good for the front if you mess with the axle tubes and what not.

No offence - but I think your dreaming.


8.3 has to outweight the 5.9 by at least 300 pounds.

Good luck - I hope you can make it work. Id love to see some pics.

Somewhere out there in the wild blue yonder of yee internet is a short story of a guy who put one in a 92-97 F Series.

IIRC he did a suspension lift so the oil pan could clear the Dana 60 front axle, did about a 3" body lift so the engine would actually fit under the cab/hood, and so the Allison would clear the floorboards.


Can it be done? Oh of course, anything can be done. I hope you're a one man factory because you are in for one helluva project. :pca1:

Thanks for the input, and I know that the 8.3 is big and heavy, thats why I want to use it, its different. Ive built several jeeps from the ground up, and I think its time to do a truck. There is a guy by me that builds custom axles and stuff, so I think I might have to pay him a visit. :c:

hey good luck, would be one hell of a ride, thats for sure. i think i would go with a newer ford body style. i kinda like them, and they look pretty tough coming at you. don't know how they ride, but i bet you would prolly change all the suspension components anyhow.

Im either thinkin a 99-03 ford crewcab or a quadcab dodge. Im going to try to find one thats 2wd and gas with a lot of miles and a pretty good body, and hopefully get it for cheap. Then build my own frame and drop the body on. The fords have big engine bays so I might lean that direction... and Im gonna go air ride :U:

Attachment 51903
They weigh 1500 pounds. You'll figure out the small stuff as you go. The Super Duty does have lots of room, and Dodges already have a Cummins. Go with the cab you like better.

If you have the coin, Dynatrac now offers Dana 80 front axles that can support up to 11,500 lbs!




Pro-Series 80 Front and Rear
http://www.dynatrac.com/images/image...jts60raa_s.jpg
If you need the biggest and the baddest, here it is!
Exclusive Dynatrac Pro80 High Rigidity Housing Technology
Ideal for today's Big Torque Diesel Power
Traditional Dynatrac attention to detail and quality throughout
11.25" Ring Gear, Ratios from 3.31-5.38
Tube diameters up to 4.0"
Full-Floating, GAWR up to 11,500 pounds
Multiple drum and disk brake systems available
ABS compatibility

So it weighs a few hundred lbs more.....what about a 5.9 with a bumper and winch? Bout the same. So its not that unfeasible.

if your building a custom frame then your biggest hurdle is just getting the cab to fit on the engine...shouldnt be too hard they are a bit bigger but not that much...

"So it weighs a few hundred lbs more.....what about a 5.9 with a bumper and winch? Bout the same. So its not that unfeasible."

My thoughts exactly, and Ive already got the motor, and its only about 4 inches taller and longer than the 5.9

you'll be fine...i would beef the suspension as much as possible...you said your gonna run air ride, right?? You gonna run it at all 4 corners if so then you will have no problems with the weight if you got bags under neath of it as long it is good quality stuff that is:U::pca1:

Well, I was just talking to a friend that has a set of dana 120's. I havent seen them yet, but thats a big number lol. They have 5.11 gears, which with 35's would put me right around 2000rpm @ 65. (double OD tranny) I too think that a stock axle would handle it, especially with air because air bags are going to reduce the shock. The only thing I worry about with 1-ton axles is the ball joints going out often. Im gonna have to do some research on these dana 120's

id look at dana 60 kingpin front axle sounds like one heck of a project

It can be done. There is a guy on TDG who put a 466 and 1000 series in a 78 or 79 ford, so you can put oyur 8.3 in whatever as well. I have seen other pictures of the 8.3 dodge as well and there are some floating around of a 92-97 OBS Ford with a 8.3 in it. I think a 1 ton frame will handle it as long as it isn't cranked up. I think the Dana 120 axle is from a F-550 and I think it is a rear only, but IDK for sure. Sounds like a great project!:U:

8.3l in a crewcab
 

I noticed your post about the 8.3l in a crewcab. I also want to do something like that. I will probably use a 8.3L Cummins also and I have a couple of Allison MD3060s. As far as the truck, I have a 1977 Dodge W600 that i am planning to use. It is just a single cab but I have access to a crew cab from a 1985 W200. The axles in the W600 are more than up to the task but they are geared at 6.80. Even with the Allison OD I would be turning kind of high RPMs at highway speeds. Not to mention the driveshaft RPM. I am planning to use Michelin 42 or 46 inch tires. They are 395/85R-20 and they are available petty cheap surplus. As far as axles go I do have some Eaton AWD axles that are really heavy duty. They came out of Air Force fire and rescue trucks. The good things about these axles is that they are geared at 3.70 and they have factory full air lockers. Let me know what you think about what I want to do and if you are intersted in any tires or axles drop me an e-mail. Thanks Dan Read more: https://www.dieselbombers.com/privat...#ixzz0Y6hoE8KC

groovy dude..................do the 19.5 wheels with is so ya can get 6400 lb payload per tire.........they are 35"

I saw the post was around a year old. Did u finish the project?

I thought kind of the exact same thing the other day. I took my truck to a brake shop the other day to get them to look at something. Aside from the fact they were being very unfriendly, the guy proceed to give me a lecture on how I should have upgraded the brakes when I put that "big heavy diesel engine" in. Didnt even complement me on the swap.

Now I'm not saying the Cummins isnt heavier. It is. But its only about 3-400 pounds extra. Two of me weighs 400 pounds. So its like this guy was saying if I carried around two passengers all the time I would have to upgrade my brakes? :humm: :argh:

sounds like a cool project,bigger is always better-lil trucks are for chics-

with you motor and trans already hooked up makes the job simpler,i made a template of my motor / trans from corrugated plastic,it made seeing how much firewall to trim,axle clearance,trans controls etc way easier-big mopar fan,so i would go dodge cab all day.

gluck with your build.

sounds like an awsome project man, I think your safe with whichever cab you like better if you are building a custom frame, an easier route would be a one ton, box the frame and recess the firewall if needed, that should hold up, it's really not that much heavier of an engine, for a rearend, i'd opt for a GM 14 bolt full floater, they are extremely strong, plentiful and cheap. good luck:rocking:

I have 8.3 in my ford magnum. Gets 19 mpg pulling 40 ft trailer. Looking to add propane to increase my milage. Great engine..but not geared for extreme fast starts. Very..very heavy engine.

That's awesome!

Any updates from the OP?