1996 Chevy 3500 12 valve swap
 

Hi fellas. Been searching around the site for a while now and I figured I'd share my plan for my truck with you. I have a 1996 Chevy 3500 with the 6.5L in it. Well, the 6.5 took a crap a couple weeks ago. I picked up a 93 W350 with the 12v in it for dirt cheap. The truck is too rough to fix up and I just put a ton of hours into the chevy to get it on the road so my plan is to swap the 12v in. I own a welding and fabrication shop so making most of the stuff I need isn't a problem. One of the things I will need help with is the wiring. I want to keep the 4l80e in the truck. I've been looking around for a cheap standalone controller but not finding anything. I'm wondering if I can somehow get the tps on the 12v to work with the chevy computer. Is that the only thing I need to link up to the ECM? On another note I'm going to check the KDP on the 12v but other than that I think I'm just going to throw it in. It ran great in the dodge with no apparent problems. Well, thanks in advance for any advice you guys have and I'll keep you posted on my progress. :rocking:

Talked to autoworld yesterday, and the lady that picked up the phone was very knowledgable and helpful. Looks like they sell almost everything I will need to do the swap and she even had some advice for the wiring. Has anyone used their stuff before?

I personally have not used their stuff, but I have heard alot of good things about them. I have seen some people use them without a fuss, but I have heard many a person saying that stuff from fordcummins.com does not fit right. Heck, even the fordcummins website has a few parts that say you need to modify the parts they send you to fit them. If that is what you have to do with their stuff, then why would you buy adapters that need to be adapted??


BTW Got any pics of your conversion? Candidate truck? Donor truck?? Transmission setup??

Here are some pics of the truck and the motor I want to use. I traded an audi a4 that I paid 800 bucks for, for the truck. It was pretty much a basket case. I also bought a 1500 parts truck for 300 bucks. I swapped the bed, doors, and entire interior including the wiring harness so I could have power windows. The truck ran great until the 6.5l had a 6.5l moment. Anyway I figured it would be a great time to dive into an overwhelmingly large project that I have no time or money for and got the cummins. :argh: So its going slow but I am still determined to get it done.:tu:

It's gonna be sweet!!!! Is the pic of the blue/maroon the $300 parts truck, or the candidate truck? It looks to me that its a 1500 you swapped parts with like you said, but there is absoloutly NO emblems or anything to go on that thought with.


Only one problem i see though...............:pics:

Well its been a while since I started this project but I'm ready to get some work done again. The shop has been so busy that I haven't had time to think about my projects. I have a couple weeks over the holiday to work on something I actually want to work on. I started by removing the grill, fenders and hood. Looks like with the bread truck adapter that I got there will definitely be some clearance issues with the radiator and maybe the front differential. We will see tomorrow. Hopefully I can get the core support and inner fenders out and drop the engine in place.
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Started today by removing the core support. Looked like I would have enough room to work without taking out the inner fenders so I left them in. Ran into my first problem. And I knew this might be an issue from the start. The bread truck adapter makes the engine tilt toward the passenger side by 8 degrees. doesn't sound like much but the problem lies down where the oil pan hits the front diff. I was able to split the difference by tilting the trans 4 degrees the opposite way but even then the oil pan rail hits the top row of bolts on the diff. I can get the engine close to bolting to the trans but I just can't get the tranny up far enough to mate up. I guess I will be getting a body lift to get the clearance I need. Unless someone has a trick or two.:humm: Tomorrow I will raise the body and see if I can get it lined up. Oh and I had to trim the pass side motor mount base because that hit the oil pan rail too.
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Given any thought to swapping the Chev body onto the Dodge/Cummins chassis? That would be my 1st choice.

Umm. No. :nope:

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Bracket that hangs down below the water neck on the 5.9 is hitting the pitman arm. Gonna have to cut it off.
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Its in and lined up but still hanging off the hoist.
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The oil pan rail is damn close to the top row of bolts on the front diff.
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Put the core support in just to make sure I would be able to fit the radiator and intercooler in. Looks like I'll have a full inch of clearance between the fan and the rad. That is because I pushed the tranny back about 2 1/2 inches. I will have to modify the driveshafts but I think that is the only way to go.
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Here is the process of fabbing the motor mounts.
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The pass side will have to be a solid mount because I had to trim off the bottom of the stock mount.
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There she is. Sitting in the truck with the full weight on the new mounts. Since the bread truck adapter tilts the engine 8 degrees, I split the difference between the engine and the tranny. I had to pull the body mount bolts and lift the cab 2 inches to get the engine in place.
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Conversion
 

In response to the transmission ordeal I myself haven't seen a swap like that with the 4L80 still in it but it is possible. I've seen a couple with the Allison transmission hooked up with a 12 valve and a 24 valve both in Dodges and Chevys. It can be a lot more cost effective with the parts and tuning needed.

Thanks for the response gmguy. I am still going to try to get the stock computer to work if I can but if need be I will get the compushift or something similar. Out of all of the research I have done I have only seen a couple of conversions using the 4l80e. One thing I am going to get is a low stall speed converter.

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One other problem I ran into today is that I have no starter. I know most adapters use the 6.0 ford starters but this adapter is off a 4bt out of some kind of delivery van. I bought it off ebay and I have no idea what kind of starter to use. The provision is on the pass side and it has two mounting bolts. Anyone have an idea where I should start?

In what orientation are the started bolt holes? Can you get a pic?

I'm not sure about the 96 model, but on the mechanical 6.5, 93 back, the trans comp only uses an engine rpm speed sensor and the TPS. I hope for simplicity that the 96 is the same.

Good luck with the project. Post a video when you get it driveable.

Here is a shot of where the starter bolts in.
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I would try to use the starter for a 93 dodge ram 3500 pickup with 5.9 cummins. It has three bolt holes but you could try to use the opposing two in the existing holes on the adapter. That would probably be the best bet. You are using the cummins flexplate, correct?

Actually the adapter and flexplate are off of some kind of delivery van that uses a 4bt connected to chevy transmission. The starter off of the original 5.9 is totally different. I found some info last night. Not totally sure I have the right part number yet but I will find out when I go to the local parts store on Monday.

good luck, hopefully its the right part

Here you can see where I moved the transmission crossmember back 2 inches.
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I also had to move the centerline of the engine and trans toward the pass side 2 inches.
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Since the trans adapter had an 8 degree tilt I split the difference between the trans and engine. A stack of grade 8 washers on top of the mount worked. Simple yet effective.
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Since I moved everything back 2 inches I had to shorten the driveshaft by 2". Here is the process.
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6 years later... almost done. Lol! I work slow.