Bread Truck question

[Jed]

For those of you that have purchased bread trucks. What charge air cooler comes with the truck? Air to air or air to water and is either one adaptable to a pick-up conversion? Specifically 86 chev. k30?

 

[DKarvwnaris]

For those of you that have purchased bread trucks. What charge air cooler comes with the truck? Air to air or air to water and is either one adaptable to a pick-up conversion? Specifically 86 chev. k30?

Few of the 1980 model 4bt equipped bread trucks had charge coolers that I've looked at buying. Most were just 4BT models, not 4BTA's.

Any charge cooler you find will work with the 4bt's. If your repower project had one in any configuration of its bodystyle, just buy one for it that is a factory fit.

Ford, Dodge and GM had charge coolers factory equipped, You can mount any of these with minor mods into a different bodied vehicl, the best part is they will readily found at junkyards unlike a p-30 chassis. You can always look into a banks innercooler for an older model truck that they sell a retrofit conversion to allow for a turbo or innercooler. They did this for Ford as well.

If you do come across a bread truck with an air to air or an air to water, either one will work in a pickup, provided you have the hood clearance for the air to water manifold, They 6bt's I have seen with them have it on top of the intake, which makes it significantly higher.

Kenny at Autoworld had a air to water innercooler on one of his first repowers if I remember right. Maybe dawna will chime in on this.



Outfitting an inner cooler into a vehicle is nothing if you have been able to fabricate and install a cummins engine into the engine cimpartment. At the very most, you'll have to get some mandrel elbows and some exhaust tubing and build the charge cooler pipes to connect the boot connectors at each end. Not hard at all if you reducers and expanders from regular muffler stock parts. I'd recommend using aluminized pipe as it prevents rust inside the tubes. TIG welding it reduces the effect of welding on the aluminized coating, it directs the arc only at the very point you are filling/ joining together.

 

[Jed]

Thanks for the reply, if that is the case I should be able to get a charge air cooler for a 6. 5 that will fit my truck since it is a 86 or as a second option find a banks cooler for the same application. I am not too worried about the piping as I have access to stainless tubing and benders and can weld what is needed.

 

[DKarvwnaris]

Thanks for the reply, if that is the case I should be able to get a charge air cooler for a 6. 5 that will fit my truck since it is a 86 QUOTE]



I would look into finding a 2nd generation dodge charge cooler. They are plentyful and will easily fit into the grill/ core support of the older GM trucks. If you opt for a 2nd generation dodge radiator as well, you'll have a compatible set that fit around each other and the radiator will hold up to the 4bt's water pump and vibration and never have issues with under sized cooling. It is a win win combination in my eyes.