E250 4x4 5.9 Cummins Conversion

[MartyAdams]

How many of you want a Hummer (Humvee) and cannot afford it? Well I wanted one and had no money so I came up with the poor mans hummer or at least my idea. A 4x4 diesel van!!!! Last year I purchased a 1989 E250 4x4 Ford van for $800 CDN and then put some almost new 35" tires on it for another $800. At Christmas I purchased a 1994 Dodge pickup with a 5. 9 2nd gen 12 v Diesel in it for $250. I have been lurking the site for 2 months and finally broke the piggy bank to get a subscription to post. Help, please help and I am going to breed these two and see what I end up with. Does anyone have any pictures of such a conversion? I checked the archived posts and found some information however no pictures or websites work.

Please don't tell me I am crazy as this is a fact I already know. Problem is that little oil burner just warms my heart.



Marty

 

[bmoeller]

My parents had E-150 with the 300 I-6, so I would think it would OK. Haven't seen or heard of one w/a Cummins conversion. www.fordcummins.com should have some of what you need for the swap. That is what they do for the Ford trucks.

 

[bighammer]

Welcome! Sounds like it will be quite interesting. You got a deal on that truck, for sure. Oo.

 

[1stgen4evr]

conversions

a 1994 Dodge pickup with a 5. 9 2nd gen 12 v Diesel in it for $250



Jeepers Marty, I want to know where you shop for parts. Two hundred fifty???



Aside from that I would say go for it. May take a little beating and banging here and there. Is the internal hump long enough? A 4bt would do nicely in that rig also. Only thing I know about the e series is that the air flow is not too good around the motor. The inline six ought to help with that. Should work if you get the intercooler and stuff hooked up right. Is it manual or automatic? Take lots of pictures. You will want to remember how it was.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[MartyAdams]

Hi bmoeller,

I tried fordcummins and I recieved a nice sales pitch that "we are in the process of doing such a swap" but after repeat requests they could not help. So that is why you have me asking all you for assistance.



James the reason the truck was inexpensive (not cheap) was because it was a lease buy out for a mine truck my father used in Timmins Ontario. The truck only run underground and it has 44000 km on it. The truck also never was left to idle as this would exceed emission regulations. The engine did have the rear main seal fixed and so far does not appear to leak.

I just borrowed a digital camera and now I will figure out how to post pictures.



Marty

 

[1stgen4evr]

inexpensive trucks

I like that, no they are not cheap trucks. And I will take ten of them if you know of a similar deal.



I will be watching for pics. A van project is something I have often wondered about. Like I said "go for it". It can't be impossible.



1stgen4evr

James McPherson

Georgia

 

[JPS]

ctd in ford

Have several conversions in my area, can't give much info as no one wants to volunteer any info. Just know it can be done!!! jps

 

[1stgen4evr]

Ford / Cummins

Marty have you ever done a conversion? If not you may be in for some surprises. As any one will tell you, 'this can be done'. The things that will hurt are the little stuff that makes the end result work flawlessly. I recall from a Ford/Perkins mod I did years ago that the motor went in fine. Plenty of room. That was the easy part. Then, I didn't have any preformed parts to mount the Perkins to the frame in a solid maner. Doing a good solid motor support was a ***** plane and simple. I spent more on a new oil filter setup than any other single thing. I spent a good deal of time working out a belcrank to reverse the throtle motion to accomodate the Perkins throtle.



I think all this will be a bit easier for you as you can use the existing Dodge mounts and all you will have to do is mount those to the frame in the right place and right angle. You mentioned 4 wheel drive. Is the van already equipped as a fwd? Is the Dodge donor truck fwd? You might want to fit the van body to the Dodge running chassis. But then you would have steering connection issues. Steering is VERY important.



I can anticipate some problems with the hump and whether that is long enough for the Cummins. What about the connections at the drive line? You may need a special fabrication for the front drive shaft. Special fabrication usually means $pecial expen$e. I can also tell you that the van will be out of service a lot longer than you may think at this time. Do you have an alternate ride.



All that said, don't let any of it frighten you away. The project finished will be a piece of work that you will always remember and will be proud of.



Come on guys. Jump in here with some more help.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[MartyAdams]

Hi James



Thanks for the reply and no I have never done this conversion before but I do have another set of wheels so no deadlines for perfection. The van is 4wd and the donor is 4wd so I plan to swap transfer case and all. I know the drive shafts will need to be lengthened and shorted but no worries as I have a good place to do this work. I measured the entire engine compartment and short of fire wall trimming and completely rebuilding the rad support for the inter-cooler all should fit with adequate clearance I think!



Thanks for the advice and I will try to learn how to post some pictures tonight.



Marty

 

[BV]

Other then sliding it in from the front instead of dropping in from the top, I would think that this conversion would be similar to my f350 4x4 / cummins mating.



Good Luck

 

[bmoeller]

Originally posted by MartyAdams

Hi bmoeller,

I tried fordcummins and I recieved a nice sales pitch that "we are in the process of doing such a swap" but after repeat requests they could not help.

I was thinking they should have the motor mounts and that kind of stuff to make it easier. Should probably be the same as a pickup, I would think. Could be wrong though.

 

[lil red cummins]

hey Marty,

absolutely go for this conversion!!! it just requires time, money and some original thinking. don't be afraid to ask questions.



good luck and as they say on the Red Green show - "I'm pullin for ya!"



jim

 

[RyanB]

Marty? where abouts are you located? what are you doing with the rest of the parts off the truck? I am from Ontario and am currently doing a conversion into a 89 Chevy dually. Anyway, I am converting it to 4wd and will be using dodge parts. If you have any parts you don't need I am deffinatly intrested in buying them from you.



Let me know.....





Thanks... . Ryan

 

[MartyAdams]

Hi Ryan

I am located in Burlington. I plan to cut the frame in half and give the box, axle to my father for a trailer. As for the front D44 axle the pinion bearings are gone. I am sure this could be repaired as you will probably need to change the gears anyway. If you are interested in the front frame and suspension let me know. I am not greedy and I have been know to give things away for a good story or two. Just sold an Oldsmobile 5. 7 diesel for $200. I was asking $400 and was offered $250 but the guy was from Guatamala and he was planning to take the engine back home for his Jag. I told him I would take $200 just to listen to his stories.

As for pictures the snow storm and work have not let me get at it.

Marty

 

[RyanB]

Marty- I am from just on the other side of Waterloo!!! Not to far from you. Anyway, are you sure its just a Dana 44 on that truck? I am definatly intrested in the from frame section and what ever else you don't need... ... not sure about the whole Dana 44 though.



Anyway, let me know. Thanks... . Ryan

 

[towner]

Marty,



I just fired up my 59 chevyapache/92 w250 dodgecummins today... I spent a great deal of time taking apart my donor vehicle($4200) the items that saved a great deal of time were the engine mount/crossmember and all the assiated radiator mounts the ones tack welded to the crossmember I stripped the rig to nothing and hven't thrown a thing away since I started... the time I spent fabricating was tremendous more than any othr project prior... . bear in mind I did the axle swap a getrag to nv4500 swap plus powersteering and hydoboost... . be ready to send some time and get on ebay its a great market place

 

[MartyAdams]

Towner,



Your description of your work is very exciting. I am preparing my garage and driveway for the work today as I pull the very first diesel an Oldsmobile 5. 7. (OK maybe not the best deisel) I have ever ownered to sell it. It is about -16 C this morning but the temp. should rise to -7 by this afternoon. My plan is to do just as you wrote and basically blend the dodge rad support with the ford. Kinda like cut and paste!! When the sun comes up I will also give that camera run.



Marty

 

[MartyAdams]

I am going to try and upload the van and donor pics. Not sure how it will turn out. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know.



Marty

 

[MartyAdams]

Well that attempt did not work so I posted some pictures under my Reader's Rigs Gallery. As you will see the camera and I are just learning to get along.

 

[MartyAdams]

This weekend I pulled the wee little oil burner. Wow what an engine! I left the transmission and transfer case on and took the whole thing out as a unit. About 4 hours and the only trouble was grinding the rusted front bumper bolts off. What fun!!!!!! Now to pull the 302 out of that ford. So far there appears to be enough space but I will need to remove the oil pan to fit the engine in the van. I am trying to post pictures again as well.



Marty