Engine Bay: How Big?

[Don in Missouri]

I know T. Baker says all you need is 36". Tell us how tight that is. That requires an electric fan, right? Which side of the radiator did you put the fan? What kind of fan did you find to push enough air. I couldn't find (read as: afford) an electric fan powerful enough to cool my 5. 9 gas motor.



Does a tight fit like that cause other problems such as heat and noise transfer to the firewall?



What would be the ideal engine compartment size? How much room do you need to run the belt-driven fan? What is the length of the engine compartment of a Dodge truck?



I'm daydreaming about the much contemplated Cummins swap into a Power Wagon. I know a 4bt will fit. I even got to drive one recently. Noise and vibration seemed to be the only short-comings. I keep wondering about the 6bt. A while back I doctored a photo of my Carryall to see what it would look like with a longer snout. #ad
I like the results. If I put my Carryall body on an ambulance frame (121" wheelbase), that would give me 7 more inches for a total of 37" between firewall and radiator. I could probably fabricate a superior radaitor and gain another inch or two. I estimate my doctored photo to actually be stretched 9 inches. You can see it has 4 pair of louvers in the hood instead fo three. If I were brave enough to cut the frame I suppose I could make it as long as I want.



Remeber, I'm just daydreaming. I've always admired the luxury cars of the 1930's with their long hoods-the same proportions you see in big trucks. The stylized magazine ads of the day exagerated those proportions even further. I always thought it would be cool to subtly alter a vehicle to look just like those vintage advertisements. The Power Wagon had some big brothers with proboscis like that. In fact the, styling of the civilian Power Wagons has been credited to the 3-ton Burma Dodges previously exported to the far east. Still, there's something to be admired about the practical stubbiness of the Power Wagon.

 

[Philip]

I just walked out and threw a tape on my 12 valve. From bell housing mounting point to outside edge of the fan is 38".



From the valve cover to the outside of the fan is 36. 5".



On thing to remember. The diesel engine runs cooler than a gasser. In the 5 years I have owned my truck. The fan has only came on twice. Both times were the same hill. It was in the summer around 95 degrees. I was towing one time with a 8k load on a trailer. The other time I had 850 bricks in the bed. This hill was in MO state on I44. So if you have enough radiator surface area. Cooling might not be the problem you think it will be.





Engine noise will be a problem no matter which engine you use. You have been in a 4 BT model truck. Just add the sound of two more cylinders. You will need a lot of sound deadener.

 

[T. Baker]

Hello, I don't come here that much anymore. Yeah 36" is the bare minimum. I just barley got the electric fan on the inside of the radiator. I did manage to get two layer of fairly heavy rubber on the fire wall for sound insulation. They are noisy engines though. I kind of like the sound but it is not so great for girlfriends etc.

 

[T. Baker]

I'm going to put an Old (NOS) C180 cummins in my WW2 chevy pannel truck. It is about 45" long. It should look the same from the outside. There is a picture under my web albums ( the link is below) under misc truck pictures. I love WW2 trucks!

 

[Don in Missouri]

Wow, I guess that is a 1. 5 ton? Very cool! What are you gonna do to gear it up?



I know a guy who put a '42 COE cab on a 1. 5-ton chassis. He got the hard part done and then sort of lost interest.

 

[Don in Missouri]

I just looked at your pictures, and I have to say Wow, again. I've never seen IHCs like that. I've only seen the open-cab 4x4 variety. Somewhere I have photos of what may be a pre WWII IHC military truck. I'll see if I can get those scanned in and maybe you can identify it.



And that panel van is wicked with that narrow body on such a hefty looking chassis. They should use that in the Jeepers Creepers sequel.



I'll get a picture posted of that COE. I think the chassis is for sale, but he wants to keep the sheetmetal.



www.imageevent.com/shaggy/trucks

 

[T. Baker]

Don I found a great way to make the tranfer case a three speed using some parts from a GMC T case. It should give me a huge overdrive. I'm going to have to make one bearing cover and ad a shifter.

I like your dodge. Someone must of added the power wagon front end at some time?

WW2 IHCs went to the Marines and the Navy. I've alwaysed loved them.

Treven.

 

[JPETE]

FAN

I HAVE A 4 BT IN A 79-80 HALF TON NO FAN AT ALL NEVER HAS GONE OVER 190 ON THE HOTTEST DAY ,NO A/C HAS RADIATOR FOR A 440 V8,VERTICAL FLOW

 

[skobylenski]

So what are the chances of getting a 4bt into an old-school Mini Cooper?

 

[britannic]

Go with a mid-engine conversion, it'll handle the weight better, considering how light the original one was.



Back when I used to play with Austin and BMC cars, my cherry picker was a huge neighbour called Kev, who would just reach in and lift out those little 4 cylinder OHV engines. :--)

 

[skobylenski]

Mid engine, hmm, I hadn't thought of that. It might actually be easier than trying to rig up a transaxle and everything. Of course, there really isn't a "mid-section" to that car. It's all front and back



The other possibily I've considered is front engine mounting and converting it to rear wheel drive. That would be so much fun to drive You'd definately have to add some weight to the rear to make up for the torque. Oo.

 

[britannic]

The engine bay is so dinky that you'd end up with at least half of the engine in the cab. Back in the UK, there were a few mid-engined Minis, but they were really just the body on a custom frame.



The other favorite, although rare, was to take a Morris Minor body and drop it onto a frame containing a tuned up Landrover 3. 5L V8 - a nice surprise for the BMW 323 drivers who thought they'd just make another easy kill on the motorway (freeway) slip roads (on-ramps).

 

[jlast]

while i have rolled the idea of repowering a old power wagon, and i know where one is sitting. Good shape and setup as a old tow truck, boom and everything.



I also been a thinking about little cars with big motors almost all my life. This thread has both in discussion at the same time, I LOVE IT.



for the little car big motors



http://www.britishv8.org/swaps/examples.htm

 

[big jake 1]

Originally posted by jlast

I also been a thinking about little cars with big motors almost all my life. This thread has both in discussion at the same time, I LOVE IT.



for the little car big motors



http://www.britishv8.org/swaps/examples.htm

I actually have one of



THESE



sitting out in the driveway at the moment, was thinking about doing something wild with it, but have decided to restore it to original condition.



I have about 95% of what I need to fully restore it.







big jake



THE FORD GUY Oo. Oo. Oo.

 

[britannic]

I'll bet that one in the pictures goes a bit quicker than stock !



I had a 1967 Vauxhall Viva HB which usually had a really gutless motor like an 1159cc 4 cylinder, but mine had the 2. 0 OHC Firenza engine, which for it's time was very rapid (by UK standards)! Have a laugh about the Vauxhalls (GM UK), Brits were driving around in the '60s: Vauxhall Viva HB



I also had one of these #ad




I was too poor (starving student) to afford a new battery, so I had to start it with the cranking handle after hand priming the fuel pump (it had a priming lever). Once it started and warmed up, the dynamo was able to squeeze enough charge into the cooked battery to restart it throughout the rest of the day. It already 120K on it when I bought it for £100. 00 and later I gave it to my Grandad, who put another 100K on it, before the engine finally coughed it's last - wish I'd kept it as they're very rare now (the Brits salt the roads in the winter and that ensured that most stuff just rusted away).

 

[DKarvwnaris]

In my sophmore year of Highschool I picked up a chevy Chevette for $50. Found a small block out of a wrecked nova with a t350 auto. Spent the better part of a winter squeezing the thing in the car and building a sub frame to hold the weight. Had fun with it on the strip most of my junior year before the front end collapsed and it skidded to a stop on the oil pan. Decided that unibodies were not a good thing from that point on. In all honesty, it held up decent considering the thing was a death trap from the day it rolled off the factory floor. Wish I had pics of that one to look back on. It was one of my first attempts to kill myself and every other motorist on the street. The stupidity of my teenage years was rather high, its one of the reasons I am so cautious now i think.

I am all for conversions and custom toys, but I will stick to a frame based paltform for all of my future projects.

The upcoming Jeep Liberties with the diesels are catching my wifes eye though.