Repowering a 89 Chevy/ Gmc/ Pontiac to Cummins 4bt

[JasonCzerak]

Put a big old cowl onit. Set of slicks and turn up the pump.



Sure as heck confuse the poop outa anyone



"duuude! you camaro is running a little rich!, and smells like french fries!" (assuming you run bio here. heh)

 

[JHyneman]

My numbers may be a little off. I don't know yet. I have 3. 42 rear. 27 in tires and a overdrive. I am hoping to see 70 mph at 1900 rpm. Once I get my a/c figured out I will cut the hood. I am hoping for a 4 inch rise in the front and a slope to 1 in inthe rear. We will see. I went to test drive it yesterday and about crapped myself. I went to apply the brakes backing it out of my shed and realized that I had no brakes. I guess that I need to fix that before I go any farther. I am really wanting to get it on the road. I don't need the a/c right now but it would be nice for the summer.

 

[JHyneman]

I ordered a hydroboost system for the car I am still waiting for it to come in the mail. That will cure my problem with braking. Weather is holding up the progress of the car right now. I am working on the shifter. I purchased a B&M mega shifter for the car. That stock shifter just wasn't makeing me happy. I got most of my odds and ends completed though. I refigured my math and I am off a little bit. The tire size is 26", the rear is a 3. 42, and OD is . 7 @ 2000 RPM Aprox speed is 65 MPH I may swap in the 3. 23 rear that would put me 69 MPH at 2000 RPM.

 

[MRector]

any updates?

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I may swap in the 3. 23 rear that would put me 69 MPH at 2000 RPM.

Do you have access to a 10-bolt rear with a 3. 08:1 ratio? Lug that 4BT down a bit - it'll pull that F-body in OD at 1500RPM. Although, the stress on the 700-R4 will go up a twee bit in its weakest gear.



Matt

 

[JHyneman]

Well I do have some updates. I have been so busy so I haven''t gotten extremely far. I got the hydro boost system in. I had some fun getting it to work. I had to modify the brake pedal, and I drilled off the mount from the Vaccum boost to adapt the hydro boost to the car. Lines were not cheap. I had to have them custom made. $91. oo to make them. I have started fabricating the hood. Still have a lot of work to go but it is comming along nicely. I added a B&M shifter so the car has much crisper shifts now.



I wish I had a set of 3. 08 gears for my rear. The lowest gearing I have in the shed are 3. 24. I wouldn't mind haveing 2. 72. That would be very sweet. Doing the math 3. 08 gears would put me at 72 MPH at 2000 RPM's, and 2. 72 gears would put me at 81 MPH at 2000 RPM's. The 700R4 should do fine because both all three rears were a option through the 80's. I had the trans built with all heavy duty clutches and bands. The torque converter is custom built and I have a shift kit installed. I don't think I iwll have a problem with it. That is providing that the TV cableis rigged right. I followed the instructions but I may still take it down to a trans shop to adjust it properly. I am hoping (if I have time) to road test it this weekend. We will see.



I am still working on the A/C mounts. I think I have it figured out but I will more than likely have to relocate the oil fill from the front of the case to the Valve cover. That will give me the clearance to run the a/c on the drivers side of the engine and run the belt across the front.



I still need a small vaccum pump for the A/C controls. Nothing to strong. Does any one know where I can find one. I wouldn't mind seeing something strong enough to run the cruise control also. By converting the brake system to hydroboost I fixed one problem and created another. HEHEHEHE.

Well what can I say. That is just the way things work.

 

[MRector]

Hey Jere, 4bt swaps thread

I posted a link to your thread over at 4btswaps.com.



How's the progress going? Any mileage figures yet? 1/4 mile times maybe... .



Thanks,

Mikey

 

[MLisle]

4BT vs BB gas

Wow! I'm not doubting your numbers, but that sounds almost too good to be true. (... and is making me more optimistic about my swap!) Aren't SBCs around 450lbs? 4BT's are 700+...



Nice work, man. I'm glad she's coming together.



Later,



Matt

I bought a dodge 440 and had it shipped and the weight(including all accessories and shipping crate) was 800lbs, and I imagine a BB chevy would be the same, so the front spings for a BB application should work.

 

[JHyneman]

Well I finally got the hood finished and am rolling the car to paint. There are no current numbers yet but the car handles and drives about like the stock six cylender. I am definately going to have to install the heavier front roll bar that I have in the shed and I really need a set of 3. 08 gears. That will make the car much more highway able. I am hoping to have the car on the road as a driver simetime in July. I have been so busy lately that I haven't gotten a chance to really play with the car. But that time is comming. I will try to keep you all updated.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Wow - that old Chrysler iron is not exactly lightweight.



Thanks for the update on the progress - I'm really looking forward to seeing more pics/video of this thing.



Beers,



Matt

 

[JHyneman]

It has been a while since I gave an update. I got the car out of paint about 3 weeks ago and I finally finished putting it back together. I am having just a couple of minor issues. I ton't like the temp that the engine is running. It is running at 220 degrees. I think that 180 would be better. The hydro boost setup is dragging alittle bit, but I think that it can be fixed by bleeding the system again. The other problem is when I hooked up the tach it starts reading at 4ooo rpms and it really bounces. The engine sounds like it is running around 1400 but the tach will read 8000. Any ideas of what is wrong would be great. I tagged the car last week. Put my first full tank of fuel in it today. Already put 27 miles on it and it has been running great. The car will cruise at 70 but that little engine sure is whining. It sounds about like 2500 rpm. 3. 42 rear gears suck. I am planning on taking some pictures tomorrow to upload. Definately gotta do some thing about the heat. That engine bay gets really warm.

 

[KaiHartman]

Awesome project and props for the quick (in my book, anyways) work! Just wondering if you wouldn't mind telling where you got your 4BT from? I have been trying to find one on and off for a year now... . of course I've been following the gov't auctions mentioned on 4btswap.com, but I still haven't found anything reasonably close to central Indiana.



I was just curious where you got yours because it looks extra clean on the exhaust manifold and valve covers. Are these new or did you just clean it up yourself?



Best of luck in finishing her up and look forward to the videos!!



Kai

 

[JHyneman]

I bought my engine from Arsoco Ind. You can find them on the web. Shipping was $250 freight shipping. The engine was horrible. I sprayed degreaser on the engine and pressure washed it before I started working on it. The engine had 68,000 miles on it and was guarenteed for 90 days. I didn't want a rebuildable core so I bought a engine that was a good pull out. Unfortunately my turbo was shot and I had to replace it. Once the engine was cleaned I painted it.

 

[KaiHartman]

Is that Arsoco Indiana or Arsoco Industries? I couldn't find anything on google with a quick search.....



Do they have competitive prices in your opinion? Thanks!

 

[JHyneman]

Arsco industries is located in ILL. You can look at their website at Arsco.com. They will sell just the engine, engine and transmission, or rebuilt engines. They sell 4bt, 6bt, and other diesel engines. When I was looking for a diesel engine they were the cheapest I found, However there were none on ebay at the time.

 

[JHyneman]

finally got around to taking some pictures so here they are. In case your wondering why the back tires don't match I am doing some tests on RPM. I have put about 120 miles on the tank of fuel and my fuel gauge still hasn't left the full peg. So far It appears to be getting some really great mileage.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Thanks for the pics - it almost looks like it belongs in there. Did the engine tilt help you out at all?



I can't even begin to imagine the looks on people's faces when they hear that thing fire off or run down the road.



You should get in touch with the local quick-lube manager. Tell him you'll be bringing it by to mess with his mechanics a bit. When you show up and explain to them that it's "making a hell of a lot of noise... can you check the oil?" Their reaction once the hood is open will be priceless. I plan on doing something like that to the local Chrysler dealer with the Jeep project... maybe even take it to the Peterbilt dealer.



Beers,



Matt

 

[JHyneman]

To be honest with you the tilt of the engine is a pain in the but. It really limited the space for the turbo and down pipe. But it helped with the brake system. The tilt also caused alot of problems with the cross member. I had to cut and notch it for the starter and I had to shim the one engine mount because the first test run I heard a thump when I crawled under the car I found that the oil pan was hitting the cross member.



I have already been having fun with the sound of it. I took it into the exhaust shop to fit the exhaust and one guy swore up and down that I had a rod nocking and that the engine was going to blow up. He was so confused when I popped the hood to reveal the engine. Another guy at the alternator shop thought I had a valve problem he thought that the pistons were hitting the valves. He to was confused. One guy at work said that I ruined a wonderful peace of muscle car.

The install of this engine almost looks factory. I wish I could have/ maybe still will rout the boost tube in a different way. I would have liked a lower hood scoop. I am really pleased the way the hood did come out. It took me 700 hours to make start to finish. The AC comperessor mounts took about 9 hours to make including test fits.

 

[JHyneman]

Well I finally checked my first tank of fuel mileage. I was really disappointed on my numbers but then again I know there were alot of contributing factors to my findings. my mpg was 26. Now I know that is low especially for a light car. So here is my line of thinking. The car now has 330 on it since I put the engine in.

1. The trans shop said that it will take about 500 miles to break in a torque converter that was built like mine.

2. I had 2 leaky trans lines so the trans got low 2 times.

3. The V-8 radiator just didn't have enough flow and was unable to cool the engine. The engine was running about 230 degrees. That was remidied by a larger 3 core radiator and bigger inlet outlet ports.

4. I had two dragging brakes do to the new hydroboost modification that i fixed

5. I found that the front wheel bearing had gone back by the whirling that they started making and when I tore them apart I also found that they were not packed with the proper grease.

6. I don't know if this is a variable yet but the pressure in the fuel tank was removed when I opened up the tank neck filler hole.

7. Lastly when I started this project I had stock tires on the car and my rpms were much higher than expected so I replaced them with tires that are 2 sizes larger at about 200 miles and don't know how much they thew the odometer off.

However the car is running great I did have to make a skid plate to shield the oil pan and keep it from hitting bumps.

 

[HoleshotHolset]

I'm suspicious of your 1st line item there - I'm not aware of anything inside a normal lockup torque converter that requires any break in period. The lockup clutch (TCC) either holds or slips and eventually fails...



How low did the trans get? 1-quart low on a normal 700-R4 isn't good for it, but it shouldn't ruin it completely.



Hot coolant temps (to a certain degree) may help, but 230°F is too hot, I'm glad you fixed that.



How bad were the brakes dragging?



Was there pressure in the fuel tank or a vacuum? I'd solve that one real quick... probably as easy as drilling out and/or removing the vent device on the fuel cap. Darn gassers and their evaporative emissions.



Here's a good tire calculator that will allow you to see how far off your OEM versus new tires are (I couldn't load their new one - so I posted a link to their old one... ): Tire size calculator



Beers,



Matt