ok so i need measurements from a few semi truck engines ex: cummins L10's , cat 3608's , m-11's   or just about any 6 cylinder and bigger semi truck or industrial engine turbo disel. my options are still open as far as what semi engine would be best  . measurments ill need would be from crank pulley to trans mounting flange , bottom of oil pan sump to top of valve cover , and width across from side to side also if possible from crank pulley to end of trans yoke .  thanks for any help .

,Justin

It's possible.
Get a hold of Jay Leno's mechanic.
Didn't Jesse James/West Coast Choppers build a trike with a Model 60 Detroit and drivetrain.
You'll need the air brakes, suspension, etc...
It's gonna be HEAVY.
You'll probably end up sitting in the back seat, the firewall will have to go back a foot or so I'll bet.

This begs the question....why? 

(I won't accept "why not" as an answer) 

 

Hmmm, based on tv's link, I'd go with the 3608. It's only 41,800 lbs.

Hey George, fix your picture, I'm just dying to see what it is. 

Wow somebody had an old Erector Set. I've got a few of em in my closet somewhere, 1 from when i was younger, 1 from the 60's and one from the 30's-40's (maybe, dunno)

welll ive seen under the hoods of a few semi trucks and ive thought about it ...... researched it until i fall asleep at my computer and then reaserched it sommore ! and if a semi engine can go 500,000 miles or more , have enogh torq to push 80,000 pounds down the road and have an insain sounding basket ball sized turbo then ............ "why not" lol but seriously . itd differant and id never have to worrie about not being able to pull the grape vine or worried about if i can pull a stump out ....or 10 . or a stuck buddie in a full size !  plus just the shear wow thatd id get if i rev it up or pull the hood .......... yeah itd be worth it !   ill also be taking gobs of pics during this project when i start gathering parts for it . i am sure it will be badass !  also found a good diesel engine link ! they have everykind of  cat or cummins engines like 4bt's 6bt's and otr semi truck cummins too as well as detroit and a few others . link

big link but cool site !


so,
does that awnser why

,Justin


Edit: Shortened mondo link

When I first joined this site the question came up about putting a 8.3 cummins in a Dodge pickup.  A former member measured up a 8.3 and came back with the results that it is too long for the 93 and older trucks and would not fit.  If a 8.3 won't fit neither will a L10 or M11 without some major modifications.

If you look on Youtube.com you can find a Dodge powerwagon that is over in Europe somewhere that a guy swapped in a Detroit 6V92.  He had to raise the body over a foot to clear the flywheel housing and transmission.

ive scratched the straght 6 cylinder engines in favor of a 3208 cat v8 .  used in alot of semi truck applications as well as tractors and the like .  they are plentiful from what ive seen and they make anywhere from 210 - 300hp and well over 1000 ft lbs. of torqqq !!!  depedning on what model .

    i already posted link further down in this thread on the full size ford that has a 3208 cat and it fit with minor firewall messaging .and is running dana axles and an auto trans  i got the measurments from a guy on ebay who is selling a complete 3208 and on paper it would work .
 
     with minor firewall and floor pan work it will all fit under the hood.  the 3208 was most commonly coupled with an allison automatic .  making my job even easyer if i want to go that route (not sure yet) .  a dana 80 should be ok out back ......  and a 60 or 70 front .  ive xnayd rockwells since the pumkin is too tall and they weigh to much .  weight on the engine and trans complete is about 2100 pounds .....   so alill more then a 6bt w/trans lol.
     some stiff 8 inch lift springs and ill maby end up with 4in of lift after the engine/trans is installed .
but hey thats what 1 ton axles are for !  the rear d shaft will be a shortend semi version with a doubble cardian joint and a dana 80 yoke on one end to bolt to the rear  . front dshaft will have to be legthned .  ill be fabbing my own crossmembers for the engine / trans / tcase .
    tcase will most likely be a rockwell (6x6) divorced manual tc. with a slip yoke coupled directly to a semi u joint going to the trans yoke .  i already have an international semi radiator thats about half as much wider then my stock one and 3 times thicker and its all aluminum !!!! ill have pics soon !!!   questions ?? comments??? info   critisium   post up !

,Justin

a 3208 cat would be possible to fit versus the inline 6 engines you previously mentioned going with.  we've got two yard spotter trucks at work.  the older one has a 3208 Cat and the newer one has a 5.9 Cummins (Dodge Truck Motor).  Both occupy approximately the same amount of space in the engine compartment.  Watch what you get as the 3208's came in either normally aspirated or turbo charged versions.  The non turbo engines are low powered snails, they'll pull anything as long as you don't plan on getting there in a hurry.  The turbo models have a bit more ass behind them.  Either way they're both still light enough on the horsepower and torque that a pair of 1 ton pickup axles will mostly still survive behind them.  The issue you're still going to have to figure in is the complete drivetrain length as you still need a transfer case behind the allison which will most likely have to be divorce mounted unless you're fortunate enough to run accross a hard to find 4x4 Ford F-600 or F-700 that used to be an old off road boom truck or well digging rig, even those I believe were divorce mounted as well from what a couple guys at work said when we were talking about this thread the other night.  The 4 speed allison behind the 3208 in our yard mule is got a pretty long case compared to a stock 727 chrysler trans.

I agree the 3208 is pretty much a dog, especially the non-turbo model.  But he was wanting to know what would fit in the confines of the engine compartment.  The L-10 and M-11 cummins he mentioned are entirely too long and tall as well as anything from Cat or Detroit Diesel.  The 3208 is the only choice that will fit under the hood.  the weight issue is still a big problem that will have to be dealt with along with addressing potential handling problems.  I knew a guy years ago that crammed one in an old Ford pickup just for shits and giggles but the motor came out of a rolled over grain truck that had been sitting around his dads farm for years.  he had virtually no money involved in the swap, more so did it for something to show off and alleviate boredom over one winter with not much going on at the farm

Let it go dude.

So what's the purpose for this swap?  More power?  Mileage?  Boredom?  Just cause you can?  I think what you're running up against here is just basic common sense in why should you attempt this.  You can do anything with enough time and fab skills but is there an ultimate goal and is this the best path to get there?

You honestly think fitting a full size tractor deisel in an SUV is going to be easier than twin turboing a 5.0 mustang?

ok , first reason for this ......... its differint !  and 2nd  a CAT 3208T  with a  10 or 15spd would out pull  a 6bt anyday .  i am sure there will be people on here to argue that but , the 6bt is a smaller diesel engine compared to the 3208 . they put 6bt's in pickup trucks and delivery trucks some tractors .  the 3208 is a Truck motor !  it was 'mainly' used in semi trucks and heavy dirt equipment !   the non turbo 3208 is out of the question . the turbo later model is a very nice bigggg torqy motor ! with big semi truck sound and big semi truck power !    mainly the reason i am dooin this is cuz alota ppl sa i cant and i know i can and becaues ive been wanting to do it for a long long time .  if youve seen how cleanly its installedin this full size ford, http://www.rtpaz.com/dsc00477.jpg , with a mechanical fan , then i know it will fit into my rc !

,Justin

Ok, you are certifiable.  This is worse than a bad idea, it's just illogical.  You want to put an old semi engine in a Dodge truck that makes blah, blah, blah power when we have already stated that you can swap in a 6BT that will actually fit and make as much or can be turned up to produce more power.  Remember that the 6BT is NOT a light duty truck engine.  It was designed for medium series trucks, so it puts out more power than is needed in a pickup or similar vehicle.  Not only that, but I can build a big block that will produce as much power as a 3208 and probably get about the same gas mileage.  Unless you have rich parents that cater to your ever whim and desire, you are way out of your league, if not your mind, with this project.  Your fabrication skills had better be awesome in order to make all the modifications needed to physically do this swap.  This is not going to be a simple swap by any stretch of the imagination.  You talk about pulling things with all that torque but what axles are you going to put under it?  Rockwell transfer case?  What frame reinforcements are going to be necessary to hold everything together?  Remember that medium and heavy trucks use a straight ladder frame that doesn't have any bends in it and is tempered for strength.  How are you going to stop this thing?  And even if you get brakes big enough, what is there to keep it from nosing forward like some Unimogs with all the weight on the front?  You would need ballast in the back to level it out and then you would probably overload the frame and suspension.

Having said all of that, I know a friend who has swapped a 3208 in a M35 2.5 ton military cargo truck.  He had to do quite a bit of work to get it to swap in the engine bay of a truck that originally had a big inline 6 cylinder diesel engine.  Even that would have to be thought of as easy compared to putting one in a small truck.  When he was building a M715 truck, he swapped in a 6.2L GM diesel, simply because it would fit without a lot of trouble and it was cheap.  That to me is a common sense approach.  Trying to redesign a 30 year old truck around a engine that is too big to be useful in such a small package is borderline insane.  IF, and I do mean IF, you happen to get this engine in and exhaust fitted up and get it running, you will probably destroy axles on a regular basis and if you for some reason decide to try and pull some heavy trailer or something with all your new torque, you will probably be pulled over and have the rig impounded since by DOT regs, you cannot tow more than the vehicle was designed for.  In the case of Ramchargers, I think the max is 10k lbs.  Where are you going to mount the fuel tank?  You realize that these engines get a best MPG of about 9MPG, don't you?  Also, you have to consider tire size, and gearing since a big diesel will not rev up like a 6BT or a gas engine, they redline at about 2,200 RPM so you have to have everything set up right or you will have a big, heavy, smoking, useless beast that either can't go 35MPH or can't even get out of 2nd gear.  Why not just give me your truck and the thousands of dollars you were going to spend putting the semi engine in and I'll put you in a nice 6BT and pocket the rest of the cash for my projects?  You are young and it is easy to dream about crazy things, but you really need to add a dash of reality and decide if "just because I can" is a good enough reason to dump more cash that you probably really have at your disposal and end up with a stripped down project that never gets finished because of too many issues or something that isn't quite what you thought and you end up scrapping it because no matter how much you have in it, it is worth nothing because you took a good truck and made it into something no one would really want.

lmfao ahahhha thats great. guess no one else seen that great fab work.

I dunno about all that, but this is friggin sweet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3qyR2z8xEs&NR=1

why? I dunno, but it is

well I have stayed out of this as long as I can. but I am simply going to say good luck I hope your truck turns out to be all you had hoped. now once you get it done would you be willing to pul againts me in my truck? not joking  a tug of war. heck I will either have the 360 that is in it now or the cummins depending on when you get it done. either one shouldn't be to much of a problem for you if it turns out the way you want. I would just like to see how it turns out. who knows maybe we are all wrong.

The only problem I see with what your hoping is that you can pull a stuck big rig. with the motor in your truck working 100%how is an RC with only two rear tires (even if they are 18" wide) going to do what a truck (with at least the same power and tranni and 8 rear tires) couldn't do?  then figure in the wieght differance and please explain how a now 10k truck can maintain traction where a 41k truck couldn't. can you give me a logical answer to that? 

now in no way did Say it couldn't be done all I am doing is asking for a little explantion as to your line of thought. I have even thought about the same kind of swap but then upon reading into it more I desided to go with a 12 valve cummins twin turboed with lots of other goodies and get over 1k hp I have seen cummins 5.9's built to over 3k hp (diesel drags) and they even uses stock crank and connecting rods.  thats why in the end I desided to go with the  cummins. plus there is a lot more aftermarket out for them ad I should be able to get around 22mpg. anyway let me know when you get the swap done and I will take a road trip to your ara in my truck for a tug of war and I even have the strap strong enought not to break.

Scott

well goodluck.....sounds like another project....destined for ebay....partially assembled....and worth less then what you started with....for sale for a quarter of what youve invested....but please prove us wrong,finish it and drive it to ramjam...i'll go just to see this mess...er masterpiece in person

i am not 100% set on the 3208 ...... if i can find a better deal on another semi motor that ether has more power or will fit better with the same power of a 3208 then ill switch my idea . but rite now the 3208 sounds good . 


,Justin


ps. done a sas on a friends toyota and it turned out great !

I don't think it is going to work the way you want but go for it. Theres a lot of people whos opinions I respect telling you it isn't going to work though. I want you to keep posting about this project whether it works for you or not. For two reasons, if its working you can say "I told you so" and is it isn't we can say the same thing.

Chris

That is what I think you should do. The RC wheelbase is too short to handle that much weight up front.  It is your truck, you do what you want.  But respect the opinions and advice of those who are just trying to keep a death trap off of the road.

Well said!  +1