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Cummins/Bronco buildup (video added, page 3!)
One of my good friends here owns a junkyard, so he's got plenty of potential for oddball projects. He's always been really into Broncos, with his most current DD being a '91 Eddie Bauer, with a Mustang GT 5.0, 5-speed and manual transfer case, HP44 SFA swap, and a semi-float 10.25" rear.
Well, in June the clutch went on it. About that same time we got this beauty in at the junkyard:
![]()
'94 Ram 3500, cummins diesel.
Since he had been more than unhappy with the Mustang 5.0, and since the trans had to come down anyway to do the clutch...why not swap in a cummins?
![]()
Of course it isn't quite that simple. The donor Dodge was only 2WD, so we had no transmission sitting around that would bolt up and be 4WD. However, we did have a ZF 5-speed from a 7.3L Powerstroke motor. Through a little digging, we found an obscure conversion company (www.fordcummins.com) that specializes in these things, and they manufactured us a bellhousing adapter to mate the Ford ZF to the Cummins motor.
![]()
This conversion uses the Dodge flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate, which were upgraded to Centerforce II pieces. The pilot bushing is a custom piece that came with the adapter plate. The stock Ford slave cylinder and clutch arm are used with the Dodge throwout bearing. The Dodge starter is reused as well, but is relocated to spot where the Ford starter used to be. This fits the chassis nice, but required a little bit of grinding on the inside of the bellhousing in order to fit the nosecone properly.
Next, we decided the stock Borg-Warner t-case wasn't badass enough. So we did a little more digging and found a Ford NP205 case from a '79 Bronco. With a little trimming of the mounting flange on the trans to clear the shift rails, it bolts right up.
![]()
At this point, the project took a big halt. My friend went back to school for a few days a week, the EPA did an inspection at the yard and found a bunch of stuff that needed to be taken care of, so that left no time for the buildup.
Sometime during that lull, we decided that after test-fitting everything, it was gonna be a bit tight. So we found a 3" body lift kit sitting in a dusty box in the basement, and figured it would probably solve all the clearance issues. Around that same time, a near-mint '96 Bronco rolled into the yard, being scrapped due to flood damage. Since my friend's '91 had all kinds of body rust, and we pretty much had to pull the body anyway to do the body lift...why not swap over the nicer, newer one?
So the body came off, which made test-fitting and mounting the motor much easier.
![]()
Note the onboard air bottle, and the missing front crossmember - we cut it out and are almost finished with the engine cradle that will hold the Cummins motor. We also raised the gas tank up a few inches because we were bored.
Here's the powertrain as it sits:
![]()
12-valve Cummins, with Banks turbo kit (why not?), Ford ZF 5-speed, Ford NP205, with a PTO hydraulic pump on it. This was added as an afterthought, just because we had it sitting around.
And, installed in the chassis:
![]()
The last few weeks have been spent making the crossmember for the motor mounts, and also running fuel supply/return lines. Tonight, after securely bolting everything down, we finally got to try firing up the motor. And man, does this thing run!
http://www.phatserver.net/users/chris/cumminshi.wmv (23 mb)
http://www.phatserver.net/users/chris/cumminslo.wmv (10 mb)
Frame seems to be flexing a little bit, but we'll be adding a bit more reinforcing down the length of it. Plus with the body installed plus shocks and stuff it shouldn't be too bad.
As far as axles go...the bastard got a HP60 from a '78 F250 for free (some guy just junked the truck without knowing what he had), so that'll be going in, and we've got a D70u for the rear. He ALSO got a set of 5 Goodyear MT military tires, 37x12.5R16.5 for free, with 4 being brand new. Guess there are some perks to owning a place like that.
As it continues I'll update this, but it's lookin pretty good. The body fits wonderfully with the 3" lift. The only clearance issues we may run into are fitting the radiator, intercooler, and condensor inside the front clip...but that'll get figured out in due time.
If anyone wants more detail on any aspect of the build just let me know.
One of my good friends here owns a junkyard, so he's got plenty of potential for oddball projects. He's always been really into Broncos, with his most current DD being a '91 Eddie Bauer, with a Mustang GT 5.0, 5-speed and manual transfer case, HP44 SFA swap, and a semi-float 10.25" rear.
Well, in June the clutch went on it. About that same time we got this beauty in at the junkyard:
'94 Ram 3500, cummins diesel.
Since he had been more than unhappy with the Mustang 5.0, and since the trans had to come down anyway to do the clutch...why not swap in a cummins?
Of course it isn't quite that simple. The donor Dodge was only 2WD, so we had no transmission sitting around that would bolt up and be 4WD. However, we did have a ZF 5-speed from a 7.3L Powerstroke motor. Through a little digging, we found an obscure conversion company (www.fordcummins.com) that specializes in these things, and they manufactured us a bellhousing adapter to mate the Ford ZF to the Cummins motor.
This conversion uses the Dodge flywheel, clutch, and pressure plate, which were upgraded to Centerforce II pieces. The pilot bushing is a custom piece that came with the adapter plate. The stock Ford slave cylinder and clutch arm are used with the Dodge throwout bearing. The Dodge starter is reused as well, but is relocated to spot where the Ford starter used to be. This fits the chassis nice, but required a little bit of grinding on the inside of the bellhousing in order to fit the nosecone properly.
Next, we decided the stock Borg-Warner t-case wasn't badass enough. So we did a little more digging and found a Ford NP205 case from a '79 Bronco. With a little trimming of the mounting flange on the trans to clear the shift rails, it bolts right up.
At this point, the project took a big halt. My friend went back to school for a few days a week, the EPA did an inspection at the yard and found a bunch of stuff that needed to be taken care of, so that left no time for the buildup.
Sometime during that lull, we decided that after test-fitting everything, it was gonna be a bit tight. So we found a 3" body lift kit sitting in a dusty box in the basement, and figured it would probably solve all the clearance issues. Around that same time, a near-mint '96 Bronco rolled into the yard, being scrapped due to flood damage. Since my friend's '91 had all kinds of body rust, and we pretty much had to pull the body anyway to do the body lift...why not swap over the nicer, newer one?
So the body came off, which made test-fitting and mounting the motor much easier.
Note the onboard air bottle, and the missing front crossmember - we cut it out and are almost finished with the engine cradle that will hold the Cummins motor. We also raised the gas tank up a few inches because we were bored.
Here's the powertrain as it sits:
12-valve Cummins, with Banks turbo kit (why not?), Ford ZF 5-speed, Ford NP205, with a PTO hydraulic pump on it. This was added as an afterthought, just because we had it sitting around.
And, installed in the chassis:
The last few weeks have been spent making the crossmember for the motor mounts, and also running fuel supply/return lines. Tonight, after securely bolting everything down, we finally got to try firing up the motor. And man, does this thing run!
http://www.phatserver.net/users/chris/cumminshi.wmv (23 mb)
http://www.phatserver.net/users/chris/cumminslo.wmv (10 mb)
Frame seems to be flexing a little bit, but we'll be adding a bit more reinforcing down the length of it. Plus with the body installed plus shocks and stuff it shouldn't be too bad.
As far as axles go...the bastard got a HP60 from a '78 F250 for free (some guy just junked the truck without knowing what he had), so that'll be going in, and we've got a D70u for the rear. He ALSO got a set of 5 Goodyear MT military tires, 37x12.5R16.5 for free, with 4 being brand new. Guess there are some perks to owning a place like that.
As it continues I'll update this, but it's lookin pretty good. The body fits wonderfully with the 3" lift. The only clearance issues we may run into are fitting the radiator, intercooler, and condensor inside the front clip...but that'll get figured out in due time.
If anyone wants more detail on any aspect of the build just let me know.
