6bt cummins NV4500 1996 LX450 swap (1 Viewer)

[Major Tom]

Ya'll have convinced me. The electric fans can be temporary. I'll pull them out down the road and mount a mechanical fan. I can build a radiator setup around the fan as a later modification.

 

[Will Van]

I think you miss-took my point.

Electric fans do not work well at all. What I posted was the "why" they don't work.

For an electric fan to cool an engine of this size and run on 12 volts it would have 2/0 welding cable running to it for the current required. Most electric fans are powered with a 10 AWG wire through a 40 amp fuse. That equates to roughly .5 HP max.

Yessir, you’re right - I misunderstood what you were saying. Apologies.

Now I understand - for an electric fan to cool appropriately, it would have to be MASSIVE with a huge oversized cable.

 

[Will Van]

Ya'll have convinced me. The electric fans can be temporary. I'll pull them out down the road and mount a mechanical fan. I can build a radiator setup around the fan as a later modification.

Is there any room to shift the engine closer to the firewall?

I know you said the driveshafts were laid out well, but it’s not hard to lengthen/shorten driveshafts.

I’m not sure what you mean about the center diff layout? There is no room to shift it back?

 

[Diesel-Runner]

The cooling system is just that a system of components that hopefully work together to achieve the goal of keeping the vehicle components within a normal operating zone. In theory you can have a radiator so big that it doesn't need a fan and simple thermal radiation is sufficient. So you can use lower CFM fans but you would need a fairly large increase in your radiators thermal conduction value, i.e larger and more cores. But for normal automotive applications the radiator and fans are matched to provide the correct efficiency for the intended use. The 80 isn't a lightweight so I would suspect that you would want to be replicating at least the cooling system parameters put into a 94-97 dodge ram with the same engine to have a good safety margin. The best radiator I know that fits an 80 is the custom ones from Ron Davis. Enjoying the build by the way.

 

[Will Van]

The cooling system is just that a system of components that hopefully work together to achieve the goal of keeping the vehicle components within a normal operating zone. In theory you can have a radiator so big that it doesn't need a fan and simple thermal radiation is sufficient. So you can use lower CFM fans but you would need a fairly large increase in your radiators thermal conduction value, i.e larger and more cores. But for normal automotive applications the radiator and fans are matched to provide the correct efficiency for the intended use. The 80 isn't a lightweight so I would suspect that you would want to be replicating at least the cooling system parameters put into a 94-97 dodge ram with the same engine to have a good safety margin. The best radiator I know that fits an 80 is the custom ones from Ron Davis. Enjoying the build by the way.

Agree 100%. Especially on the Ron Davis. That thing is a work of art.

 

[Major Tom]

Is there any room to shift the engine closer to the firewall?

I know you said the driveshafts were laid out well, but it’s not hard to lengthen/shorten driveshafts.

I’m not sure what you mean about the center diff layout? There is no room to shift it back?

With the current motor mounts, the center diff seems to sit in the original position. The center diff can be shifted back. I think if you go too far, the fuel tank may come into play.

The motor can be shifted back, especially with a body lift.

Driveshafts are easy, but finding people in my town to even bleed brakes is a chore.

 

[Will Van]

With the current motor mounts, the center diff seems to sit in the original position. The center diff can be shifted back. I think if you go too far, the fuel tank may come into play.

The motor can be shifted back, especially with a body lift.

Driveshafts are easy, but finding people in my town to even bleed brakes is a chore.

You can always get Tom Woods driveshafts.

 

[Will Van]

I’m finally able to upload photos. I swiped a bunch of pictures from various build threads in anticipation of my build.

This one is from Classic Cruisers IG back when Micah Black was doing their 6BT swaps. You can see the #6 valve cover is tucked under the lip/body seam at the firewall. And that they’re running a mechanical fan. I’m not sure about a body lift on this truck, but they may use a small one.

Compare that to the Adventure Vehicles NW engine placement on your build. The #6 valve cover sits clear of the lip/body seam at the firewall.

Obviously, the advantage is that you can pull the #6 valve cover without interfering with the body seam. But the disadvantage is it’s very tight at the radiator to run a mech fan.

For reference, here is the clearance on the #6 valve cover on a stock Dodge.

 

[Major Tom]

The thing that I immediately noticed was the intercooler setup since I'm dealing with that right now. The older style injector pump definitely is easier to work around due to the injector lines being routed differently. Thank you for posting that photo. My next Cummins swap may need to be an original Cummins from the early 90's.

My next build will probably have a body lift to help with exhaust clearance, intercooler clearance and give more room around the AC components. That may also mean being able to set the motor further back and retain the Cummins fan and Toyota radiator. I'll do some measuring on my driveshafts and see how much adjustment they have.

I have been happy with the service Joel at Adventure Vehicles NW has provided me. I purchased Joels conversion parts (new in the box at a heavily discounted price) from someone else that had to abandon their Cummins swap Landcruiser build. I called Joel to ask a question about the parts and he immediately sent me updated parts (at no charge) to make sure the kit was up to date. He has also been very responsive to my questions.

 

[Will Van]

I’m case you are contemplating a manual fan, this fan hub is perfect. I bought one for my build and it’s beefy as hell!

FJ80 80 Series Cummins Fan Hub Bracket

 

[Major Tom]

I’m case you are contemplating a manual fan, this fan hub is perfect. I bought one for my build and it’s beefy as hell!

FJ80 80 Series Cummins Fan Hub Bracket

Thank you for sharing that!! Do you use the dodge fan or modify one to slim it down?

 

[Will Van]

You use the stock Dodge fan and fan clutch.

 

[Major Tom]

Seat belt maintenance: My seat belts were nasty and not working. After checking prices on new ones, I found a repair video. It was super simple to remove the lock and remove the seat belt strap. I threw them in a sink and washed with water and dawn.
The drivers seat belt had a few frayed spots that I trimmed out and cauterized with a solder gun.

https://youtu.be/sXQ8AXKccis

 

[Major Tom]

I decided to install some bolts around my batteries to keep them stationary. I had some stainless steel rod laying around and put my granddad's 70 year old die set to use. I cut some stainless steel tabs and welded to the rod and drilled holes through my battery boxes. The bolts were mounted from the bottom of the battery box. The intercooler piping was interfering on the drivers side, so I trimmed the battery box down and used it as a platform for the battery.

 

[Major Tom]

 

[Major Tom]

I had a minor set back today on the cruiser build. I was hoping to test drive it this weekend but may not have it ready. Right hand trigger finger will be out of commission for a while after a screw extractor bit snapped when I put the muscle to it. Next time, I’ll be wearing some welding gloves.

 

[Will Van]

Oh man, that stinks! Heal up and feel better soon!

 

[Major Tom]

 

[William839]

Awesome!! Any idea why the engine was cutting out ? Fuel shutoff solenoid sticky? Any pics of how you mounted that intercooler ? Looks good ! Ever seen the CX racing one ?

 

[Major Tom]

Awesome!! Any idea why the engine was cutting out ? Fuel shutoff solenoid sticky? Any pics of how you mounted that intercooler ? Looks good ! Ever seen the CX racing one ?

I think what you heard was me trying to find gears. The trans was hard to shift. I’ll be trying to tweak the clutch setup and inspect the trans. I’ll post some photos of the intercooler setup. I had the muffler shop that built the exhaust add the intercooler piping.