Howdy I'm the new guy! 1956 T-all

Hey there guys appreciate everybody taking a minute to check this out. My name is Zac I'm working on a 1956 international travelall with the Factory 4 by 4 and everything. Long crazy story I revive the original engine only to find out it was broken so now I have a 6.9 IDI sitting in the frame rails of said travelall. Truck's name is Oscar which would mean that I get to be the Grouch.

Welcome Mr. Grouch, Sounds like your already knee deep in your travelall project. Keep us updated and if you have any pics please share them.

I did a 6.9 idi V8 Diesel conversion in my 1953 R120. The fuel economy was improved by about double and the novelty of having that engine in the "R" was the only other benefit. I found the 6.9 to be lazy and it struggled in the hills with 3:73 gearing. I installed a Gear Vendors overdrive so the limited RPM Diesel could keep up with traffic.
The weight of the engine required extra frame strengthening. I built a sub-frame because I am 100% against boxing frames. These frames are destroyed by indiscriminate welder's heat.
The sub frame transferred the loading back into the heavier frame section. I drove the "R" for 20 years and 225.000 miles with the 6.9 engine/C6 NP505/Dana60 combination. I parked the truck for several reasons, one being the frame was heavily cracked in too many places. The 6.9 weighs 1150 pound, this is 50% more than the original 6.
Would I install a 6.9 again? Absolutely never. One, it does not fit the truck and the firewall has to be cut and dog-housed back to accommodate the width of the engine. You will need a massive radiator. I had a radiator custom built to fit the space for $1000. The rad was a four row with staggered tubes. It was just able to keep the 6.9 cool. I did install a water to oil heat exchanger and a remote fan cooled radiator in the box.
Did you know a Cummins 6bt will fit without any body modification? The 12 valve is a more economical option and has no electronics. I have a new 24 Valve ISB that is going into my "R" IHC crewcab. This will be my last project.
If you can find an Cummins 4bta and install it, you will discover the 4bta has beter power and economy that the lazy 6.9. I just had my Cummins 24 valve truck in for fuel injection service. My conversation with the owner of the shop indicated that the parts for the old 6.9 and 7.3 idi engines are often difficult to find and the prices of parts are on the rise.
I have posted, on this forum, several times about the bad idea build with a 6.9.
If this is the way you have decided to go, all I can say is "Lots of Luck"

Did I mention that a Cummins 12 valve is more than 250 pounds lighter than a 6.9 and a few hundred pounds heavier that the original lump of lazy iron? I added air springs with a Holland Neway leveling valve for the front suspension. The rear axle got two Holland Neway valves for the left and right air springs.
I kept the 7 blade belt driven fan on the 6.9 and built a shroud to match.
In 1991, this build cost me $26,000. I did all of the work myself including the crap paint job.

Hahaha yeah I've heard rumor there was another guy who did the 6-9 into the r-series good to finally meet you sir! I'm up here in interior Alaska I don't really have funds to be picky or Tuesday about my engines I came across the 6-9 that has the IH stamp on it and have been giving it everything I know how to give it. Just now getting to trying to figure out the engine mounts the rest of it has been falling into place miraculously. I had a Chevy 250 inline 6 setup to go in but I wanted the diesel because of the stink here once I figure out how to upload a picture you'll understand the Oscar and the Grouch thing Oscar lives in the hood scoop of this truck and yeah I guess I'm just trying to go with the motif of International Harvester and stinky diesel

They tell me the file size is too large I'll have to figure out a way around that. In the meantime I was sitting here thinking about boxing the frame because I don't really have any sort of facilities to do said subframe most all my work is out doors with basic hand tools. Any chance you could elaborate on why I should never do such a thing

If you are posting from a computer, use the "paint" program to "shrink" your pictures, Try the resize option and go about 40% then save them in a different folder.

If a person thinks that the frame is weak and welds in a bunch of scrap for added strength the heat from welding takes the spring out of the frame. Where the weld stops becomes the weakest point. If boxing is the only option it is very important where and how the boxing is terminated.
The subframe is easier. I formed square tube to the bottom and it worked.
Before a person installs a 6.9 , parts availability should be checked first. The old Stanadyne pump will likely need service and repair. This is old technology. I had to have the pump rebuilt on my 6.9, that was $1500 in 1993.
The 6.9 engines suffer from cylinder head cracking. The left head cracked in my 6.9. This is not a good thing, the idi cups fall out when the head is removed.
A smaller V8 Diesel with IHC in the block casting is the 6.5 found in Chevy pickups.

Boy oh boy I sure wish figured out how to use this form several months ago. I'm about waist-deep through the bog at this point I hear what you're saying. Sounds like I've got some rethinking to figure. I like the thought of the subframe I don't intend on driving this thing fast or hard but I do want to go all kinds of places in it