4WD Diesel KB6

I have given up on trying to get new running gear under the old IH frame. I've spent too much time and money trying parts to try and get something I would feel safe driving down the interstate with.

All is not lost though. Over the past couple weeks I've amassed a new setup. I found a parted out 99 Ram 2500 4x4 with the gas engine in it that still had the complete running gear. Dana 60 front and rear with 4:10 gears. So I grabbed it and brought it home. I thought briefly about putting my 352 or the BLD269 in it. But I have always loved diesels, especially the 12 valve cummins. We have one in a truck on the farm and it is amazingly reliable and simple. That being said I found a wrecked ram with a 12 valve cummins and 5 speed 2wd for cheap. Bought the engine and trans and pulled it. Brought it home and it bolted right in to the frame. With the kit to convert it to bolt up to the transfer case off the gas motor is fairly cheap, ill have a running driving running gear in no time. Also in doing this I'm trying to stay as relatively simple as possible. No fabrication is needed and I am less likely to run into any troubles as far as that goes.

In the meantime though I've kinda mocked up the body on the frame to see how everything will clear. It honestly looks like it won't be too bad. I figure I can get the body mounted on this frame in about the same time I spent trying to find a working steering setup on the old IH frame.

I like the direction you are going. I agree that it will likely get you to a finished truck more quickly.

Dean

You're going to have a SWEET ride wen you're done! The guy I bought my Travelall from,said the neighbor had a good 345/Clark 5-speed out of a '63 Loadstar. we went to take a look,and then I saw the reason they pulled the Loadstar's engine/trans! They installed a Cummins 6Bt,and newer O.D. 5-speed! The engine/trans. tunnel is WIDE,but no too deep. They'll have to figure something out for the accelerator pedal,since the tunnel is about 1-1/2 inches from the brake pedal! not much room! A guy on stovebolt.com did a frame-off resto,on a '59 Viking 60 2-ton dump truck. This is where it gets I.H.C. Related! He installed a Powerstroke coupled to a 6-speed O.D. trans. He made a video of it,and it spun the Duals,(on gravel),from 2nd into 3rd Gear! With the stock rear end,(5:?? gear ratio),that truck will CRUISE at 70! WAY COOL! BEWARE...UpGrade Those Brakes!!

Thanks! I've already started upgrading the already beefy drivetrain!. First off, I had to convert the trans from 2wd to 4wd and the transfer case from 23spline auto input to the 29 spline 5speed input. The transmission conversion was much more involved than I thought. It involved complete dis-assembly of the input and main shafts to change it over. Also picked up a Dana 80 single wheel rear to swap out the 60 in the rear with. Farming has kept me very busy this past month so progress has been slow. Here are some pics.

Now this build suddenly got even more interesting with the 12V addition! Looking forward to seeing more.

Did hear CUMMINS? Now this is just the way I like to see an engine transplant go. AND 4X4, you are speaking my language. Great job.

A little more progress. I got the engine, trans, and transfer case all assembled. I also moved it back in the frame around 5 inches to give more clearance in front. I did that instead of moving the body because what irks me most about frame swaps on these older trucks is the front wheel not lining up in the wheel well. I also cut the front cab and fender mount out of the old IH frame so I could use it to have a good base to keep the fender and the cab in original spacing when re mounting.

Here are some more pics

you are exactly right. the tires and wheels need to line up with the wheel well openings on the fenders.

Some more progress. Got the entire body minus the bumper mounted to the Dodge frame. I mainly used the factory mounts and modified them to fit on the dodge frame. Only piece I made from scratch was the crossmember for the radiator and grill mount.

that is really looking good.