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Engine and trans swap done

Trango

Member
735
23
18
Location
Boulder, CO
On my 3208 powered deuce, I needed to torch bend the shifter pretty heavily, since you'll be under the dash right at the firewall. I put a 90* bend right at the output of the tranny, and then swooped it up and towards the seat.

Oh yeah, the exhaust is also interesting. You will find that you won't have much to play with at the

BTW, do you need a steering box that will work with that? They guy I sold my 3208 truck to has my outboard box, and I wonder if he'd be interested in selling. Want me to check? PM me if you are interested.
 

ranchhopper

Well-known member
1,631
139
63
Location
south elgin illinois
I have a steering gear from a 1980s ford 700 its a bit big but I think it will work.My only issue might be when turning hard right with the 1400-20s on the truck.I was planning to do the bend with the shifter then drill and tap a piece of shifter from a donor truck and thread it on the new shifter and when its screwed down tight weld it all the way around and grind it level it will look stock.
 

Trango

Member
735
23
18
Location
Boulder, CO
That would work. Also, look at that 5 ton shifter - the top inch or two is basically a piece of threaded rod welded in place. If you can unthread the knob on the deuce shifter and determine the thread, you could weld the appropriate thread onto the 5 ton shift rod and voila, you're done.
 

Flat Black

New member
139
9
0
Location
Georgia state
Im not sure that I would brag about a 10 LITER motor that makes 250hp (a measly 25 hp per liter) and 600 pound feet of torque. It can be probably be modified like most other diesel, but I have not heard great things about the 3208, in fact the exact opposite and I am certain that you dont have the support that an ISB has if you do want to mod it. A common rail B Cummins makes 325hp and 650 torque in a Dodge pickup, more in MDT apps. With a chip and no other mods, you could easily add 75-100hp and 150-200 pound feet of torque to the stock motor. I know its just another Cummins, do something different, etc.... well there is a reason that the 5.9L is the Chevy 350 of the diesel swap world.

They are plentiful, easy to get parts for, they last hundreds of thousands of miles if cared for and you can get insane amounts of power out of them if your wallet is deep enough. Not going down the Cummins vs. the world road, just make sure you really know what you are getting into, would hate to see a completed engine swap in your truck with a cargo bed full of regret and disappointment, especially with CAT getting out of the diesel engine business.

Cheers
 
Last edited:
377
3
18
Location
Owatonna, MN
Personally I'm a big fan of the B series Cummins but I think its neat that Ranchhopper is doing something different. As much as I like Dodge diesels and the B series for smaller GVW applications (I've owned 3 Dodge Cummins and have a B series with P7100 pump waiting for some project) I kind of get tired of reading Diesel Power magazine with the same Dodge truck setups or Chevy/Ford Cummins conversions month after month. The 3208 was built way before Cat struggled with emissions in 07 with their Acert twin turbo attempt. The support for the 3208 will be like 2 stroke Detroits if the OEM won't supply the parts at some point an aftermarket company will. Cat sold alot of 3208's so parts will be around for quite some time.


I'm looking forward to seeing the videos and final install of this unit.
 

Trango

Member
735
23
18
Location
Boulder, CO
Nice part about the 3208 is the redline. It wasn't enough for me to achieve good highway speeds up here in Colorado at altitude, but it's a solid engine and it will pull great on flats and at lower elevations.

I remember my build. That was a fun engine to put in that frame.
 

Flat Black

New member
139
9
0
Location
Georgia state
^^ how much trouble is it to fit the CTA Cummins into that engine bay?

Cummins is known for tall heavy engines, but not sure how it compares to the multi fuel that came out of it...

Guess if a 3208 fits, the CTA should fit too.. Looking forward to seeing that build up...
 

Trango

Member
735
23
18
Location
Boulder, CO
It's sort of already there. My challenge is going to fit the sheetmetal around it. :) Keeping the medium duty frame that the engine is in.
 

ranchhopper

Well-known member
1,631
139
63
Location
south elgin illinois
Well made some more progress on the truck today I started on the 105 bed I had to recess the front panel allowing room to clear the dual exhaust.After cutting all the pieces I got them all welded together its just as strong as the original configuration.Then I had to flip the trailer bed over and weld some four inch C-Channel on for strength and so I had enough rise to come close to the cab height since the cab was set three inches higher to fit the engine and trans.I had all day so I cut and welded on some back panels to give it a more finished look where the frame rails and bed meet.Then all that was left was to flip it over and weld on some pieces of angle iron I cut so the bed had somewhere for the bolts to hold it down tomorrow some fresh paint to seal everything then on to the cooling system.
 

Attachments

ranchhopper

Well-known member
1,631
139
63
Location
south elgin illinois
There is a gap in the thread here is a few pics of setting the cab and getting the exhaust fitted.
 

Attachments

eldgenb

Member
748
1
16
Location
Spokane WA
excellent work I am very impressed, a question, did you do the body lift because of the air compressor? turbo? just curious and sorry if it was covered before, a lot to read. I really like the work you did on the trailer bed, small details make the difference!!:grd:
 

ranchhopper

Well-known member
1,631
139
63
Location
south elgin illinois
The reason for raising the engine is being a V8 the engine is wider than the frame rails it allows clearance for the exhaust manifolds and leaves room to get to the starter.
 
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