Travco 270 getting a Cummins Diesel swap

[jeeprobb]

Just realized I probably should not have told you guys what the Cummins weighs...I am already tempting you enough

[77Travco]

Ah jeeze... Now I am finding myself looking through the local craigslist ads for old dodges with 6bt's and automatics...

[Acesneights]

Updates ???

[jeeprobb]

Not just yet but I will be posting Sunday. I am using the break in the weather here to work on it right now. This full time job thing is really starting to cramp my style !!!

[jeeprobb]

OK some more photos and details. Bare in mind that it is going to be slower going for awhile as I am down to the fabricating and plumbing stage. I will still keep you all up to date though. In the first photos you see the Cummins between the rails and close-ups of how the motor mounts went together pretty much without issue. As I stated before the radiator will go in the factory location but will only be about 1 1/2" away from the damper. I was planning on using an electric fan anyway so that just means it will have to be mounted in front of the rad. as a pusher instead of a puller.

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[jeeprobb]

Notice I had to remove the turbo to get the 6BT in there and will have to trim the engine opening angle iron support to re-fit it. I foresee much of the aforementioned "trimming" in my future. The next pics show the big Allison in place and the associated trimming involved with that.

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I had to cut out a section of the floor as the Allison bellhousing hit the right angle where the coach floor meets the "command module" floor.

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I also had to trim this flooring crossmember to allow the tranny to go up high enough to make the motor and tranny more level. This picture shows how it was trimmed for the 727 by Travco. Nice torch cut job.

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[jeeprobb]

I forgot to mention in the last post that there is a factory installed tin cover over a hole in the coach floor where the bellhousing is. I assume this was to access the upper most bellhousing bolts in the 727. I just made this hole a little larger, it was about 3" x 15" and now it is 6" x 15" this works out fine as my wife was asking for a step to get up into the driving area so I will just build and carpet a step to cover this hole.

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My only concern thus far is that the engine and transmission are still a little tilted to the rear. The rear of the engine is about 1 1/2" lower than the front. I don't think this will be a problem and the tranny is already more in line with the carrier bearing than the 727 was. I just need to do a little homework on that situation. I just went out a looked at my other first generation donor truck and it is at about the same tilt so no worries Thats all for now so fire away with any questions you have. Robb

[jeeprobb]

I found one more pic. it shows the same crossmember from earlier and how much more I had to trim out. With the large arc cut in it now the Allison tucks up in there neatly and can be mounted permanently.

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Well now I have lots of fabricating to do. I started making tranny mounts as the factory tailshaft saddle mount is now just behind the Allison bellhousing. The mounts should be relatively easy to make and then its of to the driveshaft shortening guy

[Acesneights]

Very nice. My only concern will be your fan setup. It's better to have it pull than push. The reason I say that is I had a pusher fan on my 220 and what would happen is at low speeds it was fine but on the highway i actually blocked highway air as it acted like a shield and made the 220 run hot unless I shut it off. Any chance of moving the rad forward a little to accommodate a puller fan ?\n\nAlso the Tranny being tight to the floor, would you say that would be a problem if using a 518 instead of an Allison ?\nIf the angle doesn't work out can you lower the motor ? I know we use to drop the tranny cross members on the 4x4's and it tilted the motor a little with no issue.

[jeeprobb]

Sorry it took so long to respond, my internet was down for 2 days I don't think the tranny/engine tilt will be an issue after looking at my other donor truck as it has about the same tilt. I'm pretty sure if you are using the 518,618,47RH or 47RE you would not have any issue since they are basically an updated version of the 727. I have heard of that same fan issue on other conversion situations and am looking for a more open electric fan. I could move the radiator forward more but remember I have an intercooler and hopefully A/C condenser to cram in there as well. The problem is even the "thin" electrics seem to be 3"-4" thick and I currently have about an 1 1/2" between the radiator core and the damper pulley. I have heard of electrics with fewer blades and a more open shroud but have not searched very hard for one yet. Thanks for the input. Robb