I own a 2005 Chevy Silverado 1500 extended cab. I recently bought a 91 second gen 12 valve Cummins engine, but I can't decide if I want to put it into my Chevy or put it into another truck. People have been telling me that it is going to cost tens of thousands of dollars and that my frame will not be able to hold it. I need some help think of issues that I might run into when I do it and a list of things that I will need to accomplish this task.

 

You are going to have to fab brackets for all your acc. PS,Alt,AC,ect. You will have no vac. for power brakes. What will you use for a trans? If you put it in any heavy service the rear end wont hold up. That is a pretty long engine,it may be back in the cab with you.

 

A Cummins diesel in a truck like that will rattle it apart in no time at all.

There is a good reason why those engines are only installed in a "heavy duty" chassis. I would consider another truck - perhaps a Ford F-250 or Dodge 2500, as the undercarriage, differential and transmission will be more suitable for all that torque.

 

What I was planning on doing was using the complete drive line. I dont like the IFS anyways. So if I do it I will he putting the Dana 60 in the front and the Dana 70 in the rear. I will be using an automatic transmission and a manual shift transfer case. Will I need a body lift to get it to fit under my hood? Will the frame torque to much if I race with it? What electronics will not work? If I do this I want all of the gauges in the dash to work like they do now. Obviously I am going to need a pyro a boost gauge and a trany temp gauge. To give you guys a better idea of why I am thinking about this, my ultimate goal with this engine is to create as much HP and torque that I possibly can so that I can race with it.

 

It can be done. I have an 86 1500 with a 1st generation cummins in it. It is a pricey swap to preform but the end result is worth the time and money.