6.7L Cummins conversion project

[E350]

Okay, okay, okay. But this build thread of yours and the SEMA build and no doubt alot of other stuff in your portfolio constitutes a pretty friggin' impressive resume.

Just sayin...

[JWA]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

I'm serious man....I'm way down on the bottom of the automotive industry food chain. I have a small shop behind my house, too little time to work in it and almost enough money to buy a tiny fraction of what I really want. If I had some connection to Cummins and could be in any way involved in their crate engine program, you can bet I'd post the big news. I don't have that kind of luck though. This project has been one big hurdle after the other and, aside from tidbits of info from a few much smarter than me diesel tuner dudes, I've had to make my own progress. There ain't no joint venture going on here.

Seems to me Hewlett-Packard and Apple both started out as dudes in garages near their houses too.......?!?!?

[mgmetalworks]

Thank you guys! I appreciate your support.

[mk216v]

Originally Posted by mgmetalworks

I'm serious man....I'm way down on the bottom of the automotive industry food chain. I have a small shop behind my house, too little time to work in it and almost enough money to buy a tiny fraction of what I really want. If I had some connection to Cummins and could be in any way involved in their crate engine program, you can bet I'd post the big news. I don't have that kind of luck though. This project has been one big hurdle after the other and, aside from tidbits of info from a few much smarter than me diesel tuner dudes, I've had to make my own progress. There ain't no joint venture going on here.

I can vouch, I've seen it all with my own eyes. MG is just a frickin' incredibly smart and talented peon!

[mk216v]

Originally Posted by E350

Okay, okay, okay. But this build thread of yours and the SEMA build and no doubt alot of other stuff in your portfolio constitutes a pretty friggin' impressive resume.

Just sayin...

Ain't no doubt there, hugely impressive. If only the neighborhood's in Oregon had money trees, then you'd be really blown out of the water.

[WhitH]

They would pass a law against harvesting those trees even if we had them here. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[mk216v]

Originally Posted by WhitH

They would pass a law against harvesting those trees even if we had them here. Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Haha, too right!

[mgmetalworks]

As I get closer to finalizing all of the integration of the electrical circuits in this Cummins swap, I'm often confronted with "well how am I going to pull that off?" scenarios. Case in point.... The 6-speed Allisons have a 'manual' mode where the driver can push-button select through the gears if they so desire. The problem with the van is that there aren't any buttons on the dash or the column that can be re-purposed for such a use. And, I've come this far with making things look factory, I'm not about to put two cheesy buttons on the dash for something like this. Hmmmm...

So I had this idea after sitting in a newer Super Duty truck, not so long ago. The trucks have a shift lever with a tow/haul button AND up/down buttons. I ask myself "How similar are the designs of the truck shifter and the van shifter?" Short answer...not even close. At the connection point, they don't even look like distant cousins and the shape is different. Damn you Ford!!

FEAR NOT my friends! I have a few tricks up my sleeve and from time to time, I've been known to make the seemingly impossible, possible.

Let's start with the comparison...

Truck shifter on top, van on bottom. Van lever = ick... Truck lever =


(insert montage - machining, welding, grinding, test fit, tweak, test fit, etc....)

To be honest, as dissimilar as they were, it only took me an hour to get this far...


Yes....I have two spare '09-up steering columns sitting on my bench. I've been having a bit of a hoarding problem lately...



DONE!!!! Now I have a factory-look shift lever with tow/haul and shift up/down buttons and you can barely tell it doesn't belong there.

Bring on the next challenge! (technical challenge I mean...the biggest challenge I always face is getting time in the shop. My wife is involved in that challenge so there's little hope of progress on that front)

[WhitH]

Dude, you're just slaying this thing! I love your attention to detail and desire to integrate factory pieces in a way that makes it look like it should've been that way all along.

[86Scotty]

If only I were your neighbor. I would be buying a LOT of beer.