K-30 12v Swap

Look at Rob Bonney Fab for motor mount parts. Like others have said, you'll have the best luck with a trans that was native with the engine and even then, there's often a little bit of thinking involved with stuff like putting a G56 on an earlier engine. None of it's rocket science and it'll be really good. An exhaust built for a first gen dodge cummins truck will have the right bend to go around your transfer case. We've seen Diamond Eye work well. We (ORD) have springs and steering to make it ride and drive nice and also have the C30 to K30 conversion brackets for C truck guys.

Ive done this swap in my 75 k20. I have an intercooled ve pump cummins with an nv4500 and a round pattern 205 t case with no adapters at all.. not too bad of a swap. almost no wiring needed haha. It helps to be able to weld but not a requirement.. No firewall cutting or rad support cutting for me.. I sed a mishimoto radiator that was made for the k20 and a mishimoto intercooler in front of the rad. Have plenty of room for a mechanical fan.

I can confirm the ord springs handle the weight well. Mine are a 5" lift with cross over steering. I like it alot. Rob bonnie mounts will probably be the best you can buy but I had good luck with aganfabworks.com. I did the weld it together yourself kit..

Blazerbiker said:

Look at Rob Bonney Fab for motor mount parts. Like others have said, you'll have the best luck with a trans that was native with the engine and even then, there's often a little bit of thinking involved with stuff like putting a G56 on an earlier engine. None of it's rocket science and it'll be really good. An exhaust built for a first gen dodge cummins truck will have the right bend to go around your transfer case. We've seen Diamond Eye work well. We (ORD) have springs and steering to make it ride and drive nice and also have the C30 to K30 conversion brackets for C truck guys.

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Blzerbiker thanks for the info, I haven't looked much into the steering. What would you recommend for a steering upgrade. Should I just change it over to crossover steering right off the bat? With that the truck currently doesn't have a lift will one be needed so that the lower oil pan has better ground clearence? If so, what do you think the minimum lift would be? I don't really want to go much higher than a 4" lift.

Chevynut46 said:

Ive done this swap in my 75 k20. I have an intercooled ve pump cummins with an nv4500 and a round pattern 205 t case with no adapters at all.. not too bad of a swap. almost no wiring needed haha. It helps to be able to weld but not a requirement.. No firewall cutting or rad support cutting for me.. I sed a mishimoto radiator that was made for the k20 and a mishimoto intercooler in front of the rad. Have plenty of room for a mechanical fan.

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Chevynut thanks for the pictures that will be super helpful! It's reassuring to hear that you were able to fit a mechanical fan, I have had a few people tell me that that wouldn't be possible!

Some updates on the project. I found a good deal on a motor so I went ahead and bought it. Its a 1997 12v with a p-pump. Came out of a wrecked truck a few years ago that had 136000 miles on it. The KDP had been fixed and the motor had a new timing cover, oil pan, all new gaskets, and seals. The guy had the p-pump tested and it tested flawlessly it had apparently been rebuilt recently. He only wanted $1500 for it so I figured even if I had to do a complete rebuild I still wouldn't be losing money. After that, a guy I know was getting rid of a bunch of old trucks he had sitting around. I ended up buying a 94 dodge for $1000 to use as a parts truck that also has a 12v in it. I'm not sure which injection pump it has or how many miles is on it. I am hoping I can sell the motor and automatic transmission out of the parts truck to buy a NV5600 but we will see how that goes. I am attaching pictures of the K30, the parts truck and, the 12v I bought. The K30 body has seen better days but it was only $1500 so I think it was a good deal, the Dana 60 front axle and flatbed are worth that.