.....I wouldn't mind going to newer axles but seeing what you had to go through to get a front axle (narrowing and all) and the fact that I would need different wheels and a host of other things....
... If there was a possibility of swapping the P-30 spindles on the stock front axle I think it would be a more appealing swap, is there any possibility of this or is it totally out of the question?
The 6BT/12 valve Cummins is the motor I am looking at. .... I've done quite a bit of reading over at 4btswaps.com and it really seems like the best fit for the AD trucks, power and size. ..
Don't have a lot of time for a response, but here are my first thoughts.
You could use your original wheels with newer axles, the centers would need to be bored out to 5.25" about.
Yes there would still be a host of other stuff to deal with.
I looked into swapping just spindles and at the time decided it was not the best idea, it's been a while and I don;t recall the exact reasoning or problem with that idea. Please do investigate and if it looks like a good plan fill us in on the details.
Not sure where you decided that a 6BT in an AD truck is "the best fit for size"?? Power yes, but I've only seen one Ad truck with a nicely done 6BT, looked like lots and lots of work to do it well. I've seen plenty of ugly and crude 6BT AD conversions. Length is probably the major issue.
If narrowing a front axle is a stumbling point, then a clean install of a 6BT in an AD truck is probably as much or more of a job than axle narrowing. The axle can be done in a day or two, or a week if your first time, the engine will take weeks for sure, probably months.
Grigg
