Engine Fitting
 

       

The Project Sidewinder Dakota was stripped for installation of the roll cage and cutting the firewall for the Cummins turbo diesel.

The Dakota was stripped to a bare shell to allow for fabrication of the roll cage and safety equipment in the cockpit. When fabrication was completed, the interior was returned to a comfortable street configuration including seats, air conditioning and sound system. The engine, transmission and driveline were removed to allow for modifications prior to installation of the Cummins engine and New Venture gearbox. Many stock parts are being stored.

Early in the modification of the Dakota, the vehicle was stripped and the firewall partially cut to determine placement of the Cummins 5.9L inline six and the New Venture Gear six-speed manual transmission.

Initial work on Project Sidewinder began with the removal of the stock engine and transmission, as well as stripping the interior of the cab. The firewall was then partially cut to allow placement of the Cummins® inline six-cylinder engine and the New Venture Gear® six-speed manual transmission. With the engine and transmission roughly positioned, the location of the new engine and transmission mounts was determined. Construction of the roll cage (detailed elsewhere) was initiated and the firewall and floorpan were cut as required. The rear of the Cummins engine is now 8 inches to the rear of where the stock firewall was located. The engine is also offset one inch to the right of the vehicle centerline.

 
         

Click thumbnails for larger image
Trial fitting of the Cummins engine in the Sidewinder Dakota required cutting the firewall. Much more cutting would eventually be necessary.

Serious cutting was needed on the firewall and floor to initially fit the big Cummins inline six-cylinder engine.

 
The dash of the Sidewinder had to be removed and relocated rearward to accommodate the new engine.

To make room for the Cummins inline six-cylinder engine and to install the roll cage, the dash had to be removed from the Sidewinder Dakota.
Both the engine and the transmission used for Project Sidewinder are much bigger than the stock pieces.

The New Venture Gear six-speed gearbox is in place waiting for the initial fit of the Cummins inline six cylinder engine.
After the trial fitting in the Dakota, the engine was readied for dyno testing by John Sinz.

After the trial fitting of the engine in the Sidewinder, the engine was removed and prepared for dynamometer testing.
The Cummins common-rail fuel injection six-cylinder turbo diesel is much longer and heavier than the stock Dakota four-cylinder engine it replaces in Project Sidewinder.

A heavy-duty engine hoist was required to lift the large Cummins inline six and the six-speed New Venture gearbox into the modified Dakota engine bay.

 
Installing the Cummins 5.9L turbo-diesel and the New Venture Gear transmission required extensive cutting of the firewall and the floor of the Sidewinder Dakota.

After cutting the firewall and floor and building new mounts for the engine and transmission, it was time to check the fit of the Cummins inline six and the New Venture transmission. A new firewall and transmission tunnel (detailed elsewhere) was fabricated after the cage and engine fitting was completed.
After the Cummins turbo-diesel was installed, construction of the new firewall began.

With the cage structure and engine mounts in place, the Cummins engine was set in place to begin construction of the new firewall.

 
 

Engine fitting 1Engine fitting 2