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Swapping out a Ford 370 to a Cat 3208 is a doable project.
Swapping an Allison that is mated to a Ford 370 to a Cat 3208 is probably not worth the effort.
I am assuming the Allison behind the Ford is most likely the AT540 series transmission. If that is so, it won't last long if you put it behind a 3208. The Cat has too much torque for the AT540. Also, most of the gas engine AT540's had vacuum moderlators to make the shifts. With a diesel engine, you would have to add a vacuum pump to make the transmission shift. This is all in addition to having different bellhousings.
I would agree with the comments about the HP of the two engine being similar. I am thinking the Cat would pull a hill longer in a higher gear than the Ford would.
Another problem that has yet to be addressed is your cooling capacity. Switching to a larger engine with an automatic transmission is going to require a lot more cooling capacity than what you currently have. Particularly if you want to go faster.
I am thinking the best thing for you to do is poke along in the slow lane with your 370 until you can afford to upgrade to something with some real serious HP. Even if you get the Cat engine and transmission free you are going to be spending a lot of $$$ and a lot of time swapping everything around. I am thinking you can poke along in the slow lane a lot of miles before you would ever realize a saving in time and money.
Good luck and happy trails.
Mark O. |
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