M615 1 Ton 4x4 Ambulance 1968

[Jumbopriz]

Hey Guys,
I need your help or advice. I own a M615 1 Ton 4x4 ambulance. I believe it’s in the same family as the 1 ton 601 cargo truck and Interchangeable with the Civilian 1 ton 4 x 4. It was built in 1968, went to the Nam, and now its here with me. It’s in good condition and runs good. My convoy days are behind me so I need more speed and power. I will be towing about 2500 lbs. total, Quads, motorcycle & trailer on rare occasions. I will need enough power to get down the mountains North and South of Los Angeles. I will be using the truck as a daily driver or work truck.
I have been reading PW Forum for a year or two now and noticed the same guys are giving great suggestions, advice and answers to questions. I don’t have unlimited funds but I want to make this truck do highway speed safely. I know from reading PW Forum that 4BTH Power Plant with 5 speed transmission is one way to do it but I only know enough to embarrass myself, so I’m looking to you guys for help. If this was your project what would you do – such as disk brakes, where to buy engine, new or used, transmission and anything else you can think of?
You guys do a great service on the Forum and I want to Thank you for that and I want this truck to be dependable and safe. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you and Sempler Fi,
Paul
In the past I owned 47 Dodge panel truck but got deployed.
I now own 1950 B2B Dodge ½ ton & 1968 1 ton 4x4 615 ambulance Power wagon

[Desoto61]

Welcome!

Well being new to these vehicles myself I don't have a lot of experience to draw from but since opinions are free I'll toss mine into the ring.

Disk brakes (at least on the front), in my opinion, should be a given if you really want to use it as a daily driver. They're easier to get parts for and work on besides just working better.

As for a new motor, the cummins conversion is my personal choice, I've yet to find anyone that wouldn't do it again, but it isn't cheap. So without knowing what your budget actually is if you can afford it I'd do it, but otherwise I'd lean more toward putting a more modern gas engine and transmission in the vehicle. You have about unlimited options, most parts are more readily available, and just about everything is cheaper, depending on what type of engine/tranny you decide to use.

2500# isn't much, my Magnum will pull that, so you shouldn't need anything too crazy.

Good luck, and get us some pictures when you get a chance.

[Jumbopriz]

M615 1 Ton 4x4 Ambulance 1968

Thanks for responding. I was hoping I'd get more input as to where I can buy the cummins engine, transmission, etc. and to get the truck up and running to highway speed. I expect to spend around $10K to get it where I want and safe. Once again Thanks for your response. Will post pictures once I figure out how, but in the meantime watch M*A*S*H.

[Desoto61]

The Cummins can be picked up from a few sources. The one most people try is Dovebid.com. It's a commercial auction site where companies can auction off old equipment. FritoLay and a few other companies converted some of their delivery fleet to the 4BT when the stock motors proved un-reliable. They're used but usually have low mileage for a diesel and can be had fairly cheap but you have to deal with the whole truck.

They show up on e-bay periodically, mostly from the same source as above but already removed from the truck. Prices can vary widely and getting it shipped would be expensive but it's an option.

You could always go to a Cummins dealer and see about buying one but expect big $$$$. Plus I think Charles Talbert said they were moving to a newer engine design so the older 4BT is getting more expensive to get.

Finally if you don't want to deal with the conversion and have the time and money look up http://www.mseriesrebuild.com. Charles can do the whole thing and make it look better than factory, he's kind of far from you though.

As for transmissions, you can put just about any transmission you want behind the cummins, some easier than others. The dovebid ones usually have a GM adaptor for an automatic transmission. Other usual options are the Spicer Charles uses, any of the late model Dodge trannies that could be bought with the factory Dodge Cummins motors, and you can buy an adaptor plate to run a Ford tranny too.

Do some searches on this site and you'll find some info on the swap. You can also look at these sites for more:

http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/index.php
http://imageevent.com/moosecreekmaple
http://www.garbee.net/~cabell/

There's lots of info out there. But unfortunately no one makes a "kit" you can buy and bolt in like with the V8 swap.