Quick question for you guys

[shoughtrucking]

Hello I have a KT 450 Cummings and I know that the 450 its the KT was wondering how much money it would take or ball park what I need for it if it is possible to covert it to a KTA version the KTA is the after cooled version the KT was not after cooled. thanks for reading this post.

 

[Truck Shop]

There is nothing cheap when it comes to a KT/KTA engine. What is it setting in? I would go air to air instead of a jacketed water cooler. But If I remember
right the KT used different pistons and turbo than the KTA. How much power are you after? And that engine weighs 3,750, heavy on the steer.
Performance Power/ Pittsburg did make engine kits for them a ways back, around $20,000 bucks.

Welcome to Heavy Truck Forums

Truck Shop

 

[shoughtrucking]

It's in a 76 359 Pete and I haul rock right now looking to maybe go into heavy hauling I have 4:11 rears in it just don't know a whole lot about these engines delt mostly in cats 3406 motors from a to e someone told me the KTA was the better motor and wasn't hard to convert idk just trucker talk didn't know if he knew what he was talking about. What kind of hp can I get out of the KT without pushing the limits? Thanks for the reply.

 

[Truck Shop]

With the after cooler and 10% over fuel on the pump, probably 480 to 490 hp. What I would do is take your CPL# to Cummins and have them compare it to say
KTA 525 CPL for piston, cam and cam timing plus which turbo to use. The pistons and cam might be the same so your major changes would be aftercooler, turbo,
resetting the PT pump and injectors to the 525 CPL. Maybe RZucker will reply to this thread.

Truck Shop

 

[Truck Shop]

http://www.interstate-mcbee.com/media/documents/parts-catalog/cummins-kt-catalog-lr.pdf

I'm not seeing any pistons under the KT 450 CPL's that match up with KTA's, or maybe I can't see it. And some KTA engines had three different after coolers.

Truck Shop

 

[rzucker]

I have to say that I agree with Truck shop. The K series engine is far too expensive to experiment with. Take your original CPL to Cummins and tell them what you would like to have built. I've worked on a ton of Ks all the way up to the KT 50s but never have done an uprate. I do know they are very component sensitive. If you want it to last... do it right.

 

[shoughtrucking]

Thank you for all the info going to look into contacting cummins and seeing what I can do with it.

 

[rzucker]

Just remember that a serious uprate is going to need the biggest, baddest new radiator you can get, Make sure your oil cooler is spotless too. Then you need to consider the condition of the trans and diffs. Making sure all those drivetrain temp gauges work properly is a big plus too. The engine is only a part of the picture. Sincerely the best of luck. Back in the day I loved trucks with big power, KTs and 12V71s come to mind.