friend of mine has a late 90's dodge ram 1500 magnum parked in her yard... auto trans... front end smashed in due to a drunk driving incident by the now ex hubby but was driven home without issue... just more work then worth fixing... was parked about 1 1/2 years ago.
she said I could have the drivetrain for next to nothing....
what would you do with this on the cheap?... I saw a '76 I6 dodge aspen sedan on CL and the 318 swap is fun :)...
I'd put it in this dakota i just got.
It could resurect my old ram
donalson wrote:friend of mine has a late 90's dodge ram 1500 magnum parked in her yard... auto trans... front end smashed in due to a drunk driving incident by the now ex hubby but was driven home without issue... just more work then worth fixing... was parked about 1 1/2 years ago.
she said I could have the drivetrain for next to nothing....
what would you do with this on the cheap?... I saw a '76 I6 dodge aspen sedan on CL and the 318 swap is fun :)...
Ditto!
Drop it in that $1500 Volarie wagon. 
Magnum Locost
914Driver wrote:Drop it in that $1500 Volarie wagon.
THISx Eleventybillion.
A 318 Maggie swap into a Volare/Aspen would be fun. If you are getting the whole truck then it might not be too bad to swap the fuel injection over too. Is the truck 2WD? If so, the trans will work too. Need to fabricate a trans crossmember, but that's not too bad. Stock 318 F-M-J body 318 motor mounts will work if the Aspen is a V8 car now. If it's a slant 6, either fabricate some mounts or there are aftermarket mounts that will work.
The truck's exhaust manifolds might work too. They won't in the smaller A-body, but the F-body Aspen has the motor a little further forward. We're going to try a set of Maggie manifolds on a buddy's Dippy sometime this year.
find an early dak, clone the shelby body bits, and drop the magnum in, add an extra pedal and a proper gearbox, then go beat on it.
it is a RWD... and I could take pretty much what I want from it... so trans, wires... whatever... the older dak would prob be fun (i've wanted to do a v8 s10 for a long time)... but for some reason i like the idea of a 70's POS mopar though?... go figure...
we'll see what is around when I have money lol...
so whats it take to swap to an early dak and keeping the EFI?
what about trans? reuse the v6 trans? use the 1500's trans? (i assume it's prob tied into the PCM of the engine?) if trans swap then would i need to work the driveshaft? how would a standard trans work out?
sorry just been thinking :) thanks mark
4cylndrfury has an awesome idea.
My buddy once put one in an early Datsun pickup. Well, technically it was a 340, but man did that thing scream.
donalson wrote:so whats it take to swap to an early dak and keeping the EFI?
what about trans? reuse the v6 trans? use the 1500's trans? (i assume it's prob tied into the PCM of the engine?) if trans swap then would i need to work the driveshaft? how would a standard trans work out?
sorry just been thinking :) thanks mark
How early of a Dak? An '87-90 will take a little more effort than a '91-96. The '91-96 has a little more room in the nose to fit the mechanical fan. And if you start with a V6 truck the 318 Maggie will bolt right up to the V6 mounts. I think the earlier trucks might have used a different mount, but it's been a long time since I looked at one of those mounts.
Depending on how late of a '90's Ram, it might still have the A518. Check the wiring going to the transmission. If there are more than 6 wires it's the later electronically shifted trans. If you take the whole harness from the Ram with the computer and all it can work. If it's the 518, that's a little easier.
If the Dak is already an automatic, your driveshaft should be fine. Check the rear on the Dak. If it has an 8 1/4" rear in it you'll be fine. If it's a 7 1/4 plan on putting a better rear in there. The 8 1/4 will have a constant diameter on the axle tubes. The 7 1/4 tapers down at the pumpkin.
Im pretty sure that if you want to keep the FACTORY fuel injection and controls youd also need to notch the bellhousing for the crank sensor, and depending on the year of the magnum motor you might have to slot one of the converter holes on the flex plate.
And if it was a 360 you'd need a converter with the weight on it.. I THINK.
Vigo wrote:Im pretty sure that if you want to keep the FACTORY fuel injection and controls youd also need to notch the bellhousing for the crank sensor, and depending on the year of the magnum motor you might have to slot one of the converter holes on the flex plate.
And if it was a 360 you'd need a converter with the weight on it.. I THINK.
Yea, for a 360 it would need either the weights on the converter or the later weighted flexplate. But the 318 is neutral balance so he's good there.
Be sure to replace the intake plenum gasket while you have the engine out. They start leaking and the motor sucks oil from the valley.
so if it was a Manuel shift v6 90+ it would be about as easy as swapping to a carb (changing fuel and ignition systems in other words)?
honestly i'd prefer a v8 s10... but I can't do it near as cheaply doh
