I never knew they made these with a manual trans? 
Sadly it's a slant-6, but that could be changed.
I never knew they made these with a manual trans? Sadly it's a slant-6, but that could be changed.
Should be the aluminum 833OD, as well.
I saw one in the junkyard once, I had to look it up when I got home, because I couldn't believe anybody would buy a vehicle with the shifter nearly behind the seats.
They aren't bad to drive, my dad had one (he always owned a dodge van from the time I was born to today).
A friend of nine's dad had a manual transmission Dajiban back in the eighties. I also remember it being odd that the shifter was basically behind the seat.
I would totally rock one of those today, but SWMBO wouldn't be seen it, and would have me declared insane.
I worked for a contractor in the mid-80's who had one that was about a year old. It was the company's primary work truck, though a couple of the workers got a few extra bucks per week if they volunteered to haul stuff in their pickups.
I drove the Dodge a few times. I'm not sure if it was a six or an eight, but I remember that it had three on the floor. I kind of enjoyed driving it.
Just needs a turbo.
Oh wow. So much want.
EvanB wrote: Just needs a turbo.
While technically true, the same can be said of basically anything:
Roadmaster Wagon? Could be awesome...just needs a turbo!
1986 Toyota Pickup? Potential weekend warrior...just needs a turbo!
Oster 10 speed electric blender? You could be just as good as Wolfgang Puck...just needs a turbo!
4cylndrfury wrote:EvanB wrote: Just needs a turbo.While technically true, the same can be said of basically anything:
At least the Oster is already halfway there.
HappyAndy wrote: A friend of nine's dad had a manual transmission Dajiban back in the eighties. I also remember it being odd that the shifter was basically behind the seat. I would totally rock one of those today, but SWMBO wouldn't be seen it, and would have me declared insane.
Just do it. If you're oogling Craigslist ads for full size manual Dodge vans, she probably already has enough material to convince the court if she wants to.
This van is so freaking awesome.
Won't the slant six tranny also bolt up to a 360?
Drop spindles, add lightness, you know the rest.
Back in the day, I had a '74 with the 318 and stick. It was surprisingly quick. A fun work truck.
914Driver wrote: Won't the slant six tranny also bolt up to a 360? Drop spindles, add lightness, you know the rest.
Tranny will bolt up. Need an A833OD/Small block specific bellhousing (getting harder to find), small block clutch, 360 specific flywheel, and I think that's it.
The downside here is that these are an absolute rat bastard to remove the engine from. In high school my dad's friend gave us a wasted 15-passenger 70's Dajiban with a good 360, which we were going to drop in my Duster. The most involved and difficult part of the swap was getting engine out of the van. It involved a cutting torch and and removal of a good chunk of the floor and A-pillar.
I've done tons of swaps on dodge vans, they are challenging but doable. My mom and I each had vans we hauled Amish with so we would buy them and diplomats up everywhere to harvest parts from.
Asking Mrs. Deuce about this one. Probably already know the answer, but it's too awesome and relatively close not to take a swing.
In reply to psteav:
In Mopar cars of that era, the engine mounts to a K-member that can drop out of the bottom. Those old B-series vans aren't the same?
My '90 E-series had a removable header panel so when the engine was replaced, it came out the front.
I know with the 60s Dodge vans you're actually supposed to take the engine out through the side door.
On the 70-00s vans the front comes off and while it takes some wiggling it comes Right out. They are much further forward than the 60's vans.
Ian F wrote: In reply to psteav: In Mopar cars of that era, the engine mounts to a K-member that can drop out of the bottom. Those old B-series vans aren't the same? My '90 E-series had a removable header panel so when the engine was replaced, it came out the front.
Can't remember. I know the vans and trucks didn't use torsion bars, so they weren't exactly the same layout. I think the garage ceiling was too low to get it out the bottom anyway.
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