Hemi Fury

[superfragl]

Hi folks,
I started my 5.7 Hemi swap a while ago a I thought I would share the progress.
I was given a 04 Durango truck engine that suffered from hydro lock. Rebuilt it with stock components and fired it up on the stand. I used stock wiring harness and ECM, as well as accelerator pedal and fuel pump.

I used HP Tuners to tweak the ECM (manual transmission, disable rear O2 sensors, disable some diagnostic codes, etc.).
I made a custom oil pan and pickup - took hemi pan and c-body pan and combined the two. I could buy Milodon pan, but I was concerned about the idler arm notch that the pan is missing, plus $250 seemed high to me. After I welded the pan I leak tested it using penetrating dye and developer, found a few pin holes, fixed, tested again. It holds 7 quarts of oil.
Next I found a small block 727 case and swapped my big block 727 internals.
For engine mounts I used small block mounts and made adapter plates. Took me a while to get them right.

 

[superfragl]

I installed original big block oil pressure sensor into one of the oil plugs next to the oil filter and coolant temp sensor in front engine cover. This way original dash gauges will work fine.
I also had to use a Mopar 45 degree oil filter adaptor to clear the stub frame.
After I dropped the motor in I found that truck intake manifold will not work... it is hitting the firewall... Had to pull the motor out. Found a crashed 06 police charger and took off front cover with accessories and intake manifold. Two days later the motor was back in and I had about 1" gap between intake and firewall.
On a car engine heater tubes come out back at the firewall, but with not much clearance in that spot I had to modify the tubes so they exit at the right location.

 

[superfragl]

The fuel rail fitting on car intake is on passenger side, which worked better for me and I could use original fuel line.

 

[superfragl]

Then I ran into another issue - alternator is interfering with upper control arm post. I had to cut a notch and weld a plate (to reinforce).
I also milled alternator mounts down by 1/4" to get it closer to the motor.

 

[superfragl]

After all those mods I have no clearance issues so far.
Truck exhaust manifolds fit perfect and clear the new Borgeson steering box. Durango down pipes fit as well.

You can see my custom made steering coupler.

 

[superfragl]

Finished exhaust last night

 

[superfragl]

I was going to use cable operated accelerator position sensor (04 Ram), but could not come up with a location, also had to hook up transmission kick down cable somehow. In the end i modified Durango acc. pedal and put it in place of the lever that goes behind original accelerator pedal. I was able to retain original gas pedal and use only one cable to control transmission kick-down.

 

[Fury Pursuit]

Very cool build!! Thanks for posting.

Got a photo of the whole car?

 

[superfragl]

The whole car

 

[commando1]

Great re-engineering. Looks like a Dun-Rite job.
Now I'm loving that car even more.

 

[saylor]

+1 fkn awesome all the way around

 

[65FuryPaceCar]

Incredible talent and creativity you have there! That's gonna be a beast!!

 

[polara71]

 

[Zymurgy]

Bucket list stuff for me going on here. Thanks for sharing and showing the obstacles and your solutions. Very informative.

 

[fury fan]

All that just convinced me that I'm not doing a 5.7 swap. I have enough difficulty getting replacement parts installed in a timely manner.

Great work, though!

 

[Wonderwagon]

coool

 

[furyus 67]

Love the car and the build! Very nice job. It's something I've considered for my 67. Thanks for posting!

 

[superfragl]

Thanks for all replies.
I try to spend as little money as I can. One of the things I could not figure out myself was power steering pump.
Hemi pump puts out too much pressure (relief pressure on the truck model is 1650 PSI, car model - up to 1750 PSI), plus car pump flows only 2.2 GPM at 1200 RPM (3.5 GPM for truck).
Borgeson steering box requires 1200 PSI and 2.7 - 3.5 GPM flow. I took truck pump apart only to find that pressure relief valve can not be adjusted (it is pressed together from factory and cannot be disassembled without damage). I was even thinking about making a new one (turning one on the lathe is not that complicate), but adjusting the pressure would be a painful process. After hours of research I have found that Tuff Stuff sells GM Type 2 pumps with different configurations. So I ordered one with 1200 PSI and 3 GPM flow specs. It has similar dimensions to original Hemi pump, same shaft diameter. It will be arriving tonight.

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Nice job! I love that you fabbed what you needed rather than buy( oil pan and mounts). Glad you sorted the pedal and kick down out without having to buy a bunch of parts. I guess I am going to have to get off my but and at least put my Durango back together.

 

[thrashingcows]

Very nice work....and love your willingness to get creative on your own.