Good Bones For A Swap?

Mr onetwo

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I am thinking about picking up this drivetrain from a 2000 Ram 1500 2wd with 100K on it.Have a video of it running before it was pulled and it sounds real good.The price is right and it's not too far...thoughts?:confused:

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Sounds like a great project.
If the price is right and you in need of a refreshed engine, I say go for it.:thumbsup:
 
Looks good and would probably be a great option. Because I have never done this type of implant before I always wondered what you do for an ECM to control the engine. In this case you could likely use the existing truck ECM but how easy is it to change the settings.
 
Heads are cracked, but will never leak. Transmission was a POS when it was new.
It will not rev past 4500 RPM, and has nothing to speak of below 2200 RPM so rear gearing is very important.
If it is dirt cheap like 2-300 dollars maybe. Otherwise I would look for something without the factory screw ups built in.
 
For general information, when were those things "fixed"/upgraded? Just curious.

Just because it sounds good when pulled doesn't mean it's pristine/unworn internally. Buy it as "a rebuildable core" and NO MORE. Not to mention the issues of getting the PCM reprogrammed to fit your application, IF the Chrysler units will allow that without having to purchase some aftermarket gizmo for that purpose.

Enjoy!
CBODY67
 
For general information, when were those things "fixed"/upgraded? Just curious.

Just because it sounds good when pulled doesn't mean it's pristine/unworn internally. Buy it as "a rebuildable core" and NO MORE. Not to mention the issues of getting the PCM reprogrammed to fit your application, IF the Chrysler units will allow that without having to purchase some aftermarket gizmo for that purpose.

Enjoy!
CBODY67
1993 was when the cracked heads went on, along with the not great AMC valvetrain (fine for stock use). The beer barrel intake most likely will not fit under a c body hood but I do not know that for sure. If you change the intake to a more convention layout they are more geared toward higher RPM, but the cam is not, not to mention the intake that fits it is more than my suggested pricing for the entire combo. A 5.9 is a better combo hands down, bigger bore, longer stroke, 42 cubic inches all lend themselves toward a big car. You can get a regular manifold and redrill the bolt holes, but most people do not want to do this. Block wear wise, I have never seen one with a ridge at the top or the crosshatch even worn off so material is excellent.
It will be cool and fine just as long as it is cheap. The POS trucks those came in were a dime a dozen, so engine should be appropriately priced, nickel a dozen. Around here the asking price of a 4wd 5.9 gas truck is around $800 running and driving. Cash price after a few weeks on marketplace 4-500 will get it so engine is really not worth much.
 
I know the "Allure of the Hemi" is still alive and well, as it should be, but as so many of the balancing acts of getting the performance, fuel economy, and low emissions are handled electronically, how much better might these engines be if they have a dual-plane intake, a 650cfm carb (AVS2 or Street Demon) and longer-tube headers? In a 4200lb car?

MUCH of the improved performance of these (and the GM LS-family) engines is due to the 6-8 speed automatics, by observation. So how much might the performance of a LA or B/RB engine increase with such a trans behind them? With an appropriate rear axle ratio?

Personally, I was not a big fan of the Chrysler automatic with "two second gears". Seemed more of a marketing deal as others had 5-speed automatics with evenly-spaced ratios.

Just some curious thoughts,
CBODY67
 
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There's a thread in here of a Gen III Hemi in a '67 Fury. The way it was done was quite neat and easier than expected. Seems like there are some adapter motor mounts for the engine and a need for a new rear trans mounting mechanism? And it seemed to work pretty well. Everything's laid out and was somewhat easily sourced from the salvage yards of his region.

There's also a thread or two on putting the later-model 6 or 8-speed TorqueFlite behind a non-electronic controlled engine. Not that hard to do, either, but some COST involved in the adapter to the engine. Plus pressure switches for the shift functions.

When everybody was going nuts over the then-new THM700 OD automatic, they quickly found that unless they went to a about a 3.42 rear axle ratio, OD wouldn't work until about 80mph, with the existing highway-oriented axle ratio with their THM350. With a carb'd engine and such. Some sort of EFI is needed to support a 60mph cruise rpm of 1500rpm with good performance and economy, plus electronic engine controls.

So, that still makes me wonder what a good LA or B/RB (in the form of a "torque motor that will easily turn 5000rpm and be comfortable with a 2000rpm cruise) would be like with the 6-speed and a 3.42 axle ratio?

Enjoy!
CBOODY67
 
1993 was when the cracked heads went on, along with the not great AMC valvetrain (fine for stock use). The beer barrel intake most likely will not fit under a c body hood but I do not know that for sure. If you change the intake to a more convention layout they are more geared toward higher RPM, but the cam is not, not to mention the intake that fits it is more than my suggested pricing for the entire combo. A 5.9 is a better combo hands down, bigger bore, longer stroke, 42 cubic inches all lend themselves toward a big car. You can get a regular manifold and redrill the bolt holes, but most people do not want to do this. Block wear wise, I have never seen one with a ridge at the top or the crosshatch even worn off so material is excellent.
It will be cool and fine just as long as it is cheap. The POS trucks those came in were a dime a dozen, so engine should be appropriately priced, nickel a dozen. Around here the asking price of a 4wd 5.9 gas truck is around $800 running and driving. Cash price after a few weeks on marketplace 4-500 will get it so engine is really not worth much.
How do you know all this ****?? :BangHead:
 
I have found a good, cheap '91 5.2 pre-magnum engine up north with less than 80K on it.A few advantages to the late roller cam LA motor.Good heads, better valve seals ,more accurate cam actuation and higher compression to start.
 
*this rant is not directed at anyone in particular. It's just a rant.

As some of you may recall, I owned a survivor '70 fury with 4drhtp with a 318-2. I drove that car cross-country, through mountains and then as more/less as a summertime daily for a few years... Oh yeah, it still had points. Was it the fastest car I owned? No, but I have other toys for that urge, just as I don't use a ball peen hammer to frame a wall. Was it entirely suited for modern traffic, could cruise easily at modern expressway speeds (I think it's embarrassing to drive an old car in the right lane) and was it terribly reliable? Yes.

I guess that I do not for a moment understand the urge to tear up a mechanically simple car, which still has good mechanical parts availability, for an unimaginative engine swap (that includes Gen III hemi swaps). This isn't a '41 Studebaker with a 75 HP flathead and a cotton wad oil filter. For cripes sakes, adjusted for inflation, gas is cheaper now than it was in 1970, and it would still be @ over $3 a gallon. I use the term unimaginative because these swaps are just FI/OD V8s put into cars that had pretty decent drivetrains to begin with. If it was a smog-choked '81 Cordoba swapped to a 3 liter VM turbo diesel, I would at least be impressed that someone thought outside the box.

Yes, I know... "Do what you want with your car man" and all that other happy new-age BS. But I've ridden in these swapped cars...

"What's that toggle switch for?"

"That starts a 5 minute timer."

"What for?"

"It reminds me to turn this knob for open loop mode."

"huh?"

"It blows the cooling module fuse when I have the 02 sensor heaters wired up and then throws a P0021 fault code which triggers limp-in mode. So this is just an easy work-around."

As will be repeated several times after my comment, "Build it your way". But do realize that your way means any rational buyer will have no interest in troubleshooting the remaining faults from one of these swaps. Is it wrong for me to have some smug satisfaction watching a couple of known and heavily modified Mopars sitting on Ebay/Craigs/BAT for months with no interest? Who wants to pop the hood of an old car and see a mess of plastic tubes, sensors, relays and wiring? And for a net gain of what? A few MPG and 3 seconds knocked off a Wide Open Throttle run to 60?

At least for me, part of the joy of owning virtually any type of old device is the time-travel aspect. Take that effort made to fool the PCM into thinking there is a yaw sensor under the dash and put it towards learning about the Venturi effect. Learn WHY you have to turn an ignition coil on/off to induce high voltage. If you do that, you'll graduate from parts-swapper to an actual problem solver. Then you can "science out" whatever problems your car has. In 1970, it was built so that a 75 year old woman could drive it across the Mohave desert in air conditioned comfort. As middle-aged men, we should all be able to drive it to the weekly cruise night at Uncle Johnny's Burger Hut.
 
*this rant is not directed at anyone in particular. It's just a rant.

As some of you may recall, I owned a survivor '70 fury with 4drhtp with a 318-2. I drove that car cross-country, through mountains and then as more/less as a summertime daily for a few years... Oh yeah, it still had points. Was it the fastest car I owned? No, but I have other toys for that urge, just as I don't use a ball peen hammer to frame a wall. Was it entirely suited for modern traffic, could cruise easily at modern expressway speeds (I think it's embarrassing to drive an old car in the right lane) and was it terribly reliable? Yes.

I guess that I do not for a moment understand the urge to tear up a mechanically simple car, which still has good mechanical parts availability, for an unimaginative engine swap (that includes Gen III hemi swaps). This isn't a '41 Studebaker with a 75 HP flathead and a cotton wad oil filter. For cripes sakes, adjusted for inflation, gas is cheaper now than it was in 1970, and it would still be @ over $3 a gallon. I use the term unimaginative because these swaps are just FI/OD V8s put into cars that had pretty decent drivetrains to begin with. If it was a smog-choked '81 Cordoba swapped to a 3 liter VM turbo diesel, I would at least be impressed that someone thought outside the box.

Yes, I know... "Do what you want with your car man" and all that other happy new-age BS. But I've ridden in these swapped cars...

"What's that toggle switch for?"

"That starts a 5 minute timer."

"What for?"

"It reminds me to turn this knob for open loop mode."

"huh?"

"It blows the cooling module fuse when I have the 02 sensor heaters wired up and then throws a P0021 fault code which triggers limp-in mode. So this is just an easy work-around."

As will be repeated several times after my comment, "Build it your way". But do realize that your way means any rational buyer will have no interest in troubleshooting the remaining faults from one of these swaps. Is it wrong for me to have some smug satisfaction watching a couple of known and heavily modified Mopars sitting on Ebay/Craigs/BAT for months with no interest? Who wants to pop the hood of an old car and see a mess of plastic tubes, sensors, relays and wiring? And for a net gain of what? A few MPG and 3 seconds knocked off a Wide Open Throttle run to 60?

At least for me, part of the joy of owning virtually any type of old device is the time-travel aspect. Take that effort made to fool the PCM into thinking there is a yaw sensor under the dash and put it towards learning about the Venturi effect. Learn WHY you have to turn an ignition coil on/off to induce high voltage. If you do that, you'll graduate from parts-swapper to an actual problem solver. Then you can "science out" whatever problems your car has. In 1970, it was built so that a 75 year old woman could drive it across the Mohave desert in air conditioned comfort. As middle-aged men, we should all be able to drive it to the weekly cruise night at Uncle Johnny's Burger Hut.
Wow.
I think it.
You say it.
:thankyou:
 
How do you know all this ****?? :BangHead:
I have 2 of them in my yard, no the HOA does not care, she can only see one. Have seen a number of Magnum engines apart for various reasons. All the heads are cracked which becomes, through the ball back at the customer you have a cracked head. Like I said they never leak water, but?
The beer barrel intake leaks/sucks oil on the bottom.
The transmission is a half breed 727/904 on smaller vehicles and a electric operated over drive planetary gearset. So half hydraulic controlled half electric, what could be problematic with that. I understand that Chrysler in the 80s had no money for R&D and nothing was being spent on RWD. After the sales success of the 94 up Dodge trucks you would think they would be making efforts to get rid of that transmission nope and then the Germans show up so a marketing keep up design carries on for 20 f$;#+ing years.
While I am a huge fan of overdrive transmissions in older cars. I would never put one of those in anything.
I do agree with Carmine if you can't get your junk to run right with the stock engine, a factory PCM is not going to make your life easier.
I am no small block fan by any means, so replacing a simple one with a complex one is not a great idea. If you want more power than a 318 is ever going to make, take a look at Mopar Actions LA LA Land articles. 408 stroker from a 360 block and the best small block heads on the market (not full race stuff), that engine in a big car would outrun any 440 car.
I know from paying attention.
 
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