2003 magnum 5.9 into 1972 Dart

Johnny Dart · Post by **Johnny Dart** » Sun Jan 03, 16 7:56 pm

Just mulling over this, I can buy and import a 2003 4X4 dodge ram 1500, a ruff one but a runner ,for about £2500 grand, I can bust up the truck for parts, and get most or all of my money back, leaving me with a magnum 5.9, and all the wiring and ecu's
Is this a good engine conversion, has anyone done one, does it fit on a 727
Just a thought, as the 2003 rams are cheap for a ruff one , any input guys ?

Blue · Post by **Blue** » Sun Jan 03, 16 8:13 pm

Worth looking into for sure. Would imagine the transmission that comes with it will be electronic to some extent and tied into the engine ECU possibly?

Adrian Worman · Post by **Adrian Worman** » Sun Jan 03, 16 11:18 pm

Good strong motor, I think the one in my 03 Ram van is good for 260 nett hp, & yep Blues dead right, A500 TF with electronic O/D, take the whole loom out of the truck, dash too, everything, that's exactly what I got planned for the 65 Barracuda

Dart Vader · Post by **Dart Vader** » Mon Jan 04, 16 10:47 am

don't know whether the engine mounts are the same but companies like Shumaker may make the kit to do it

DV

Dave999 · Post by **Dave999** » Mon Jan 04, 16 12:04 pm

I think the trans will be wide at the cross member, I think you will need surgery if you keep it on the motor.

think they have electronic overdrive and lock up converter. nice if you can keep it all together

if you can find JohnRs thread on his barracuda you might find out how he did it

large chunk of something went into the car over the top of the tunnel then tied into the ends of the torsion bar cross member so that the inner pressed section under the car in the trans tunnel could be removed

or ask him.

he also spent a long time removing every one of the un-needed wires from his loom leaving the immobiliser/ignition/warning lights engine control and trans looms in place.

there are various views on cross member surgery

safest remove the torsion bars first so the member isn't under load, then cut and do you best to replace strength.

some just hack out the middle and be done with it. mounting the trans using just 2 bolts in the bolt on section.

would be fine if you used a different non torsion bar front end

some don't, and I'd be worried about flex in the body. My own piddlin little six cylinder has, after 40 years, managed to cause stress cracks in the rear window aperture the roof to A pillar join and sale panels of my car, one of the reasons I went for chassis connectors

I'd suggest for no other reason than it sounds like a sensible approach that a loaded cross member, that takes all forces applied by weight and cornering, that used to be 1 lump with a hoop profiled for strength in the middle, and 4 sturdy bolts through a bolt in additional mount,
Will be much weaker with the hoop taken out.

therefore anything you can do to stop it moving while cutting it and putting back strength when cut makes sense.

Mopar action welded in additional bars from their chassis connectors when they fitted a 6 speed auto to their road runner

but take into account your seats need to fit and your seatbelts need a mount.

there would be issues fitting seats in an Aussie car with a tunnel made wider due to narrower floor pan on the RHD drivers side and still a need to fit the hand brake in next to the door. not so much on a LHD US car the driver sits on the wide side of the car. I'd expect you could move seats out an inch with little issue.

check how long the trans is and check to see if the thin tail section will line up with the narrowest tunnel section on an A body before purchase

believe the engine is like all other small blocks in respect to trans bolt pattern so 904 or 727 would bolt up.
However without the original trans will the ECU work or just stay in limp mode. depends if the actuators in it are purely electrical or electrical and pressure. if just electrical they might work boxed up hidden somewhere.

Dave

latil · Post by **latil** » Mon Jan 04, 16 12:09 pm

http://www.magnumswap.com/automatic-tra ... n-details/

paolo_mangusta · Post by **paolo_mangusta** » Mon Jan 04, 16 12:42 pm

if you decide to avoid the cross member surgery and fit a 5.9 to a 727, I have the right B&M flexplate for that, was about to list it on ebay but happy to hold on to it for you if you want?

I think given the way the DVLA/VOSA seem to have it in for modified cars I'd be pretty careful about chopping the cross member about. Be alright if you can make it look like it came from the factory like that, but obvious mods might get you flagged for inspection

andyrob · Post by **andyrob** » Mon Jan 04, 16 1:05 pm

sounds like a hell of a lot of work to get an engine in your car that will have seen better days

Johnny Dart · Post by **Johnny Dart** » Mon Jan 04, 16 6:45 pm

It was just a thought I had.when looking at a really cheap rusty Ram 1500.
The truck was a 4X4 so not really as suitable as a 2WD one.
Not sure i need the hassle/extra time needed to bust up a truck for spares , just to provide a cheap engine, and a load of work.

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Mon Jan 04, 16 10:06 pm

It would appear your working assumption is that the engine would require little or no attention. I am sure you could end up spending a few quid on that once you start looking, so you may need to factor that cost in as well.

Or leave As Is

Or get a 360 over here and put in a cast stroker kit to 408ci

Loads of ways of wasting money on this forum!!