11-26-2018, 03:34 PM
(11-26-2018, 01:53 PM)Steve85 Wrote: I did this a couple times too, and now couldn't be happier with my reduced power (but obviously room to grow) and superb driveability by going with a modern gen swap. Worth a look at this point. I'm not sure if the dodge motors are anything like the LS where you can pull a dime-a-dozen truck motor and swap cam and intake and pretty much have the car engine on the "cheap"?
A Gen 3 HEMI itself isn't all that pricey especially the 5.7L's and even bolts up to my existing tranny with an adapter. BUT the big drawback there is having to redo the front suspension to make it fit. Would need to ditch the steering linkage in favor of a rack and pinion setup and ditch the torsion bars for some coil overs. I have too much money wrapped up in my current setup to make that leap. The 360 is great in that it's the same exact platform. The engine has been pretty reliable outside the crankcase issue and user error. My dad's engine has been running completely problem free for almost 10 years now too so it's just definitely a case of bad luck/making a few small mistakes putting it all together.
I'm really not expecting a lot of heartache here. Getting the engine out is barely going to take an afternoon, as will taking the top end apart. I'll take my time putting it back together and getting it back in. The car likely wasn't going anywhere the next month or 2 given how shitty the weather has been. I'd love to just buy a 6.4L + 6 speed combo along with an HDK bolt-in conversion kit for it but that's not happening unless I win the lottery.