Swap Options

OK so I have a plan that I like to call MO POWAH BABEH!!!! My plan is to engine swap my PR50. I have a solid idea that I am stuck to. here is how I narrowed down my options:

built twin turbo G54B: engine has potential but it has 8 valves and thats it, so it is limited there. plus to build it would be expensive and thats money I don't have (or time either)

stock engine: this is what I am doing right now, just to have something of my own to drive and not someone else's car

3.0L swap: its factory and it also has potential, but again only 2 valves per, would take alot of building

3.5L/4.0L swap: way too complicated and would have to modify half of everything to make it work.

dodge 5.3/5.9L V8: would be pretty cool to have an R/T moniker, but nah I don't think so

some other V6 or V6 like a Ford or Chevy or ls or 302 or 4.3L: I hate crossbreeding engines and cars. dodge engine in a dodge, Ford in a for, Chevy in a Chevy.

dodge 3.3L/3.8L OHV V6: again only 2 valves per cylinder but they produce plenty of power

so my choice? the dodge 3.8 L V6

my build route? factory style. I want it to look as factory as possible, so factory that the average boomer that has never seen under the hood of a ram 50 might think that its factory

the engine I want is from the Chrysler EGH series, the big boy 3.8L OHV V6. It has Multi Point Indirect injection and its a 3 way catalyst, though given my truck is a Light duty truck, it could pass by as factory with one catalyst (no inspection in my state but I still want it to be 'factory') it displaces 231 cu or 3.778 liters. the bore is 96 mm the stroke is 87 mm. it has a compression ratio of 9.6:1. it makes 215 HP at 5000 RPM and 245 lb ft TQ at 4000 rpm (hence part of my choice, it will likely burn the tires to a crisp) and it has plenty of potential.

but I need help

i need to figure out the following:

what transmission can I use? I am going from transverse mount to longitudinal mount unless I can find a wrangler with the engine I want and low (ish) miles.

can I use factory motor mount locations?

will I need to change up the oil system?

will I need a bigger radiator? I know the wranglers had issues with that which is why I want to avoid a wrangler if I can.

can I use the factory 3 liter v6 exhaust system and headers off a wrangler? I like that option alot.

what about an engine tune? that would be cool and just keep it 'beefy and factory looking its not gonna be factory I just want it to appear that way to the average Joe dirt and the average car enthusiast.

how about fuel capacity? I want to build a bigger tank so that I can go further but if I can't use the 3 liter exhaust I might go dual exhaust. I was thinking if I ever had to I could expand my fuel cell to go under the cab slightly and off to each side a bit extra and possibly reach 18 to 20 gallons???

I know I need to build a tank to fit the fuel pump in it.

could I just buy a whole mini van from the junk yard a tear through it and build it and run it in mickey the ram 50?

I am open to any suggestions but I am headstrong on the 3.8L V6 idea, it has a 60 degree Bank so it will fit well for sure and I can fabricate parts and all for it to make one hell of a truck.

sorry for the super long post!!!

again headstrong because its reliable, has 215 HRSPRS and 245 TURKS, and it is compact so it will fit in the engine bay well

I might, however, consider a 3.9L MAGNUM out of a dakota or a 273 MAGNUM V8, but I am really leaning towards a V6 with FI

i need to figure out the following:

i have a Buick 3.8 v6 and 700r4 trans in my truck, which is probably of similar dimensions (i dont think i have seen a Chrysler one up close)
mine came out of a holden, so was already set up for rwd.


what transmission can I use? I am going from transverse mount to longitudinal mount unless I can find a wrangler with the engine I want and low (ish) miles.

What trans does the donor have? If you get a basic auto, like the 700r4, or manual its a bit easier as otherwise you will need the trans computer set up as well, or a standalone trans computer.
Are these engines ever converted to longitudinal? hopefully the bellhousing bolt pattern is the same as or close enough to use a common trans. Otherwise you will need to go thr route of a bellhousing adapter (get real good with measuring and cad one up for laser cutting) and then figuring out what flywheel, clutch, bearing, and spacer combo will get you working.
you will probably need a new trans crossmember. mine is just a 10mm plate cut to fit between the frame rails with the holden transmount welded to it (also had to relocate the handbrake pivot)

can I use factory motor mount locations?
Probably not, but i havent seen the engine. Mine has custom engine mounts welded to the frame slightly ahead of the mitsubishi ones, you will have to sling the engine in the hole and see how it goes. making engine mounts is pretty easy, you can weld right?

will I need to change up the oil system?

Depends what the sump looks like, mine has been notched to clear the crossmember. i think rear bowl sumps are available for the buickv6 in the states, i should order one and find out one day. So be on the look out for a rear bowl sump for your engine, otherwise be prepared to cut and weld it till it fits. The oil pick up didnt need to be modified in my application

will I need a bigger radiator? I know the wranglers had issues with that which is why I want to avoid a wrangler if I can.

My swap uses the standard radiator with the inlet and outlets moved. It handles the heat fine and would be better with a decent fan set up. The d50 rad it the same as what came out in the turbo mitsubishis of the same era, and they cool just fine. A truck i got some parts off had a twin turbo buick v6 and apparently that cooled just fine as well.
can I use the factory 3 liter v6 exhaust system and headers off a wrangler? I like that option alot.
Mine uses factory cast manifolds, they are quite tight to the block and only just clear the power steering box. maybe they fit, maybe you have to cut them up. I doubt the system will fit in nice. If you get it "free" i.e you go out and buy a whole donor truck to do the swap with (which is a good idea) then it may be worth your time to chop it up and get it to fit.
Honestly though its pretty cheap to either make your own out of mandrel bends, or have one bent up at a shop. I think my exhaust system is 3"

what about an engine tune? that would be cool and just keep it 'beefy and factory looking its not gonna be factory I just want it to appear that way to the average Joe dirt and the average car enthusiast.
Depends if you are going to use the factory ecu or not. If you get it with the donor car then its cheaper. But if its got a built in body control module that you are going to have to bypass to get the security to let the engine start it may be a pain in the ass, hopefully theres a tuning community for that engine and ecu? Otherwise a megasquirt is a nice project and you can do endless tuning quite easily. Keep an eye out for a used LINK going cheap, they are great too but a bit more expensive. My truck uses the GM808 ecu which has a great little tuning community and someone has already done the hard work in decoding the binary code into a user friendly PC program, you have to take the chip out and burn a new tune into it for each change tho, not as friendly as plugging a usb in

how about fuel capacity? I want to build a bigger tank so that I can go further but if I can't use the 3 liter exhaust I might go dual exhaust. I was thinking if I ever had to I could expand my fuel cell to go under the cab slightly and off to each side a bit extra and possibly reach 18 to 20 gallons???

Mine uses the standard fuel tank. Would be nice if it was bigger but hasnt been a major. Personally i dont think v6's sound great on a dual exhaust, i think you could fit a dual system in without moving the fuel tank tho. There plenty of room under the truck to mount an aux fuel cell
I know I need to build a tank to fit the fuel pump in it.

not really. mine has been running on an external pump for 20 years, just plumbed into the factory tank with a return. you planning on drifting this or driving it hard? if you are just doing normal road/dirt road driving then the factory fuel tank is fine. My system admittadly is perhaps outdated, if i was to do it again i would just add a swirl pot. so an electric lift pump to a seperate say 1gal tank that has an internal pump in it. Alot of guys run that set up now days and it stands up to hard driving

could I just buy a whole mini van from the junk yard a tear through it and build it and run it in mickey the ram 50?

Getting the whole donor vechicle is ideal if you are able to. This way any little part you forgot is right there. You can sell off the rest of the parts to get some cash back. Plus this will give you a whole loom to mess with

I am open to any suggestions but I am headstrong on the 3.8L V6 idea, it has a 60 degree Bank so it will fit well for sure and I can fabricate parts and all for it to make one hell of a truck.

* other things to consider for putting a fwd in a rwd (commonly done with mitsubishi engines into these trucks) is having to modify the intake plenum to face the correct way, and modifying water necks to point the correct way for the cooling system
if you can Tig weld you should be happy

Thanks for the input! I have no donor car at the moment but I plan on a jeep 6 speed because they had a 3.8 in them. I want to use alot of jeep parts so that it fits nicely, this includes the mentioned intake parts. I want to use a FI airbox that a 3 liter would have, and the piping and stuff as well. Or maybe just a cold air sticking out the fender. I was thinking about the Jeep motor mounts and cutting the old ones out if I cant do that, and just weld the jeep mounts in place.

It's already a rear sump pan, so I should be good right?

The wranglers had a bad. Like really bad issue with heat that often times resulted in engine replacements. Blown gaskets, cracked blocks, cracked pistons, and burnt bearings are among other issues with the wrangler. The caravan didnt have these due to a proper sized radiator and fans.

I have a factory caravan ECU with the engine, but if it doesnt crank within 3 times after a certain amount of time then it locks out and a dodge specialist has to some and fix it. So I figured I will use all the factory wiring and sensors, no deletes, to keep the check engine light off and all that. Again, 'factory' build.

As for the fuel tank, I would like to run dual with cutouts and side exit forward of back tire, so maybe that will work. or I could go with side exit pipes that look alot like the corvette or shelby cobra??? But I am planning on long trips and I would like to have the luxury of a 500-600 mile range tank so that I can travel 4 or 500 miles between stops. Because I dont stop on a road trip, at all. Plus all that fuel might lower the center of gravity, and on a full tank, add traction.

What I want is a fun daily driver that I can take off roading when I feel like it. The jeep transmission and a bit of a lower gear ought to allow me to do just that. Remember this is a Power Ram 50, power ram means 4x4, ram without the designation 'power' means 2x4.

I really need both a caravan and a jeep wrangler to piece together and make 1 working engine/trans.

If I cant rebuild this 3.8L I might, just might go 3.3L for the added economy, its 180 horse and 215 tq compared to the 215 horse and 245 tq the 3.8 makes.

And I can tig weld, my dad is a certified welder. Our relationship isnt the best but we are working on it so hopefully he can help me out a bit.

Why not got the Mitsubishi route of the 3.8L Mivec like another member did on here. Weren't those blocks 275HP stock. Even bolts up to a stock 90+ V6 truck transmission. Sounded like the least complicated route and you get variable valve timing.

Here it is

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2DWn8cjrcc

Why not buy the Jeep and put the dodge cab on it?

There's also a yellow 1st gen around here with a HEC 5000 V8 in it. Manual trans naturally.
Had to take a sliver out of the rad panel to fit a bigger radiator further forward, but still can use the latch.https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...ries%29_02.jpg
It's pretty big in there, but fit well

I lien the fuel economy that the 3.8L allows. I actually located a free 3.3L V6 in a 2001 minivan, 180 HP 210 TQ. I am going that route. I give him my 3.8 and it goes to the junk yard (more weight)

So that's why.

*like

And I think yall forgot that I dont want a V8, or something complicated. In case none of yall have seen my build thread, I turn 16 in like 2 weeks. I was born march 25 2004. So I dont need a V8 powered coffin to drive. Because my non experienced self would wind up in a ditch somewhere in the middle of nowhere, like 3 of my buddies a few months back. I just wand a fun little truck that can actually keep up on the interstate and have towing power and offroad capabilities that I need. I live in the clay area so 4x4 and some power really help when driving offroad or taking dirt roads or just having fun in general. Plus the 3.3 and 3.8 engines are tanks, super reliable OHV pushrod design and pretty good power. And power potential. Plus some underbody twin turbos later in could really benefit

An engine swap is one of the hardest things to do. It requires a bunch of skills which if you don't have has to be farmed out, welding, fabricating, engineering, electrical, transmission work and knowledge of all the systems involved. Not saying you cannot do it but just be prepared for a lot of unexpected problems to come up and it's a LOT more work than anticipated. And once you start the swap there is no going back so it's all or nothing.
I've seen lots of these types of projects get started and then sidelined due to the owner getting in way over their head.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Baldy

An engine swap is one of the hardest things to do. It requires a bunch of skills which if you don't have has to be farmed out, welding, fabricating, engineering, electrical, transmission work and knowledge of all the systems involved. Not saying you cannot do it but just be prepared for a lot of unexpected problems to come up and it's a LOT more work than anticipated. And once you start the swap there is no going back so it's all or nothing.
I've seen lots of these types of projects get started and then sidelined due to the owner getting in way over their head.

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A lot of truth in that statement.