So I am starting a new project a 64 valiant convertable. Thinking of swapping in a 3.9 litre and 5 speed tranny out of a early nineties Dakota. Most of it should be strait forward. Maybe some mount modifications and header build . Any thoughts on electrical hook up to keep the FI and anyone still make parts for these.Valve covers maybe intakes if I need to get away from the FI.

The 5spd trans is fat. Probably the best way to go would be seting the engine forward and keeping the front of the motor in the same place. There are no ears like a SB so custom mounts it is. You might be able to get a front motor plate for a SB and it should work if you don't mind the vibrations. You might have your shifter come out in a weird place so measure this also. You might need to make dog leg shifter. If you just have to have the motor sit back you will need to do major floor surgery. BTW whatever trans fits a SB like an 833OD will bolt right up to the V6 and be easier to fit and find stuff for. This way would be a lot easier in my opinion.

For headers get some custome made.

Just use the factory EFI with a megasquirt controler, it is supposed to be easy.

I had thought about the 833 od trans. But I can get a whole 93 Dakota for 1000 to 1500 bucks . They arn't very expensive. With the other sheet metal work I have to do on this reworking the hump will be the least of my worries. I will need to modify it for the shifter anyway. I'm pretty good with metal work. Paint is another story.I have the old 273 that came out of my other car but was going more for fuel economy with the 6 and FI . Any body know what aluminum 833 od tranny and bell housing should sell for? Here is a picture of the car on the trailer As you can see its hurt

I thought about doing the same swap but adding a turbo for a Grand National type setup.

The 3.9 should move it just fine but you will need to fab the mounts.
Try incorporating the rubber biscuit mounts from the 60s cars into your build.

I already have a elephant ear motor plate for a small block in this car so I may go that route . But would like a little less rattle. Turbo would be fun to play with. But again working the fuel economy gig . With $5.29 a gal for deisel here today my 1 ton isn't very good for parts runs.And my Hardtop is full race anymore so I'm looking for a cruiser that I can have fun with

You can incorporate some sort of isolator mount out at the ends of the elephant ears, just prior to them hooking to the frame rails. The NV3500 trans is a good trans behind a mild engine. I would avoid moving the engine forward a significant distance.

3.9's are pigs on fuel. Look at the epa ratings, they're only rated at like 1mpg better than the 5.2's when in comparable 2wd dakotas! Trust me, my parents had a 96 dakota, just a plane jane reg cab 2wd truck and it was a pig on gas. No power either. Ran good and all but sucked as much gas as a V8. That v6 dak got about the same mileage as my 74 dart /6 with bad blowby got.

If you're looking for something nice and driveable, you're looking in the right place. If you're looking for something with some decent power and decent fuel economy, you're way way off!

Neither the 5sp nor the auto trans from a dakota is going to fit in your car without some serious floor surgary, just so you know. IMO if you could find and build a 273, you'd probably be able to get the same or better mileage out of it with more power.

The smallest trucks the 3.9 came in was over 4000 lbs. That little a body will knock 1000 lbs off that plus be more aerodynamic. There are a few things you could do to improvwe the mpg over and above that. The injectors have terible targeting and spray pattern, some accel injectors with there cone type spray pattern should help as well as upping the compression and quench. There are a couple ways to do that, you can put in a set of KB 167 pistons and they should be at zero deck with a light deck surfaceing or you can just mill the deck of the block .070 and use the stock flat top pistons, throw in new rings and bearings and your set. Those couple things will help efficency and power a bunch.

Yes the vert is way lighter than the Dakota. I thought about going with the leaning tower of power and the Aluminum 833 OD tranny. Lots of parts available for them .It would be the easiest but would be less unike. My 273 used to get 17 mpg with 323 posi 8 to 1 compression and the 4bbl cam and 383 AFB on the 273 4bbl manifold with a 727 Automatic and headers.
I'm thinking that If I could get up in the high twenties I would have something. Adding FI to the 273 would help and the OD tranny as well but I dont think I can get that much out of the V8. Any one have MPG figures on the new Hemi's. Of course all those cars and trucks are way heavy also.

Don't underestimate a well thought out small block. Read this thread about my 68 cuda.

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/show...rue#Post4446182

Might take a while but there is a ton of good info in there, not just by me either. A few highlights are a best of 29 mpg on 93 octane and 27 on e-85, both times running 65 mph.

I am close enought to haveing my 416 parts together I would just sell the entire engine and trans out of it but oregan is a ways away.

If you do go for something EFI, I highly suggest going with an aftermarket efi controller. For one thing, you can tune it leaner than the 14.7:1 a/f ratio that all oem computer run at. Second you can tune it to take advantage of upgrades that would help mileage like better flowing intakes, headers, etc etc.

Yeh out here on the left coast in the 60's when I was just falling in love with cars and Mopars( oh and girls) california was the hotbed of what was happening with hot cars . Now its all on the right coast and it takes months to find out whats happening. LOL Actualy there are alot of cool cars here in Oregon. The magize guys don't pay much attention to this coast though. Thanks for all the info and input. I'll post again when the project is further along. I have a nose job surgery to do first. And start looking and measuring potential components.

well if you are willing to wait, painless is coming out with their efi for the 5.9 magnum.
It is supposed to be tunable as well.
My guess is end of this year, early next depending on how long the tuning phase is.

Sounds like an interesting swap. How long is the 5-speed? I'd suggest trying to keep it, run the back end of the tranny up against the torsion bar crossmember and modify the floor to match. Getting weight off the front end will help steering and handling.

Keeping the FI would be good. Can you get the entire harness out of the pickup? It may be just as easy as building a Megasquirt.

Front brakes will require some attention.
If you have more time than money you can make this into a nice car.
R.

Buschi340 and I are doing the same trans swap in this thread, so you can go through that and get an idea of what's involved in making that trans fit. FWIW, the AX-15 Dakota trans has a slightly different shifter location, so that MIGHT be a bonus, but it's still a fat unit.

As for the V6 vs 273 question, the 273 is only 0.58L or 35ci larger, and has LOTS more potential for upgrades of any kind, plus they grew in those engine bays from the factory. Not wanting to discourage your efforts in doing something different, but strictly from a constructability standpoint, the 273 gets the nod in my book. Now, if you HAVE to do the 3.9, mate it up to an LA bellhousing & trans, bolt it in, and set up the engine mounts off of that assembly. There shouldn't be any issues using the LA bell on the 3.9, and an 833 would bolt right up if the crank is drilled deep enough.

Other interesting engines might be the 4.7L OHC jewel (I want to do one of those myself), or even the 3.7L OHC V6. Just try to keep all the factory EFI stuff if possible, and it might be fairly straight forward to install. LA bellhousings will fit both of those, too.

Clair

Too bad he can't go with a 3.5 HO from a 300M or LHS.
250 hp and 250 tq would be nice.

Any idea what the bellhousing bolt pattern looks like on those critters? There are a number of OEM bellhousings out there that can make a pile of interesting swaps possible. What about a Jeep Liberty / TJ 2.4L bell bolted up to a 2.4L SRT-4 engine? 300hp/tq would motivate an early A just fin, and would probalby pull 25-30mpg, too. This again would use the NV1500, Dak AX-15 or Supra R154 trans. I bet weight distribution would be tail-heavy...

Clair

My 98 Dakota weighs 3500# 3.9 % spd, has got a best ever of 22mpg. 318's in B-bodies 20mpg average and 21.5 in my sons 66 Dart wagon when it had a 318. I'm going to do a Passion od conversion on my 65 Belvedere 9 pass. It gets 19.5 now with a automatic.

Gas milage aside, you will have to cut the torsion bar crossmember and floor pans to use the Dakota 5 spd. That was my original plans for the Belvedere but I didn't want to hack it.

Our local pick and pull sells engines complete for $119 and trannies for $55 seems you could get a much better deal than that Dakota. I just bought a nice 1 ton Van that looks and runs great for the 360 Magnum and harnesses for another project for $500. A friend of mine just passed on a $400 Dakota.

Yes I dont have a particular Dakota in mind I've been looking on line and have seen some pretty inexpensive ones . Thats what spurred the thought of buying the whole truck and useing for the parts. And heck the truck could get a 440 or stroker later and make a nice race truck.
I realy like the idea of the 5 spd OD but the aluminum 833 OD will probably be the way to go. Either behind the 273 or the V6 or if I sell out completely and go the esiest route /6. The 273 would be the cheapest route as I already have it and its a good runner 318 crank 340 rods trw flat top forged piston. Just need to get rid of the racy cam .Find a new intake and maybe aftermarket FI. Build headers either way