I had planned to use a 2008 or newer 4.7HO for the Dakota chassis going under my 56 Dodge pickup build, since I already have my 2001 Dakota SLT 4.7/5-spd, which is now at 203,000 miles. The 4.7 in my Dak doesn't burn or drip oil, but it does burn some coolant, most likely a head gasket leak into a cylinder or the usual valley plenumb leak. I bought the Dak with 153,000 miles on it from a friend for $1500 back in 2011. Its served me well, but I did replace the rotted out oil pan, and had a new oil pump installed at 175,000 miles, replaced a few injectors. Oil changes always looked good, every 5,000 miles. It did slightly overheat once, but not for many years. Yet, once a 4.7 overheats there is the chance of a valve seat dropping out, or a rocker popping out of position. Also, the early 4.7 V8s had a potential casting failure at the RH front cylinder, if a rocker popped out it could also break off the cast tower at that rocker, and the head is shot. Valley plenumb issues, oil issues, coolant issues, too bad because the crank and crankcase of the 4.7 is really stout. The casting issue in the RH head was addressed in the 2008 and later 4.7.

So rather than rebuild my 2001 4.7 I thought I'd get a remanned 4.7HO for my 56 build, and move all the accessories off my current 4.7 onto the 4.7HO long block. But, that long block alone would have cost me near $4000. And accessories for the 4.7 are limited. So I wisely followed Gene's (PoorBoy) guidance to find a good 318/5.2 Magnum for my 56. Glad I did, cause I found a remanned 2010 5.2Magnum with only $25,000 miles on it, running/complete, for only $600. Buying it that cheap leaves me lots of budget to build up the 5.2 to be far more engine than the 4.7HO could hope to be.

What really sold me on the 5.2 Magnum versus the 4.7HO was the power curve. Sure, the 4.7HO makes 330 ft-lb of torque at 3,300, just like the 5.2 Magnum. But the curve SHAPE matter more. The 4.7HO power curve has a sagging belly curve until it suddenly peaks from 2800 to 3300 rpm, and then suddenly drops off again, a true PEAK in the power curve. That's why the 4.7 feels gutless. The 5.2 Magnum 330 ft lb peak at 3300 rpm is a upward hump from 2300 to 3300, and then slowly tapers off after 3300 rpm. THAT is what moves us and is why a tuned 5.2 can feel as grunty and stout as a 360/5.9. That is why a 318/5.2 or 360/5.9 feels so much stronger than any 4.7HO.