440 Dakota build

Haven't posted on here in a while but here goes. I'm putting together a 440 Dakota. I bought a really clean 90 Dakota short bed and had this 440 laying around. Put a small cam in it and a set of 67 closed chambered heads to bump the compression.

I will be watching this. I have been casually looking for a 2wd Dakota to put a 440 or 3g hemi in. Anybody have suggestions on what years are the best for either of these swaps. I suppose the first ones are lighter and later years have a roomier engine compartment. What years would have 4 1/2 X 5 bolt pattern wheels?

Not positive on the years with 5 bolt pattern but when i did up my 95 i was able to just replace the front 6 bolt hubs with the earlier 5 bolt direct swap and used a j-body rear axle. Nice to see the OP progress with the motor mounts i went with engine plates front and rear and used A-body hooker super comp fenderwell headers they worked out pretty good for exhaust

Nice. Been thinking about building a small block early Dak myself. Pretty clean ones pop up on occasion for a good price around here. I'll be following your build as well.
I think '89 or '90 is the year they lengthened the front end. The earlier years take more work to put in a sb or bb. Don't remember when they changed to 6 lug wheels ('94?). There are several way more Dakota-knowledgeable folks here and hopefully they will give a definite answer.


Tim

My 90 v6 had 5 lugs and 91 had 6 lug 318. The 6 lug is easy to convert to 5 lug till the new body came out in 97.

I have a super clean 2wd ex cab 92 318 I would consider selling, I don't want to give it away and they are not worth much here so I was just planning to keep it but it is really nice and could drive anywhere.

Really to do a gen 3 swap I think 08 and up would be easiest because the 4.7 computer, harness and trans can be made to work, don't know how you would make it all work on the older ones without standalones trying to get along with the stock one to keep gauges and stuff all working. I think there is plenty of room in any of the engine compartments for a gen III. The one he has in this picture is the smallest engine compartment as 91 they at least lengthened it a little to accommodate the 318.

That 318 dal is it a 5sp might be interested

Automatic

cool build - that's gonna be hellafun

I have an '02 QC Dakota 4x4 that I put a 440 in, along with a ridiculous load of other off-road stuff - been handling a bunch of teething problems and just now getting it rolling...

- Sam

I don't know the year cutoff, but I swapped 81/4 axles, drums and front rotors on to my 92 to make it 5 lug. It was a bolt on deal no fiddling around.

My son's 2000 Dak on the rear when we measured it shared the 43" perch centers same as a d150 & the A-body.

since I had my 88 d100 tubbed with the A-body 8 3/4 tucking 12" wide 4.5 backspace 29x15x15 M/Ts in the fenders with tubs flush with the frame. works on the DAK and the stock swaybar even works out bolting up.(DAK rear SB fits D100/150 truck chassis as a bolt on mod with the A-body 8 3/4.

when we were looking it was the B-body 8 3/4 that was the most popular swap for 10" rims less tub work.

after all Robert, you are the man when it come to narrowing a 8 1/4 rear axle in the driveway by hand when everyone said you can not do it that way. yes sir, I remember that well.

I would think a DAK with a 440 would need a set of fatty's and a good A-body 8 3/4 & Moser axle package.

I'm using an 8 1/4 out of a 92 and I'll swap axles out of 87-90 for the 5 lugs. Fronts are already 5 lug. I need to find a car 727 and swap everything over from this rv trans. Should be a blast. I'm recovering from major surgery so this will be a slow build for another 2 or 3 months then off to the races we go. Tubbing the back of this truck could be in the future. That would be nice.

headers pics

Very cool build you have going. I have a 91 sport that I built into a race truck. Mine has a 11.1 compression 2000 360 magnum and 904 engine. Best pass so far has been 11.24 at 117 in the 1/4. I used 5 lug rotors from a 87 dakota on my 91. On the rear axle I used a Ford 8.8 from a 97 Ford exployer. It is a little narrower than the factory 8.25

Did you have to cut an axle to use that rear, or use a special backspacing on the wheels?

I did not have to cut a axle and with 15x10 wheels. used 5.5 BS

Very nice find! I'll be watching this also!

Which headers are those? B-body? What size primaries?

What engine mounts did you use to fab ?

Do you have a factory truck oil pan or an aftermarket one?

Thanks in advance. I am in the middle of my 1988 440 build...It had motor plates, but I really want to use standard mounts.

Also I think I could use a 15x10 wheel with 4.5/5.0 BS. But don't have any to try out right now. I would like to try like was said and widen the wheel wells and run a 15x12 wheel. I think these early dakotas look awesome with a big fat tire in the back.

I can't answer for the op. But I have heard that with the big block a set of hooker 2 inch Abody fender well headers will work. But don't remember if you have to do any mods to get them to fit.

Just curious what's done to the engine and transmission?

The engine isn't much of a build. My friend built it as a claimer engine for a class he was racing in. He ended up building a gen3 hemi engine for his 87 dakota, so I bought thr 5.9 magnum engine off him. Here is a breK down of the build.
Stock bore and stroke 2000 5.9 magnum
Stock crank and rods.
Clivlite full Grove rod/main bearings.
ARP rod bolts.
KB107 pistions.
Comp 550 solid lift cam
Trickflow 190CC heads.
3/8th Smith brother oil through push rods.
PRW billet steel 1.6 rockers
Ported indy cylinder head single plane intake
Holley 650DP ported to flow close to 800cfm
Hooker 1-5/8 full length headers.
Turboaction built 904 transmission
RMVB
Coan 8 inch 5500 stall. Which I need to send in and get redone.
Ford 8.8 full spool and 4.30 gears.
28x9x15 slicks.

Forgot to add I installed the trickflow heads. When I got it from him. It had some EQ heads on it.

Thank you for sharing your combination. Definitely a strong runner.