K I am wanting to buy a newer used vehicle for a more modern engine/trans swap into my 79 volare' duster/roadrunner.

I was looking to maybe have the 225 rebuilt, but there's no modern after market for it in the states, I have to order parts from Australia,
si I decided to up grade to the V 8 and a trans with auto over.
 
If it were me, I’d be keeping an eye out for a running/driving ‘91-‘96 Ram or Dakota, wouldn’t matter if it was a 5.2 or 5.9 engine, so long as it was a good running/driving truck…and then I’d take the engine and transmission out of the truck and put them right into the car. A518 is a solid transmission with 4speed and o/d. I see little difference in having to freshen up a A518 vs a 727 and I’d rather have the 4 speed myself. Guys run A518s behind big block strokers, they have plenty of longevity; particularly if you’re just after a nice cruiser.
 
armataz said:
I was looking to maybe have the 225 rebuilt, but there's no modern after market for it in the states, I have to order parts from Australia,
si I decided to up grade to the V 8 and a trans with auto over.
Click to expand...

I'm going to take flack for this, but you made the right choice. Any traditional inline-six from GM, Ford or Chrysler are all weezy little turds.

Yeah, go Magnum V8 with a 727 automatic transmission.

Magnums were produced from 1992 to 2003. The V8's were 5.2L (318ci) and 5.9L (360ci). You can go either way and still be pretty happy for what you're trying to accomplish. If you want to stick the factory fuel injection then earlier is better as you'll be able to move the entire engine computer and harness to your car. The later stuff got nuts with the electrical complexity and would not be an easy swap. You could probably use a newer motor with earlier electronics, I don't know for sure. There is always the possibility of aftermarket EFI too. Holley makes great stuff and I'm using it on my car.

Your current transmission will not bolt up to a V8. What you're going to want to try and find is a 727 out of a 2WD truck or van. 80's to 90's. Go back to early and it won't have lockup; which is something you want in a driver car. No custom mounts are needed as will bolt right in place of what you have now.

At the minimum you'll need:

1: A new center sump oil pan and pickup. All trucks use rear sump pans.
2: Conversion motor mounts
3: A B&M flexplate balanced for Magnum motors to 727

The above will get the motor and transmission in the car. You will have to shorten your driveshaft.

Probably the biggest PITA is adapting a high pressure fuel system for the injection.

It's not a complicated swap, but do your homework and have someone that can lend a hand that is familiar with Chryslers from this era.

Cheers.
 
kkritsilas said:
The cracks arise from the head's deck height/thickness. The deck height for the cylinder head is the metal thickness of the cylinder head mating surface where it would meet the top of the block(more accurately, head gasket) in the watehr jacket area. Seems like Chrysler was looking to minimize weight, and took off a little bit too much metal.

I don't know if they are still around, but there were third party heads labelled Engine Quest, which were based on the Magnum heads, but had a thicker deck height, and no cracks developed on those. In addition to the thicker deck height, they also flowed, out of the box, about 10% better than the Magnum heads.

Almost all factory LA, Magnum, and Engine Quest heads are cast iron. I think there are aluminum heads for the LA and Magnum, but they would be third party. The Engine Quest heads originally came from either Australia or New Zealand, but I think were also later produced in the US. They were also re-sold by some well known Mopar high performance suppliers. I don't know what the current situation is.
Click to expand...
I think eddlbrok makes heads for the 360, but not sure what serries they would be for.
and I would prefer not having that added expense, right off the bat., if there might be a better option.
 
Also, here is a couple of videos of someone who did the swap in an M body (same deal) to give you an idea of what you'll end up with.


 
Duke5A said:
I'm going to take flack for this, but you made the right choice. Any traditional inline-six from GM, Ford or Chrysler are all weezy little turds.

Yeah, go Magnum V8 with a 727 automatic transmission.

Magnums were produced from 1992 to 2003. The V8's were 5.2L (318ci) and 5.9L (360ci). You can go either way and still be pretty happy for what you're trying to accomplish. If you want to stick the factory fuel injection then earlier is better as you'll be able to move the entire engine computer and harness to your car. The later stuff got nuts with the electrical complexity and would not be an easy swap. You could probably use a newer motor with earlier electronics, I don't know for sure. There is always the possibility of aftermarket EFI too. Holley makes great stuff and I'm using it on my car.

Your current transmission will not bolt up to a V8. What you're going to want to try and find is a 727 out of a 2WD truck or van. 80's to 90's. Go back to early and it won't have lockup; which is something you want in a driver car. No custom mounts are needed as will bolt right in place of what you have now.

At the minimum you'll need:

1: A new center sump oil pan and pickup. All trucks use rear sump pans.
2: Conversion motor mounts
3: A B&M flexplate balanced for Magnum motors to 727

The above will get the motor and transmission in the car. You will have to shorten your driveshaft.

Probably the biggest PITA is adapting a high pressure fuel system for the injection.

It's not a complicated swap, but do your homework and have someone that can lend a hand that is familiar with Chryslers from this era.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
I under stand the 6 bell housing wont work with an 8, but I want to stick with a auto 3 speed, with an auto over to keep the stock column.
wouldnt the truck come with the correct in lime fuel pump for the engine?? or is it a sump,in the tank?
just trying to understand, thanks
 
theres nothing wrong with the 225 engine, except it is not supported by the after market here. at it's heart it is a V 12 engine, with 6 of the cylenders cut off.
thus. it has the capability of taking a lot of abuse, and creating a lot of "comparable" power.
that is why theres a HUGE racing aftermarket for the 225 in australia.
but it is more cost effective to swap to a V-8 here in the states.
them folks down under are nuts about the 225
and I gotta admit, it might be kinda cool to lift the nose of the 79 slant 6 duster off the ground against a V-8 mustang or nova. trying to show off at the light. LOL ;-)
1672168927830.png


1672168987218.png

1672169049538.png
 
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Camtron said:
If it were me, I’d be keeping an eye out for a running/driving ‘91-‘96 Ram or Dakota, wouldn’t matter if it was a 5.2 or 5.9 engine, so long as it was a good running/driving truck…and then I’d take the engine and transmission out of the truck and put them right into the car. A518 is a solid transmission with 4speed and o/d. I see little difference in having to freshen up a A518 vs a 727 and I’d rather have the 4 speed myself. Guys run A518s behind big block strokers, they have plenty of longevity; particularly if you’re just after a nice cruiser.
Click to expand...
K to summerize (if I understand correctly) so stay with 91-96 either the 318 or 360 magnum.
the 360 will give a few more horse out the box.
but both are decent engines once you swap the heads
both have a carb type feul injection system. not port injection.
and I may have to swap the rear gear box.
and also shorten the drive line.
for my ammusment, is the 3 speed w/automatic overdrive transmitions of this period crap. or what?
asking because I dont understand the push to the auto 4 and 5 speeds, over the 3. thanks
 
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armataz said:
I under stand the 6 bell housing wont work with an 8, but I want to stick with a auto 3 speed, with an auto over to keep the stock column.
wouldnt the truck come with the correct in lime fuel pump for the engine?? or is it a sump,in the tank?
just trying to understand, thanks
Click to expand...

A 727 is a three speed auto. It'll accept factory linkages and you can keep the column shift.

armataz said:
K to summerize (if I understand correctly) so stay with 91-96 either the 318 or 360 magnum.
the 360 will give a few more horse out the box.
but both are decent engines once you swap the heads
both have a carb type feul injection system. not port injection.
for my ammusment, is the 3 speed w/automatic overdrive transmitions of this period crap. or what?
asking because I dont understand the push to the auto 4 and 5 speeds, over the 3. thanks
Click to expand...

OK, transmissions. You've basically got two families of automatic transmissions: 904 and 727. 904 is the light duty and 727 is the heavier duty. In later years these were used as the basis for the 500 and 518 respectively; which are the four speed autos. Linkages are the same for everything until they went computer controlled in 1996. These are decent transmissions, but will require modification to the underbody of the car and a custom mount to fit. This is why I'm recommending to stay with the three speed 727. It'll bolt right on.

There are three types of bell housings: slant six, small block V8 and big block V8.

All Magnum motors were port injected and all of their fuel systems utilized pumps that were inside the fuel tanks. You can setup an external high pressure pump for fuel injection, but it's not ideal. Might want to discuss fuel systems in a new thread.
 
armataz said:
K to summerize (if I understand correctly) so stay with 91-96 either the 318 or 360 magnum.
the 360 will give a few more horse out the box.
but both are decent engines once you swap the heads
both have a carb type feul injection system. not port injection.
for my ammusment, is the 3 speed w/automatic overdrive transmitions of this period crap. or what?
asking because I dont understand the push to the auto 4 and 5 speeds, over the 3. thanks
Click to expand...
The transmissions of the period are the same transmission as a 727 with an extra gear and OD. The other guys are steering you towards the most basic of basic, easy swap to do. If you don’t care for a 4speed with O/D, get a 727.
 
Duke5A said:
A 727 is a three speed auto. It'll accept factory linkages and you can keep the column shift.



OK, transmissions. You've basically got two families of automatic transmissions: 904 and 727. 904 is the light duty and 727 is the heavier duty. In later years these were used as the basis for the 500 and 518 respectively; which are the four speed autos. Linkages are the same for everything until they went computer controlled in 1996. These are decent transmissions, but will require modification to the underbody of the car and a custom mount to fit. This is why I'm recommending to stay with the three speed 727. It'll bolt right on.

There are three types of bell housings: slant six, small block V8 and big block V8.

All Magnum motors were port injected and all of their fuel systems utilized pumps that were inside the fuel tanks. You can setup an external high pressure pump for fuel injection, but it's not ideal. Might want to discuss fuel systems in a new thread.
Click to expand...

Camtron said:
The transmissions of the period are the same transmission as a 727 with an extra gear and OD. The other guys are steering you towards the most basic of basic, easy swap to do. If you don’t care for a 4speed with O/D, get a 727.
Click to expand...
thanks to both of you, this is a lot of help. the shop I take it to will know how to solve any fuel delivery issue there might be, I was just asking about it for my own understanding. so the 727 3 speed is a modern direct fit replacement ? I'll just need to either change the K member or adapt the slant 6 which is now possible.( by that I mean buy the replacement/adaption parts)
 
new silly Q?? would the dakota K member swap to the duster. I will assume not, but not sure why not.
 
beginning to think these all got traded in during cash fer clunkers, I aint finding none listed around me
 
There’s a pretty solid Fifth avenue in Tacoma, Wa if you wanna make the trek. Guy wants $1k for it.

CB6D2E1C-A96E-4945-9936-0A18D01FE135.jpeg

Would get you the k-frame and mounts, a 904 3 speed trans and solid parts to sell to make some cash back.
 
Camtron said:
There’s a pretty solid Fifth avenue in Tacoma, Wa if you wanna make the trek. Guy wants $1k for it.

View attachment 48849
Would get you the k-frame and mounts, a 904 3 speed trans and solid parts to sell to make some cash back.
Click to expand...
yah,LOL but that wont work, my sister would defiantly not let me strip it for parts,it is too nice, I need to find something beat up that still runs good,I;m checking wrecking yards for a salvage doner
 
armataz said:
yah,LOL but that wont work, my sister would defiantly not let me strip it for parts,it is too nice, I need to find something beat up that still runs good,I;m checking wrecking yards for a salvage doner
Click to expand...
Swap drivetrains between cars and give the, now slant6, 5th Ave to your sister, lol. Everyone wins.
 
Camtron said:
There’s a pretty solid Fifth avenue in Tacoma, Wa if you wanna make the trek. Guy wants $1k for it.

View attachment 48849
Would get you the k-frame and mounts, a 904 3 speed trans and solid parts to sell to make some cash back.
Click to expand...
yah,LOL but that wont work, my sister would defiantly not let me strip it for parts,it is too nice, I need to find something beat up that still runs good,I;m checking wrecking yards for a salvage doner

Camtron said:
Swap drivetrains between cars and give the, now slant6, 5th Ave to your sister, lol. Everyone wins.
Click to expand...
except I'll still have to pay to get the six running. might still be worth it , if I could find a way to drive 1 car up, and 2 cars back. ;-) , it is about a 600 mile round trip.
really appreciate the tip though. gives me other options to look for I dont know what year the ford guy decided to switch everything to front wheel drive.
 
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