5.0 Charger

[SmashingPunkFan]

Oh I am, every step has been a journey.
Its exciting, Im ready to get the body done this fall.

[JB400]

I just thought of something. You might have to swap the oil pan and the pick up tube off of your 318 and put on the Dakota engine.  The sumps might be different. Just thought I should mention that.

[Cooter]

You spelled Koolaid wrong. Lol

I spelled it that way because it's "Cool" to think Fuel Injection is the way to go today For MPG. Oops, my mistake...
Here's another hint: Better to not listen to machinists that favor Chevy's and Fords if you have a Mopar. Better to leave the "kid" behind the counter who most likely listened to the same Machinist when it came to his own '70....Just sayin'.

And BTW: You do know what F O R D stands for right? F*cked Over Rebuilt Dodge.

[SmashingPunkFan]

You spelled Koolaid wrong. Lol

I spelled it that way because it's "Cool" to think Fuel Injection is the way to go today For MPG. Oops, my mistake...
Here's another hint: Better to not listen to machinists that favor Chevy's and Fords if you have a Mopar. Better to leave the "kid" behind the counter who most likely listened to the same Machinist when it came to his own '70....Just sayin'.

And BTW: You do know what F O R D stands for right? F*cked Over Rebuilt Dodge.

I thought it couldve been. Fix Or Repair Daily. Just like More Often Parts Are Repaired
lol

Besides, thats not all Ive heard. Like I said, it goes both ways, for all makes.
Their opinions didnt influence me at all, this is how I felt about these products before.

[djcarguy]

FORD== FOUND ON ROAD DEAD... 302 is a good motor an works good in the lite mustang body ,the 70 charger is way heavyer,1000 lbs or so.

     fit and fab mounts a nite mare,302 oil pan and exhaust and rewire and the ford steer pump will not plumb to mopar box and on and on....  you will have a one off car with no resale value and good luck may be on road in few years. hope you have lots of welding and meckineck skills.  the 5 speed shift will come thru floor in some strange spot too..   
oh well we have had mopar go over 200,000 with just a timing chain and oil changes.  but you have your mind set so go too it.....,,,,, goodluck with that. 

[440]

I have a 302/C4 powered Ford Fairlane and the thing is an absolute war horse. Yeah it's a bit beat up, yeah it's got a bit of rust, yeah it's had a hard life, no it isn't a performance machine, but I'll tell you what, it just keeps going and going without missing a beat. In fact it's probably one of the best cars I've ever owned.

I don't have a lot of Mopar experience but I still wouldn't put the power train in my Charger though. Some things just shouldn't be done. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't do what you want to do but I'd give it a chance first. If you look after it properly the chances of failure are slim. Keep it stock if you want reliability.

Remember, High Performance = High Maintenance - and the higher the performance generally equates to reduced reliability as well.

Edit: I should also mention that said Fairlane is also a daily driver, and gets loaded up with firewood, pavers and whatever else fits on the weekends.

[JB400]

Alright guys, I think the kid has been beat up enough.  It has been spelled out for him that over and over time and time again.  I explained everything to him in an earlier post so now he knows all that is involved in doing his swap. Now if he listened to me or not, I don't know.  If he doesn't, I want first dibs.

[Troy]

I had a stock(ish) 318 powered 68 Charger all the way through high school. I had tons of miles and I beat it pretty hard. The only thing I ever broke was the U joints. The small blocks have a hard time moving a car as heavy as a Charger. It doesn't matter whose name is on them. They will still move though! But as soon as you ride in one with a big block you realize how much of a torque advantage they have. My roommate has a 5.0/5 speed Mustang GT that I play with every so often and I have a 70 Mach 1 351/4-speed. Both are scary fast. However, they weigh a lot less than a Charger and they have steeper gears than what you'd find stock on a 318 Charger. A 5.2 Magnum (318) would be a super easy swap for you. The Magnum heads flow great, they are fuel injected already, will bolt straight up to any older Mopar small block transmission, and most will have A/C and cruise. They include new and old motor mount bosses so your original mounts will work. They are designed to move 4,500 pound trucks and fairly easy to upgrade - especially the later (post 1996) versions. I have a 5.9 (360) to swap into one of my Chargers but it has a few "gotchas" around transmission choices because it's weighted/balanced differently. Since I plan a stroker kit I'll just have it internally balanced.

The primary advantage for the Ford is cost - mainly due to production on a much larger scale. That doesn't mean they are necessarily more reliable. They don't cost much to replace parts so it's easy to overlook the small things that go wrong. However, just because the engine is cheap it doesn't mean a swap will be (especially in "man hours". People practically give away 318s and 383s and there are dirt simple to swap in because they came that way from the factory. Mopars do have their share of "common" problems but people have long since found a way to deal with them. Parts are still going to cost more.

Seriously think about how much you'll be driving before worrying about engine longevity. Do you really plan on driving the car with this particular engine combination (whatever it may be) for 300,000 miles? Most people are lucky to put 500 miles per year on one. I have put as many as 18,000 miles in a single year on mine. Even at that rate, I'll get 5-6 years in before I worry about rebuilding anything.

Part of driving a cool Mopar is being different. That includes opening the hood to let people see those odd looking engines. There's a 69 Charger on here with a blower that does wheel standing demonstrations and everyone raves about how awesome the car is - until they find out it has a big block Chevy. It loses well over half it's "cool points" for that simple fact alone. The owner has valid reasons for going that route but no one cares about them. Be prepared. Of course, if you put any small block in it (or possibly even a 383) half the Mopar crowd will turn their nose up at it as well.

Troy

[SmashingPunkFan]

FORD== FOUND ON ROAD DEAD... 302 is a good motor an works good in the lite mustang body ,the 70 charger is way heavyer,1000 lbs or so.

Is a Chrysler 318 not close to a Ford 302?
Didnt the low end model come with a slant 6?
I mean, if a Mopar SB can handle it, I know ford can too.

[Bobs69]

I hope you think to document and take lots of pictures of your build in case  someone else wants to try it.

[charger_fan_4ever]

Say 5.0 L ?

These are tough cars i'm on my 3rd since 2000.

Today did a foot to the floor 1 to 2 power shift on drag radials. It grabbed so hard in second the glove box door flew open and my wallet flew into the back seat barely missing the wife lol. 2000 miles on the oil change hasn't taken a drop and still looks like new oil.







With ~270rwhp/330ftlbs at the tire it spins this 2950lbs coupe around with ease, but in a 4000lbs charger you need more torque. I couldn't imagine a stock 5.0L in a 3.23 geared 4000lbs tank lol

So you would need a 5L with aftermarket heads/cam/intake for starters. Used $2500 for an efi.

I will now be the devils advocate if doing a engine swap for efi why not a LS1 ?

The revolutionary pushrod small block. I'm not a big gm fan but those LS1's are baddd little motors.
Aluminum heads from the factory, 6 bolt mains, 15 deg valves.

[Indygenerallee]

F^CKER ONLY ROLLS DOWNHILL,   

[SmashingPunkFan]

I hope you think to document and take lots of pictures of your build in case  someone else wants to try it.

Oh, I would regardless. Heres my first video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDvl9quAETk&feature=plcp

[JB400]

It looks like you have your work cut out for you.  At least you have a decent starting spot.  Is there a reason you didn't show the engine, or is that in the next installment.   Just a suggestion: don't do all that fancy flip flop high speed  fast forward stuff.  Maybe, on your final show.  Good luck though.

[SmashingPunkFan]

It looks like you have your work cut out for you.  At least you have a decent starting spot.  Is there a reason you didn't show the engine, or is that in the next installment.   Just a suggestion: don't do all that fancy flip flop high speed  fast forward stuff.  Maybe, on your final show.  Good luck though.

I already had the engine out, and at the machine shop. I made this video, my opinion changed a little, and here we are. Im not positive which way Im gonna go, all I know is I can start all the body work this fall while I decide...

And yea, I thought about the video a lot, Im gonna make it smoother. and the quarter skins will probably be the first

[SmashingPunkFan]

FORD== FOUND ON ROAD DEAD... 302 is a good motor an works good in the lite mustang body ,the 70 charger is way heavyer,1000 lbs or so.

     fit and fab mounts a nite mare,302 oil pan and exhaust and rewire and the ford steer pump will not plumb to mopar box and on and on....  you will have a one off car with no resale value and good luck may be on road in few years. hope you have lots of welding and meckineck skills.  the 5 speed shift will come thru floor in some strange spot too..   
oh well we have had mopar go over 200,000 with just a timing chain and oil changes.  but you have your mind set so go too it.....,,,,, goodluck with that. 

Making
Our
Parts
All
Retarded

I couldnt help but find another one

[Ghoste]

For Only Retarded Drivers


Most Our Parts Are Race

[440]

Surprised nobody has stated the obvious,

First On Race Day 

[Ghoste]

I heard a variation of that but I shouldn't print the first word on a family forum.

[SmashingPunkFan]

For Only Retarded Drivers


Most Our Parts Are Race

See, thats the spirit!! lmao
I see humor on both sides. If anyone could think of one for chevy, me and my brother would be thrilled! lol 

[SmashingPunkFan]

Surprised nobody has stated the obvious,

First On Race Day 

Thats quite nifty

[440]

CHEVY - Cheapest Heap Ever Verified Yet

CHEVROLET - Cracked Head, Every Valve Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Time

My favorite one of all,

CHEVROLET - Cheap Highly Embarrassing Vehicle Running On Luck Every Time.

[Chargen69]

5.0??  not enough cubic inches.

Awesome, someones actually answering my question rather than insult me.

Ok, what makes you feel that way? is a charger beyond the strength of that engine? in your opinion?

have you driven a big block charger?  if you aint into gas mileage, go big block.  and I am not a purest at all, my charger is going to piss off somebody when i get it done, but why not go with 318 instead of a ford?  if you have to get away from mopar parts(which are rather expensive, you can build a chevy 350 to make crazy HP for less than a 5.0

[SmashingPunkFan]

CHEVY - Cheapest Heap Ever Verified Yet

CHEVROLET - Cracked Head, Every Valve Rattles, Oil Leaks Every Time

My favorite one of all,

CHEVROLET - Cheap Highly Embarrassing Vehicle Running On Luck Every Time.

I seriously cant stop laughing!! The 3rd is the best! you made my day sir. lmao

[Cooter]

Cheap Heap Every Valve Rattles Oil Leaks Every Time

GMC= Gotta Mechanic Comin'