Hellcat-Swapped Dodge Dakota Is a Row-Your-Own Ripper of a Pickup
Originally purchased to be a daily driver, this Hellcat-swapped Dodge Dakota has undergone multiple overhauls to get to this point.
Since its inception, the Hellcat engine has become one of the more popular engine swap candidates, whether that be in Jeeps or vintage muscle cars. One thing we haven’t seen – until now, at least – is a Hellcat-swapped Dodge Dakota, though that streak now comes to an end thanks to Greg Snyder, a Mopar aficionado that originally purchased this 1998 Dakota back in 2009 to serve as his new daily driver. However, the truck’s original 318 V8 left a lot to be desired in terms of output, even after he gave it some upgrades. And that’s precisely where the idea to build a Hellcat-swapped Dodge Dakota was born.
Snyder proceeded to treat the original 318 to a new cam, heads, and a Kenne Bell supercharger, as he explained to The Drive, and that got him into the 13s at the drag strip. However, the original five-speed manual transmission soon exploded under all that extra power, so he wound up replacing it and the 318 with a 392, which got him into the 12s. This particular combination wasn’t destined to last, however, after Snyder came across a wrecked Hellcat for sale.
Snyder went to work harvesting that car’s supercharged 6.2-liter V8, and paired it with a standalone ECU to make it work in his mid-size pickup. But instead of sticking with the original automatic gearbox that came with it, he went the old fashioned route with a Tremec T56 six-speed manual gearbox and an 8.8-inch Ford rear end to back it up. The results are undoubtedly impressive, as this 700+ horsepower Dakota now runs low 10s in the quarter-mile.
The beauty of this particular build, however, is that it’s dead reliable. Thanks to its proven drivetrain combination, this Dakota can be driven to work during the week, taken to the track on the weekends, and all Snyder has to do is swap out the rear slicks for street tires along the way. “I drive it all over the place,” he said. “I don’t have a trailer, so I have to borrow one if I want to do that. I’ve probably put 25,000 or 30,000 miles on it.”
Photos: Greg Snyder
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