Has anyone done this? My son has a v6 that is tired. I have a old la 318 and I have a 94 318 magnum. I want to swap one of these in but want to keep it easy and quick. We dont have a garage so the work is done in the driveway. Which one is easy?

 

I think either will bolt right in.... problem becomes, getting them to run. The Dak is original TBI, isn't it? The 94 will be MPFI, and the old LA 318... well, just depends on what's sitting on top of it. In any event, would need a different computer to run it, and probably need to extend some of the sensor wires. (mainly, coolant temp sensors....)

 

The biggest problem with the LA 318 is that unless it's the very last production, it won't have the motor mounts to drop in (they only added the Magnum style mounts that the Dakota always used the last year or two ... )

OTOH, what you can do is get a carb style input for the Magnum, get an electronic distributor, and at worst drop a Carb style EFI on the top of it (the Holley Sniper and the Atomic from FAST are two of that style; there's several others, too.)

I'd hunt up a 1991 Dakota 5.2 and drop that in first (since it'll be TBI and have the proper mounts).

RwP

 

So now the hunt is on for a truck from 1989 to 1991 that had a 318 in it so I can get the parts off of it. looks like a trip to the junk yard. Unless some one has a setup laying around? Anyone got a dead v8 Dak laying around let me know.

 

Make it easier - the LA 318/5.2 was only installed factory in the 1991; and if you rip the motor out of a Shelby to drop in your truck, I will personally come over and do things just has horrible and terrible to you (think of ripping the motor out of a Shelby Cobra instead of getting a Windsor out of the boneyard and a better donor ... )

You may be able to find one in a Ram, though; the biggest thing is a) it has to have the mid engine bosses (unless you just want to make some elephant ear mounts) and b) it needs to be TBI. It's the former that causes the problem, BTW.

Again, you may want to consider regunning a Magnum to fit; you can buy new heads with the LA intake pattern, it breathes better, it has better compression, it has squish in the combustion chamber (which knocks down preignition!), and overall it's a better motor to work from.

The other choice is to rewire with a 94/95 engine bay harness and ECU (the injector size changed in 1994, so you don't want a 1992/1993 ECU, unless you also want to swap the injectors). You will also need to either swap the transmission or make a spot in the bell housing for the crank sensor.

(For max benefit, find a 1996 V8 donor; replace all the wiring needed - be sure to pick up a 1991 and a 1996 factory service manual to pour over the variances! - and with that, you can even get it tuned with canned tunes. Or even custom tuned.)

The 1991 is a severe pain in several ways, due to being the only year Dakota with a factory installed LA V8 (the 89-90 V8s were done in a fab shop for the Shelby custom trucks; again, that's a bit of history, and IMO better kept as a Shelby for collector's value).

RwP

 

IMHO The easiest way to do this, is to use a magnum engine, use a edelbrock 7577 intake, a small 4bbl carb, and a hei distributor. The magnum will bolt up to your existing motor mounts, you eliminate the headache of trying to intergrate a chrysler computer to your truck etc. But if you have emissions inspections in your area, this probably will not work for you.
The magnum accessory drive is shorter then the LA v belt. and that helps in these trucks.

Here are a couple of good threads that have a lot of information pertaining to this swap.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...le-dakota.html
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...gine-swap.html

T

 

Sorry to thread jack, but I want to be sure I'm reading this correctly: Not all 318 Magnums are the same? That a 318 from a Ram and a 318 from a Dakota won't bolt up to a Gen 1?

 

There are two flavors of 318, the 91 and older LA 318 family, and the 92 and newer Magnum family.

 

Sure. I am confused by this, "You may be able to find one in a Ram, though; the biggest thing is a) it has to have the mid engine bosses (unless you just want to make some elephant ear mounts)"

It is my understanding that any 318 Magnum will fit in a first gen.

 

The magnum 5.2 was put into production in 92, the 5.9 started in 93. That said, the magnum motors all mount the same way with mid engine side mounts.

The LA is kinda divided into 2 groups.
1. The early versions have mounts on the front. Often called elephant ear mounts.
2. The latter LA blocks had both mounts on the side and the front, elephant ear mounts. So it would fit both platforms.

All dakota's used the side mount.

On the V8 pre magnum dakota's I would like to point out a couple of things
1. Shelby Dakota.
This was the short nose truck. (89) The truck used a special crossmember and this moved the engine back. In addition, the fan was removed, and 2 electric fans were sandwiched between the radiator and condenser. All of that to squeeze the engine in the compartment
2. The 91 and up,
The front end was reshaped to move the radiator 3-4 in forward.
The 91 used a serpentine belt drive , and I believe the space is needed. (V-belt drive accessories are longer then serpentine)


IMO the magnum motor is the way to go. It is considerably more powerful, more efficient, and the bottom end seems to hold up longer.
The 94 5.2 that you own, is it complete with all accessories, wiring harness, and computer?
If yes, and you plan to keep the motor basically stock, using that harness and computer is not terribly difficult. Ragged 89 did it and the link to the thread is above.

If emissions is not a concern, and BTW this is the way I plan to do it.
1. a complete magnum engine with all accessories
2. Remove the distributor, and intake manifold.
3. Install a edelbrock 7577 intake manifold along with a small 4 bbl carb.
4 Install a non computer distributor. Personally I plan to use this. https://www.skipwhiteperformance.com...-6513-r_84469/
robertmee used this on his 5.9 magnum and has told me he is happy with it.