Does anyone know if the frame from a 2nd gen dakota is interchangable with our 1st gens, given that I look for the same wheelbase and drivetrain?

I don't realy know. But I'm guessing it would be close but body mounts may be off.

Just wondering why do you ask? Are you going to swap it over? And why gen 2 insted of gen 1 where you know it would work?

http://www.allpar.com/trucks/dakota-tech.html

has info about the 2nd gen frame, just scroll down a bit, hopefully it will help you out.

I am wondering cause my truck's frame is bent at the drivers side lower control arm. It was like that when I bought the truck. Last summer I was working in a body shop and rough pulled the frame as good as I could get it, and it never bothered me until now that I have the bigger tires on it. On the drivers side the tire has a slight clearance problems where the frame is bent in. I am going to start looking on craigslist and junk yards to find a donor frame for my truck and I was just wondering if I have to limit myself to looking for a 1st gen frame or if I could widen my search to include the 2nd gen. I would prefer to find a 1st gen frame but if the 2nd gen frame will work and I find one at a good price first I won't turn it down.

Oh okay I got ya! That sucks! I'm sure you have thought of it, but maybe get some wheel spacers. I dont know if that would give you some more clearence where you need it. They are cheep and lots easyer then a fram swap. But again it just masks the problem, and does not solve it. The allpar site does have a lot of info on it. The 1st gen. page doesnt have that much. If I had time I would read it all. But if you find the answer let us know!

I have thought about wheel spacers, but I would need new lugs. As it is now if I put spacers on it there wouldn't be much thread left for the lug nuts to grab. It's not a huge problem, I just have to be cautious when making really sharp turns. If I do end up doing the frame swap it will be after school lets out for the semester, and hopefully by then I'll have that 5.9 ready to go in (for a quick change in subject) I'm going to pick the engine up on saturday. It has a blown head gasket and is already half torn down, but I'm gonna finish tearing it down, get the block bored .030 over, get new pistons for it, port and polish the heads, get them decked, and put it back together. I won't be able to work on it much cause of school, but I'm hoping to have it ready to install by summer.

sounds good with the 360. you are going to force me to do that too if you keep going, lol. sucks about the frame, maybe you can find one, i would say i will keep a look out but i am about 600 miles away, lol. good luck.

Lol, yeah, now that you have done the 318 swap a 360 would be real easy. My grandparents have a house in Winter Parks, I don't know how far away that is from you but I'm not opposed to driving down that way if I can find a donor truck for cheap enough. I've made the trip a whole bunch of times anyway. Of course then again that would be a heck of a trip for the ol' truck to haul it's twin up I95.

cool, i will deff. keep a look out then. i am in tallahassee so it is little more north than winter parks.

Well for the wheel spacers you can buy this kind. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Wheel...2em118Q2el1247

These come in all differnt sizes just check out his ebay store. These give you new lugs. And if you wanted pepboys sells lugs. Cheep and 1 weekend day you can swap them out. Just need a BFH. It is realy easy.