To start...I have a 94 3.9l Dakota 4x4 I have own since High School. I bought the truck to destroy and have fun with as I used to be a Ford Guy and never liked Dodge, little did I know the Dodge I drove hard and put away muddy and wet would outlast 6 vehicles Ive taken very good care of. Obviously im now a Dodge guy.
So the question is im looking to build a 4BT Cummins Crawler Hauler, something to tow with and Crawl on local trails. The A500 crapped out on me and Im looking at $2300 as the trans is completely shot. Ive looked into the NV3500 & 4500 but no little about them only from the little I could find online. In the future im swapping to a 4BT so I want something that will bolt to my 3.9l Gas till I can get the 3.9l Diesel. I know im going to need the clutch ,brake, throttle pedals, new clutch, slave and master cylinder for the clutch, and Ive read the I will have to jump wires so the computer thinks its in park to start and if I get the NV4500 I may need to buy a bell housing but I dont know what im looking for the clearance in parts what will fit and what wont. Im real short on the Cash Department so PLEASE HELP

 

Im looking for something to bolt onto both the 3.9l Gas then swap to 3.9l Diesel. I dont want to have to end up buying two transmissions down the road. This is or was my side means of money so it down is costing me. I slid in a 2wd but it doesnt do well with the rear gears I guess as it shifts at real low RPMs it came out of a 93 Dakota with 88k on it. I have since put around 16k to 20k on it and has been babied sense its been installed. I need it to last till this swap. The owner had a tree fall on it and totaled it. was a nice truck the guy used it to tow his small trailer to the dump and move brush off his property and had all his records of maintenance.

 

I will sell the 2wd trans when I pull it out to swap for the manual. I dont know the model but it came out a 93 3.9l Dakota with 88k and now has 102K ish miles on it. New Mopar Trans Fluid and Filter when I installed it. Has a small drip at the rear, drips about a drop every couple days or so. Probably sell for $725. $650 if you pick up or pay for shipping.

 

As far as what will bolt to the 4bt, I have no idea. But I can tell you the nv3500 for a Dakota is different from the ram. The shifter is in a different location.
FWIW unless you have lots of money and time to build this Dakota with a 4bt, and if your main interest is building the rock crawler, I would trade the Dakota for a full sized truck with a diesel motor.

 

See i read that the nv3500 came in some of the V8 Dakotas. As far as the full size truck, i see hose all the time. Im looking for something different plus full size wont fit on most of our trails near me. What do you mean the shifter is in a different location I can modify the floor board if needed to fit the shifting location but will but the nv3500 and 4500 bolt up with the right adapter plate for the 4500? I was told both 3.9, 5.2 and 5.9 have the same pattern on the back of the block for the transmissions but to bolt a flywheel and clutch to meet the 3.9 from the NV4500 which was designed for the 5.9 gas and cummins? Is there a recamended transmission the would hold up to a built 3.9l BT Cummins that would also bolt to the 3.9l magnum then? The lower the first gear also the better which is why i looked atthe 4500 plus its torque rating?

 

The nv3500 came in the 94-96 first gen Dakotas with a v8. 92-93 were automatics only (V8). Its my understanding that the shifter is further under the dash.
As far as bolting up, the LA 3.9, the Magnum 3.9, 5.2, 5.9 all share the same bolt pattern, but not the same flywheels.
As far as diesel, personally I have no idea if it will bolt up. But if you do a search, I think I once seen a post on converting to the 4bt motor.
BTW what are your plans for the axles?

 

for starters, here is one link you may find interesting. https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...to-nv4500.html

 

here is another for you http://www.4btswaps.com/forum/showth...ghlight=dakota

 

and I found this one. Go about 1/3 the way down and there is lots of info. linked there . https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...ion-ideas.html

 

93 ragtop...Wow thanks man, thats alot of usefull info i will keep saved. That does answer many of my questions but im still running into the clutch matching deal and flywheel matching. Are the crank bolt pattern to the fly wheel the same on the 3.9 and the 5.9 since the NV4500 bolts to the 5.9l? And Ive never had to purchase a new clutch, so im asuming since theres obviously no direct search for the clutch i need, how would i find a match? Im guessing if the flywheel is the same for the 5.9l and will bolt to the cranck on the 3.9l I could just look for all matching parts for the Ram of the same year...Correct? Im extremely mechanical inclined and can fit the truck to the transmission and future engine swaps but I have no experience with this type of build and instead of making many mistakes i was looking for others with experience on this. 93 ragtop you have given me more info than I have come up with in the last six months in only hours so I thank you.