I've run my 93 R/C S/B several times since I bought it in 95. With the stock 5.2, auto, and open 3.55 rear it went 15.4. I hit 15.0 once I ported the throttle body and put an better air cleaner on top. Later it got a 5.9 with a Hughes cam, better heads, headers/exhaust, and a B-body 8.75 with a 3.91 Sure Grip. That ran 13.7 @ 99.7mph with a 28" tall tire. Since then, I've ported the heads, bumped the compression from 9.2:1 to about 9.4:1, back-cut the valves, swapped to a 26" tire, and swapped to a NV3500 5 speed (first gear is useless). Haven't been to the track since making those changes but I would expect somewhere in the 13.0 - 13.5 range. I have a 6.1 Hemi at the machine shop and a Viper T-56 waiting to go in so I don't know if the old 5.9 will ever do another track run... at least not in the Dakota.

 

[QUOTE=Scaldeddog;3565410]I've run my 93 R/C S/B several times since I bought it in 95. With the stock 5.2, auto, and open 3.55 rear it went 15.4. I hit 15.0 once I ported the throttle body and put an better air cleaner on top. Later it got a 5.9 with a Hughes cam, better heads, headers/exhaust, and a B-body 8.75 with a 3.91 Sure Grip. That ran 13.7 @ 99.7mph with a 28" tall tire. Since then, I've ported the heads, bumped the compression from 9.2:1 to about 9.4:1, back-cut the valves, swapped to a 26" tire, and swapped to a NV3500 5 speed (first gear is useless). Haven't been to the track since making those changes but I would expect somewhere in the 13.0 - 13.5 range. I have a 6.1 Hemi at the machine shop and a Viper T-56 waiting to go in so I don't know if the old 5.9 will ever do another track run... at least not in the Dakota.

That is a nice truck you have!!
Did you use a NV3500 out of a dakota? I think the 1st gear is a little better.... something like a 3.49 vs 4.03 in a ram.
I put a NV3500 in mine with a 5.9 magnum but its 4wd. Cant imagine doing too good drag racing with the nv3500, between gears being so far apart, its tough to shift fast.
Did you have your exhaust system made or did you find a kit?
I may get flamed for saying this, but IMO if you are going to set it up for drag racing , the Hemi, with a T56, or even an automatic is going to be way better then the 5.9. Heck, I think even a LS would be better.
Your just so limited on aftermarket support with the 5.9 magnum engines.

 

Thanks. They put both the NV3500 and the NV3500HD (which was the "close ratio" version) in the V-8 Dakotas. Mine did come out of a Dakota but it's unfortunately not the one with the 3.49 first gear. It is tricky to power shift, but with some practice it's not too bad. For the exhaust on the 5.9, it has headers that merge into a single 3" pipe to a Y-pipe with some Flowmaster knockoffs that a local shop did for me back in 96/97.
The 6.1 flows waaaaay more air and makes waaaaay more power than the built 5.9 so I'm really looking forward to making the swap happen. I'll keep pictures and record the process as I go.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scaldeddog

Thanks. They put both the NV3500 and the NV3500HD (which was the "close ratio" version) in the V-8 Dakotas. Mine did come out of a Dakota but it's unfortunately not the one with the 3.49 first gear. It is tricky to power shift, but with some practice it's not too bad. For the exhaust on the 5.9, it has headers that merge into a single 3" pipe to a Y-pipe with some Flowmaster knockoffs that a local shop did for me back in 96/97.
The 6.1 flows waaaaay more air and makes waaaaay more power than the built 5.9 so I'm really looking forward to making the swap happen. I'll keep pictures and record the process as I go.

Look forward to your post!!
I took a 5.9 out of a 2000 ram, re-ringed the motor, etc. but its stock other then an edelbrock intake, 670 holley carb and a HEI distributor. I put a ford 8.8 rear end in it with 3.54 gears to match the front. Its no race truck, but it pulls a lot harder then the 125hp 3.9 did!!
Below are a few pictures through out the years.

 

That is a nice lookin' truck.

And yeah, I would imagine going from a 3.9 to a 5.9 was a MAJOR improvement.

 

Yep, 2 liters is almost another engine. Just shy of what is in my PT Cruiser.

 

Back in the days, I used to. Back when my truck was 2wd, with a 5.9. I think the fastest I've gotten was low 14's at above 1 mile elevation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnSUd-1VPRE

 

any updated pictures or times of this build?