Is there somewhere online i can see what the rating on horse power for all 3 motors? I am looking at (maybe) a 85 and a 88 with v6,is the 85 a slant 6 and the 88 a 3.9? Is the 88 fuel injection? thanks

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Ram

 

I'd still get the slant 6. I don't even know if I could provide you with any sort of reasoning behind it. But I'd get the leaning tower of power.

 

try finding parts for a 88 3.9. also i would go with the slant six for the sure fact of if i ever wanted to get a v8 it would drop in unlike that 3.9L truck. a v8 won't drop into a truck that had a 3.9 without modification.

 

I thought that the 3.9 was used in the Dakota's. Why is parts hard to find?

 

my old man had a 84 d100 with the slant 6,i remember looking it up,it only had 90 hp. the older mid 60's slant 6 225 i think had like 200 hp.

 

Part of the difference between the ratings of the 60s and 80s is the switch from gross to net horsepower ratings. The 60s motors would still have been more powerful than in the smog era, but not by that much. A gross rating of 200hp would probably translate into low 100s net.

I think the reason that TBI v6 parts are hard to find is because they had such limited production. They only introduced the v6 in 1988, and they redesigned it into the magnum in 1992. On top of that it was only offered in trucks and vans. Of course, most people opted for a v8 anyway. With a TBI v8, most of the mechanical parts can interchange with the earlier carburated engines. Also, you can find a slant 6 in pretty much anything mother mopar made from the 60s to the 80s.

 

The leaning tower of power was never rated at 200 HP. The hyper pak was only around 170 or so and it was a hot little /6.