Hey im new to this forum and i have a few questions. I have a 99 dodge ram 2500 with a 5.9 v8. this truck was supposed to be my first project truck, and supposed to be my first vehicle. i rebuilt the front end only to find out afterwards while trying to get it aligned that the truck has been in a major collision which left the frame bent and all sorts of messed up.

anyways, i have a buddy who has an 85 dodge truck (also, both trucks are 2wd) which is clean except that the engine in it need parts. so i was thinking id get his truck and just swap out the engine and trans for the one in my 99.

my question is, would this be possible, if so do i need any parts.

 

It would be cheaper and easier to have the frame straightened. Any major body shop with a good frame machine can fix it.

 

well its acordianed, would that still work? sorry im learning as i go with this

 

to do the swap you would have to completely swap all the electrical and wiring into the 85 which could be a nightmare if you are not electrically inclined but i can see many advantages like being able to get a tuner for it.

 

well the good part about this situation is taht i have a VERY good friends ive known for 10 years who tears apart and rebuilds all types of vehicles. he does know how to redo all the wiring. so we do have the knowledge to rebuild the truck, but we just dont know for sure if it can be done with the engine and if the 99 engine will fit properly

 

when i say complete rewire i mean everything. you are going to even have to even rewire everything in the cab. you will even have to use the instrument cluster out of the newer truck because by 99 everything has pretty much become electrical. otherwise i think it should pretty much bolt in. might need a spacer made for the motor mount brackets but that is about it. transmission may or may not bolt in. you will most likely have to get a shorter drive shaft if you use the trans out of the 99 since the overdrive transmissions are longer.
this guy went carbed
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/1st-gen...87-w150-2.html

 

"well its acordianed, would that still work? sorry im learning as i go with this"

I would take it to the frame shop and ask them that question. It shouldn't cost anything for them to look at it.

To answer the original question. Any change over is possible but some aren't worth the effort. Changing from a 99 3/4 ton to an 85 1/2 ton doesn't make much sense to me unless you just want to do it to know you did it.