I'm not sure what to put this under, as the motor is first gen but the truck it's going in is second gen But jokingness aside. I have a '98 Dakota, ext cab shortbed 4x4 V8, & I love it. However the motor does burn oil, & has just turned over 150K.... I also have a '95, same truck just three years older. Has 157K BUT motor doesn't burn oil or anything. I NEED cash, so I was thinking about pulling the motor/transfer case (tranny is junk) & scrapping the rest of the truck.. I figured I could put a little elbow grease in the motor, slap it in my '98 & have a badass little 318.... My requirements?
- I don't want it to tear out trannys.
-Regular pump gas, 91 octane or less.
-I'm not putting 2K into a motor, that's going into a truck I have 1200 in.
-I'd rather not have to boar it, or machine anything for that matter....
I'm sure you all understand what I'm going for. I've found a rebuild kit (pistons, seals, etc..) for 350$ on Craigslist, new in box. Yeah? No? I've heard people suggest I put 340 heads & crank on it, what would that do for me power wise? I will be running headers on it, shorty headers, & a full 2.5-3" exhaust no cats but dual mufflers out the back.

 

Hi Chris. Welcome.

What is your actual budget for this project???

Have you tried to find out why your '98 is burning oil? It may be the plenum gasket, it's a common problem.

On the '95, if you're going to take it apart, rebuild it right. That means some machining - usually. Check the crank, if it needs to be ground, do it. You may need to have the cylinders bored if they're badly worn. Maybe you can get by with just honing it and putting in a new set of rings.

Otherwise forget the "rebuild" kit, just pick up a gasket set.

Until you get into it you don't know what it will need OR what it will cost.

 

I don't really know why it's burning oil. I do however know it is the last cylinder on the passenger side, by looking at spark plugs. The only diagnosis I've had is a halfass one from my boss, saying either the cylinder got hot & burnt up a ring or they've managed to aline themselves & the oil is passing the rings.

As for a budget I won't have much cash flow until next summer.THEN, I can dump some cash into it. However I'd like to at least get the motor on an engine stand & see what I'm working with.... Still my real question is what would the 340 heads & crank do for it. Because I don't think I'd feel bad slapping those on, headers, & waiting until the summer to put it in the truck... I do know I'd love to get some Hemi orange paint on the block!

 

If you price 340 heads I think you'll find out that they aren't exactly cheap. You WILL have to shave the head or change the pistons as they'll lower the compression.

Consider the 360 heads, same problem with the compression but they should be cheaper.

For the crank, they have the same stroke/journal diameters. The difference MAY be in the 340 crank being forged (might have been swapped already) versus the 318 being cast. You WILL have to rebalance the engine if you do this swap.

 

Ahh, you've got a point there... Suppose I could pull the motor, get it ready for winter & put it in storage.... Collect the general parts until I figure out which direction I truly want to go.

In the end I think I'd like to run a set of shorty headers, probably a set of Flowtechs.

& I thought the K&N air filter would look sexy to top it off with

 

If I was to have it bored say .030 could I add a mild cam & some good quality heads, bigger intake, & headers what do you think that'd do for me power wise?

 

Get a R/R short block and go from there.

http://www.mabbcomotors.com/catalog/...d_Warranty/188

 

thats really, really cheap for a short block... I'd be curious to know what brand internals they use....

even the 360 long block Is bothersome cheap...

I'd rather get the 360 short block and put hughes heads and an M1 manifold on it...

Me personally, I'd still rather take a junkyard block, take it to reher-morrison, and have them machine it for a 408 with Scat internals, hughes heads, and M1 manifold....

A Mopar 360 prepped block is $3000....I bet it would be cheaper to grab a stock block ($1K) and have it bored/honed to 30 over ($500), Scat 408 kit is ~$2000, and hughes heads/M1 intake regardless.

JY 408- $1,000 motor + $500 bore + $2000 rotating assembly + $250 cam + $400 heads + $300 intake = $4450

MABBCO 360 long block- $1,250 + $300 intake = $1,550

MABBCO 360 short block, M1, hughes heads- $765 + $400 heads + $300 intake = $1,465

hmmmmmmm

What do you trust more, unknown internals or a stock block bored out?

 

I think what I'll end up doing is pulling the motor & letting it sit... What I may do to it is the headers like I said, an electric fan, air intake & other little odds & ends... I can't see putting that much money into a motor, myself. What five speed transmissions will bolt up to this without any adapters?

 

i would venture a guess as the NV3500 manual trans.