I have the chance to buy a pretty nice-looking 2004 4x4 Dakota with the 3.7 engine for $1200 from a neighbor down the road. It has a slight miss at all RPM's and I do not know what repair attempts have been made at this point, so knowing the track record of these engines I am assuming the worse, which could entail an engine replacement.
I own an almost-complete 2003 Dakota parts truck with a rebuilt 3.9 that has front corner damage and was totaled. Everything under the hood including the computers and wiring are still there, and the engine starts up and runs fine. The transmission is assumed not working; besides, it's a 2wd truck so the tranny wouldn't work in the '04 anyway.
Knowing the less than great reputation of the 3.7 and 4.7 engines, is there any feasible way to swap the 3.9 into the 2004? If so, information from someone who has actually done this job would be greatly appreciated. I have 246,000 miles on my '98 3.9 truck and if I could get this one cheap enough it would be nice to upgrade and keep the reliability of a 3.9.