Any interesting engine swaps in a 2nd gen?
 

I am super tired of how gutless my 318 is... and there's no way I am going to shove $4k into it or a 360 just to have a 350hp engine... so I was wondering what would be a fun swap to throw in one of these pickups. Obviously the first thing that came to mind was the 5.7L hemis, but there is such a huge lack of support for them that it's not worth the headache. Plus, the only one I've seen done was the one on this board that never ended up being finished due to tons of technical problems. I was considering a LS series engine, something along the lines of a 5.3 vortec. I am sure I am missing a few possibilities, but those two struck me as the "easiest" possibilities. Has anybody done any swaps like this before? I was thinking cummins, but diesel parts are too expensive and so is the diesel aftermarket world. Just curious about what people have done with these trucks, swap wise. Yeah, I know it'll be a lot of fabrication and such. I've done similar swaps in OLDER cars.



...also, yes... I realize how much of a tard this makes me sound for asking this, I was just curious haha.

440 Big Block?

That would be mean, but a tight fit I'd imagine. I'd definitely need to mount the engine forward a fair bit to clear the lip that the hood seals on.

I would just go with a modded 360. The sound of the magnum motor is one of the things that drew me to dodge.

I just can't get past the fact that it's so expensive to get serious power out of these engines. On top of that, they are not meant for high performance. The only small block mopar engines that were setup to actually be "high output" were the 340ci LA's.

i think i would second the 440 idea. i like the sound of a big block and they make lots of power.

^^^ I want one.

These trucks aren't gutless, far from it in fact. Maybe you have a dud

408 Stroker ftw!

Stroke the 318 to a 390, you can get a Challenger with a 392 so I don't think that's too bad ;) and you could also buy a performance 360 Magnum from Jegs I believe. Those pack some serious power as well