12v swap
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12v swap
Im sure this may have been asked a few times but im curious. I have a 97 Ram 1500. The body on it is immaculate. (due to the time and money Ive put in to it.) Would I be able to swap in a 12v and a 6 speed? I know with a 24v id be better off buying one thats already diesel, but would this be the case on a 12v?
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Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Clayton MI
Change the engine, trans, transfer case, do something about the driveshafts. (different length, different size u-joints.) Swap out the PCM for the diesel/manual trans combo.... Then, figure out how to run the speedometer. 94-97 NV241 t-case should do it.
Then, you need heavier springs in front. (springs from your engine donor?)
Of course, you are NOT going to increase your tow rating that way. You will still be limited by your brakes. Only real way to upgrade those, is swap axles..... but, at that point, you would probably come out cheaper just doing the body work on a diesel truck.
Lots of threads about this around. A fair few have talked about it, very few have actually done it. One guy did a 4bt swap..... (same as the 5.9, just two less cylinders.)
Then, you need heavier springs in front. (springs from your engine donor?)
Of course, you are NOT going to increase your tow rating that way. You will still be limited by your brakes. Only real way to upgrade those, is swap axles..... but, at that point, you would probably come out cheaper just doing the body work on a diesel truck.
Lots of threads about this around. A fair few have talked about it, very few have actually done it. One guy did a 4bt swap..... (same as the 5.9, just two less cylinders.)
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Yeah, I was told that on the 12v theres not too much wiring. Its probably not worth it. I think I'll end up giving up on this rig and getting a diesel. If I could just find a rusty reg cab long box to put all my good parts on. Plus everyone in my area thinks that if its a cummins its worth $30k minumum
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Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Clayton MI
LOLOL. Ain't that the truth. If it says 'cummins' on the door, the price is in five digits even if the thing is a rustbucket that doesn't run, and you can see the ground between the drivers feet......
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Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Clayton MI
Oh yeah, the 360 is quite capable of producing some serious numbers, not cheap though. Of course, horsepower is never cheap......
If you haven't fixed your plenum yet, start with that. Or, just replace the intake with the Hughes air gap, or Mopar M1 two barrel. (about 600 bucks either way.)
Headers. Shorties actually are better for low-end torque, as opposed to long-tubes. I suspect that is due to primary tube size, as the only "reasonably" priced long tubes are the pacesetters.... and they are 1 7/8ths? I think. There are some better quality headers, but, again, north of 500 bucks for a set. (pacesetters are two and some change.)
Timing set. Your chain is probably stretched to hell and back. Even on my stock motor, JUST changing the timing set was a noticeable difference. Go with a good quality double roller set. Skip the morse style chains.... Very prone to stretching. (stock chain is morse style.)
Better injectors. Even new/rebuilt/recondition stock injectors will be an improvement over your high mileage stockers.
Heads: EQ Iron Ram heads. Available with 2.02 intake valves, but, for a torque motor, stick with stock size valves. These guys flow better, and are better castings than stock. Stock heads are thin deck castings, that are quite prone to cracking. If you take them off, for any reason, just replace them. They simply aren't worth spending ANY money on.
Cam..... pretty much anything would be better than stock. Get something that gives you low end power..... Big horsepower numbers look good, but, tend to show up in the upper RPM ranges, which is pretty much useless for a truck. Be sure the rest of your valvetrain is up to snuff for the cam... Don't get a reground cam either. They have smaller base circles, and make geometry fun.
Roller rockers. JUST changing the rockers on your stock motor to the Harland sharp 1.7 ratio (stock is 1.6) is good for 10hp/tq. If you do a cam, stick with the stock ratio, but, still go with the full rollers. Less frictional power loss. Adjustables would be good here, but, not absolutely required. (adjustable would require screw in studs, etc, and would likely require some machine work on the heads.)
Throttle body. Not necessarily a larger one, but, a modded one, that has been smoothed, and punched out to 50mm.
And then, of course, you need a trans that will survive behind it. And, a torque converter with the proper stall speed.
Or, if you REALLY want to beat the snot out of your wallet, do a 408 build. There are a couple thread on that here as well. There is one currently running in the General Discussion section. 
If you haven't fixed your plenum yet, start with that. Or, just replace the intake with the Hughes air gap, or Mopar M1 two barrel. (about 600 bucks either way.)
Headers. Shorties actually are better for low-end torque, as opposed to long-tubes. I suspect that is due to primary tube size, as the only "reasonably" priced long tubes are the pacesetters.... and they are 1 7/8ths? I think. There are some better quality headers, but, again, north of 500 bucks for a set. (pacesetters are two and some change.)
Timing set. Your chain is probably stretched to hell and back. Even on my stock motor, JUST changing the timing set was a noticeable difference. Go with a good quality double roller set. Skip the morse style chains.... Very prone to stretching. (stock chain is morse style.)
Better injectors. Even new/rebuilt/recondition stock injectors will be an improvement over your high mileage stockers.
Heads: EQ Iron Ram heads. Available with 2.02 intake valves, but, for a torque motor, stick with stock size valves. These guys flow better, and are better castings than stock. Stock heads are thin deck castings, that are quite prone to cracking. If you take them off, for any reason, just replace them. They simply aren't worth spending ANY money on.
Cam..... pretty much anything would be better than stock.
Get something that gives you low end power..... Big horsepower numbers look good, but, tend to show up in the upper RPM ranges, which is pretty much useless for a truck. Be sure the rest of your valvetrain is up to snuff for the cam... Don't get a reground cam either. They have smaller base circles, and make geometry fun.Roller rockers. JUST changing the rockers on your stock motor to the Harland sharp 1.7 ratio (stock is 1.6) is good for 10hp/tq. If you do a cam, stick with the stock ratio, but, still go with the full rollers. Less frictional power loss. Adjustables would be good here, but, not absolutely required. (adjustable would require screw in studs, etc, and would likely require some machine work on the heads.)
Throttle body. Not necessarily a larger one, but, a modded one, that has been smoothed, and punched out to 50mm.
And then, of course, you need a trans that will survive behind it.
And, a torque converter with the proper stall speed. Or, if you REALLY want to beat the snot out of your wallet, do a 408 build.
There are a couple thread on that here as well. There is one currently running in the General Discussion section.
Captain
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 586
Likes: 17
From: Nevada
Don't get them started on my thread. It might scare them clean away from dodges. Lol
On a more serious note, HeyYou is giving a lot of good info. If you look through my thread (408 build, needing a second mortgage) most of the parts I've used would also work well for a strong 360. There are also part numbers in there for research if your interested.
On a more serious note, HeyYou is giving a lot of good info. If you look through my thread (408 build, needing a second mortgage) most of the parts I've used would also work well for a strong 360. There are also part numbers in there for research if your interested.