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Long story short my truck is no showpiece and already far from original so ive been thinking about a repower. I would like a diesel but there way overpriced right now, was considering 5.3 or 6.0 chevy until a friend just stopped by and mentioned a parts truck he just got with a Ford 460 and a manual trans......
So... more motor than I need but im told the price will be right, anyone done this? thought I read about a big block somewhere on here or SS. Im basically wondering if the cheap engine will end up costing more than a 5.3 or 6.0 in the long run, I dont know anything about Ford engines and assume its carbed which im assuming can be made to work but the original dodge carb seems to work better than most other carbs off road so im not sure about wanting a carb.
Thanks for any info.

Re-Powering all depends on your intended use. The stock axles could be broken with the stock 230 cu.in L-Head 6's, so adding massive power is likely asking for very cautious driving or lots of carnage.

The other thing is under hood rel-estate and drive line room. A small block MoPar is a snug fit, so any big block is going to be a challenge.

right now its tooling around town and mild off roading, Im aware of the axle shaft issues and should have mentioned that in my first post because part of the chevy engine swap interest stemmed from figuring id need to upgrade axles and transfer case at some point.
My biggest issue is trying to keep the truck on the road, my MO is to go all in on a project and never finish it, so far this truck has not gone that route, if I go for a full drivetrain swap all at once it may not get done so I was going to try and upgrade as I break.
I dont know fords, are they the odd duck on transfer cases? Chevy and Dodge both driver drop and ford passenger or vise versa? I think my biggest worry would be cost/difficulty of upgrading the rest of the drivetrain around this engine versus a more expensive engine but better compatability of future parts?
Hope this makes sense.

Search the Builders Blog for a thread Project- Old Guard - by Master Yota. He did the big block in his truck, and swapped out the rest of the running gear. His posts might give you some insight regarding getting the engine into the truck. When I saw it several years ago, it was a tight fit. He might jump in here too, as he does check in with us now and again.

Jess

Thats it!
Thanks

Well after reading that thread and talking to a mechanic friend im not liking the big block idea, WA Watson, did you choose a Dodge engine because its a Dodge or are there some advantages over 5.3/6.0 chevys?
thanks for all the info

I went with Dodge, yes because it's a Dodge Truck. Also because of the work that others like Ray had done in the conversion kits.

The Gov.Mtrs. Engines are cheap and readily available and been done my many in many kinds of vehicles. I even run one of the GM 350 TBI units in my MoPar V-8 powered M37.

I grew up on Dodge/MoPar and have always been an anti big guy, so GM is kind of a last resort. I started out with a Holley TBI, but it crapped out and not being in the mind to dump a lot of money to replace it I chose an Affordable Fuel Injection System (http://www.affordable-fuel-injection.co ... -33-1.html) as my solution.

Again it's up to the owner to chose how He/She enjoys their vehicle. We all go our own path, and sometimes back track as we learn our error. Many of us share those errors in hopes to help guide others down their path. You will find many here and on the PWA site who will help you through your journey.

I may have to look at something like that as the 350CFM Holley is good but not a terribly efficient fuel system and can be a fair dog when the outside air temp is cool and humidity high. To find a Magnum engine here you are looking at big $($5K if you're lucky), to do a Motec conversion is Big $($3K), to transplant a Diesel is Bigger $ ($10K+ for an engine) so to rebuild my spare engine and retrofit it with fuel injection from a wreck will most likely be the go. I am currently hunting for the Magnum manifold and injection system from a dead engine (or a dead engine to rebuild), not hurrying though, the current engine, although getting a tad oil hungry, still goes well so it is a long term thing to replace it....

MM

so how are the newer 5.9 with stock fuel injection? saw a 2000 5.9 Durango on craigs for $800, got me thinking about that versus an aftermarket injection system

I believe 97 was the optimum year for a modern factory fuel injection swap. Post either 98 or 99 there were too many other items from the truck tied into the ECU to make the swap easy.

mine has a ford 300 6 in it w/an auto tranny and the factory drive shafts were utilized.