Joined: Thu Nov 24 2005, 07:29PM
Location: So Cal.
Posts: 1111
Ok so I love driving my 300 every day but the gas mileage kills me. I have actually saved money by buying an old beater that gets 20 MPG daily, including the extra registration and insurance costs.
So a possible remedy... most on here aren't going to like.
LS-1 and 6-speed manual in the '68 300. Thoughts? Too much car for the engine? I'd need to put 4.10's or something in the rear in order for 6th gear to be useable but if I even got 15 MPG daily and 25 freeway, I'd be happy. In an F-body GM car, it'll get 17/30.
Benefits: Great daily driver material. Cheaper than a new car and cooler. No smog so I can have an easy 400+ hp and fuel injection. The LS-1 engine would drop at least 200 LBS off the weight of the car. I could turbo or supercharge it at a later date when I save up the cash. Nobody's done it yet I bet so that would be a cool factor. Plus, have I mentioned that I would love to drive this car every day?
Downsides: Cost, not being a Mopar engine (Blasphemous!), lots of work.
I think the benefits well outweigh the downsides. This is a car I bought to learn on and experiment with and push my automotive creativity even farther than I have thus far. Opinions? I think it's a great idea.
I hear you on the old-style / new-performance thing, that's exactly why my Valiant has EFI and is working towards a 5-speed trans. The old iron is just so much cooler...
If you can make the LS-X engine work in there, you can make a new Hemi work... very similar control systems. The 6-speed thing would work either way. Whatever way you decide to go, EFI and huge overdrives are where it's at. Really, a 3.23 or 3.55 would be fine out back, and would let you loaf down the road. You might have to settle for 15/25mpg due to aerodynamics & mass.
The LS-X engines are things of beauty, I don't care what brand you're loyal to. They just plain rock, and dont' break the bank doing it. The closest I've personally come to buying a new car was a 2002 Camaro, just because it was such a great package. This from a guy who's never personally owned anything but a Mopar my whole driving life.
Joined: Sat Dec 10 2005, 04:28PM
Location: United States
Posts: 4954
Find yourself a 92 Magnum pick up with the trans. Build the motor a bit, keep the EFI and the 518 or 500 trans and the pooter. That's what I did with the Polaraco. The 270's are a bit heavy, so I am going to 3.23's in the spring
Remember, in 73 Chrylser was putting 360's into a Newport standard and they hauled around pretty good. Dodge and Plymouth put 360's in and they did well. My 71F3 gets 18 around town with a new 360 and a Edel 600. The Polaraco, I am looking at 27 to 28 MPG Highway.
But don't put another manufacturers engine in there. . .You wanna be banned?
I am all for modern swaps, but for the love of all things Mopar, please keep it a Mopar engine. I hoped up 5.2 Magnum would be cool, but the 4.7 comes from the factory with 6 spd manuals and 5 spd autos in the trucks.
A 3.5 V6 with a turbo would also be interesting.
Of course a modern Hemi would be the ultimate swap!
Joined: Sun Feb 05 2006, 11:51PM
Location: Pa
Posts: 3064
Chevys are for beginners.....Mopars are for the true craftsman. Either do the Maggy/518 swap like Steve, or the Jeep 4.7 sounds interesting. I think it was in the Durango also. The Dakota 5 speed is available for the Maggy V8 & V6. Just make sure you grab the computer for the manual trans (the brain needs a signal that all is well in the automatic trans or it will go into limp-home mode!) Mopar Action magazine is working with Mopar to come out with a plug and play wiring harness for the Maggy setup....should work real well and will start drying up the Maggys in the parts yards, so grab one now!
Joined: Mon Jan 16 2006, 02:52AM
Location: Vantaa,Finland
Posts: 379
The LS1 si a great engine, no doubpt anout it. Fitting it in to the mopar C-body chassis may be a pain, since oi pan etc are aluminum, you have a lot of custom work ahead if you don't know how to weld it yourself. Exhaust of course is completely custom, as well as motor mounts and possible need os relocating things like alternator, power steering pump etc. And after that, the elcericity. But it would undoubptly be a great choice. I was actually looking at a similar style swap, but chose to go with LT1 instead, alhtough the swap is not completed yet. Unfortunately, I have to say, that compared to the chevy offerings, the magnums aren't very convincing. And they don't have a good passanger car manual with reasonable ratios to go with. Maybe a 5.7 hemi + automatic package could be better?
Joined: Thu Nov 24 2005, 07:29PM
Location: So Cal.
Posts: 1111
Today was a slow day at work so I did a lot of pondering... !nervous
Well, to keep it all Mopar, I thought of buying a complete V10 powered Dodge pickup and ripping everything off of it. Hey, if a V10 can fit into that Magazine car Challenger.... Those trucks can be picked up dirt cheap. I found a 1995 Ram 2500 V10 for $5000. Complete, running, which means it'll have almost everything I'd need for a swap. Just need to look to see how they mount, check out the oil pan shape, etc. Installing it with a T-56 would be super extra cool.
The Diesel Cummins is out, just way too heavy of an engine. A 2500 4X4 pickup weighs 8000 lbs and has the frame to handle it.
However, the V10, as well as most Mopar engines, are NOT known for their great MPG. Even with nearly half the weight of the pickup, I doubt I'll see even 20 MPG on the highway. This, and the incredible ease of getting more power out of it, is why the LS-1/T56 is so convincing. Indeed it is a great engine. The LT-1 with opti-spark was a sad mistake the day GM drew it up.
The point of putting a computer controlled engine in an old car was for me to have a daily driver with good power and MPG, not simply the cool factor. A 360 from a truck would probably not cut it, but I honestly don't know how to make power out of one, or know their capabilities, but they get 440-esque MPG with 1/2 the power anyway. (from the people I know with Durangos) I'm leaning back towards installing the LS-1/T56 into my '77 Firebird and keeping the 300 a 440 car... until I find that wrecked V10 pickup.
Unfortunately now a bad seed has been planted into my head and I'd love to show up at a show with the world's only V10 powered C-body. (that I know of)
Joined: Sun Oct 22 2006, 09:26PM
Location: San Antonio
Posts: 74
A Chevy in one of Ma Mopars finest!?! I think I'm gonna hurl Blasphemy!! What's your address, I'm sending over the Karma Police !police . I'd go 360 magnum w/ the factory o.d. trans. That oughta cure what ailing ya. If you want to create your own atmosphere give the Supercharger Store a ring, the specialize in mopes (although they do make kits for brand X stuff too). If you are feeling really randy, put a Viper 6 behind the magnum, or a Gear Vendors unit on the back of a 727, that oughta give you some serious o.d.! And its still all MOPAR. !thumb There you have it, my work here is done...