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Holy cow! You've gone full monte on this thing... 392 Hemi... KMC beadlocks... I don't recall what axles you have under this?
Ha, it appears so. I think I like building more than driving...Oh, and I'm running trussed/gusseted Rubi 44s with aftermarket shafts.
So the Hemi is here....thus, the easy part is done.
I'm now in the process of sourcing all of the parts needed to complete the swap; which, based on the compiled lists from the companies that complete swaps, is extensive.
Additionally, after speaking with each of these shops in detail, I'm still undecided on which kit I'll buy for the conversion. I even thought about attempting it without one but that thought was short lived. Thus, I'm currently in a toss up between Dakota or JSS kits. More to come...
I'm still rocking the 3.6L. Plan is to get a few $ back for it so I want to ensure its good before I pull it and sell it to someone else.
I've been putting some miles on it and encountered the dreaded oil filter housing failure. So while I was in there replacing the housing, I swapped in new spark plugs.
Now, this motor is running great. So much so that I even debated if I should follow through with the Hemi swap. Nah...
As for the Hemi swap, I've been sourcing all of the OEM parts. I ordered the oil pan swap kit from America's Most Wanted out of Michigan. Great customer service from those guys. The other OEM parts I'm getting from MoparAmerica, Amazon, Ebay, etc.
For the swap kit -I went back and forth on JSS and Dakota. I actually had to be in the Bay area for work, so I drove north a bit and visited the fine folks at Jeep Speed Shop. Todd was out of town, but Tom and the other crew there were super friendly. I don't know if they normally get walk-in visitors, but they treated me so well. They showed me their shop and some of their current builds. We talked specifics on the swap and they answered all of my questions. I loved the setup and the overall vibe of their company.
As much as I wanted to buy the JSS kit, I ended up buying the Dakota kit. The kit costs were about the same, the difference for me came down to two things. The first was the airbox/intake routing. The Dakota kit is the only kit that retains the factory driver side routing for the air filter. All other kits push it to the passenger side which requires a custom, modified intake manifold. I'm not crazy about having to track down custom parts if I have problems later, so this become a factor for me.
The other deciding factor for me was the availability of detailed instructions. It's okay to laugh at this, but this is my first motor swap, so having some type of guide is a huge plus. Dan at Dakota endured my onslaught of emails and phone calls for weeks before I purchased his kit. I'm sure when we get into the swap there will be issues and questions, but at least we're starting with some general direction and not winging it the entire time. Dakota by far has the most detailed website, instructions and overall information I've seen from any of the companies offering kits.
If you're thinking about a swap, I'm certain any of the kits would work well, but at the end of all my weeks of research, Dakota fit my setup best.
The kit takes about a week to ship and it arrived in a few days later to my local shop. All of the parts are packaged well and labeled. Dakota Kit on Pallet Sneak peak at the parts!
Now, the fun part. I'm planning to start the swap next Thursday. My local shop is clearing a bay and is going to allow me to use their space, tools and their skill sets to help me complete this project. Originally, I planned to do this alone in my garage, but having an extra set of hands and professional tools should make this a lot smoother.
ya, i think those lexus v8s are light, im not certain how light but they seem to be used alot in the lighter buggys in my area. I have no idea what they are called either.
On Thursday, we spent the day at the shop removing the 3.6 motor. Between pulling the TC and removing all hoses, wiring, etc, it took about 6 hours to finally get the motor and tranny out. Day one was full of enthusiasm and excitement.
On Friday, the process was much slower.
We pulled the exhaust and did all of the prep work to the engine bay, which included flattening part of the firewall, cutting out the washer fluid tray and other various, yet time-consuming tasks. Friday was fun, but a little bit of a downer versus the major work of pulling the hard parts the day prior.
Today, I was able to spend a few quick hours and start prepping the 6.4. For my JKU, I'm able to reuse the NAG1 transmission; however, it needs the proper bellhousing to mate to the hemi. Thus, I spent the day disassembling and mixing the parts of my JKU and my Challenger trans together.
The 6.4 came on a pallet and as referenced earlier, it is HEAVY! We were able to get it onto an engine stand rated for 1/2 ton, but I swear it's bending the stand a bit. So, tomorrow, we're transferring it to a heavier duty stand and will finish the engine prep work (install headers, swap to rear sump pan, etc). We have it also supported by the hoist....just in case.
My goal was to be driving by EOD Tuesday, but we still have a long way to go. More to come later this week!
04-01-2019, 06:35 PM
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