LS swap ?

[GiantRobo]

Becareful because alot of the so called purists/archeologists/barret jackson experts that sold their hemi cudas and superbirds for 500 dollars back in the day to get a dodge caravan first gen and now own four door Aries k car or c body car are gonna be pissed !! Be ready for that lol

Here's the deal... I'm one of those purists. I never owned a Hemi 'cuda. (I wish!) I owned a 65 Coronet (383) for 20 years and eventually sold it to get my dream car: a 68 Charger. But it's not a real R/T, BB car - just a 318 swapped for a 440 stroker. And I blame Barrett Jackson on the ridiculous prices those cars now demand, so no love for car auctions here!

No I'm also not blind that there's differences in performance, expense of a build, etc. But for me personally, GM guys could give a rip about Mopars. I've had paint mixer monkeys at Home Depot accost me because I was wearing a Mopar shirt (telling me the rust repair stuff was in aisle blah, blah, blah.) Guys at Trader Joe's ripping into the kid at the register because he liked my Mopar jacket. Announcers at drag races blurting out Mopar engines were fragile, after one donated - purely ignorant that Chrysler cast high nickel content blocks that were more stout than the other big two.
Mopars got the short end of the stick for _decades_ from the other guys. I don't know your age, but I can still remember when NO non-Mopar magazine (Hot Rod, Car Craft, etc.) would soil their pages with a Mopar... It was all "hey, which SBC project are we doing today?" with the occasional Ford.
So why on earth should I support that?!? Putting a GM drivetrain into a classic Mopar?!?

Now Mopars are "in" because the other guys finally realized they're cool. Yet they still want to stick their own stuff in it. Because building a Mopar is "expensive" and "hard". To quote a friend who called out his car buds for only doing Chevies, to which they said it was half the price: "oh, so you're just cheap?!?"

There are millions of 3rd gen Hemis out there now (in junk yard trucks, cars, and as crate engines), and a ton of parts and information to do the swap (wiring harnesses, computers, etc.) Heck, I even bookmarked a great blow-by-blow 3rd gen into 65 Coronet (before I sold my car.)

But you do you - just know that when you're done you'll have a car that will piss off Mopar guys, maybe even GM guys, and be worth less than the same car with a proper Mopar drivetrain.

 

[Kern Dog]

There are so many options for drive train upgrades these days be it a LS in a GM product, Coyote in a Furd, or modern Hemi in our beloved Mopars. All are tried and true and there is no reason to cross the lines unless you want to be ridiculed or listening to buddys that only go one way....

There is a member at DodgeCharger.com that was talking about his FORD powered Superbird clone.
What a dork!

 

[JackR]

The old school street rods didn't come from the factory with anything with decent power to begin with,so any V8 engine is an upgrade for them,such is not the case with a Road Runner. There are plenty of mopar engine options to put in a Road Runner,both modern and old school. Let him do it,the Chevy guys will think he's a douche for using an engine that belongs in a GM car,the Mopar guys will think he's a douche for ruining a Mopar,and the LS engine is a homely looking sum bitch.

they really are ugly. Buddy is doing a new Hemi swap into his 70 cuda. That one looks great.

 

[moparsaver]

*runs and hides till the pitch forks and torches go away*

 

[Purepony]

I’ll reply since you had highlighted my comment

*I’m not sure how to highlight or reply to each so sorry for the long read*

Here's the deal... I'm one of those purists. I never owned a Hemi 'cuda. (I wish!) I owned a 65 Coronet (383) for 20 years and eventually sold it to get my dream car: a 68 Charger. But it's not a real R/T, BB car - just a 318 swapped for a 440 stroker. And I blame Barrett Jackson on the ridiculous prices those cars now demand, so no love for car auctions here! (Great car even the 318 is bad to the bone and I agree the barret jack clowns messed it up for everyone)



No I'm also not blind that there's differences in performance, expense of a build, etc. But for me personally, GM guys could give a rip about Mopars. I've had paint mixer monkeys at Home Depot accost me because I was wearing a Mopar shirt (telling me the rust repair stuff was in aisle blah, blah, blah.) Guys at Trader Joe's ripping into the kid at the register because he liked my Mopar jacket. Announcers at drag races blurting out Mopar engines were fragile, after one donated - purely ignorant that Chrysler cast high nickel content blocks that were more stout than the other big two.

Mopars got the short end of the stick for _decades_ from the other guys. I don't know your age, but I can still remember when NO non-Mopar magazine (Hot Rod, Car Craft, etc.) would soil their pages with a Mopar... It was all "hey, which SBC project are we doing today?" with the occasional Ford.

So why on earth should I support that?!? Putting a GM drivetrain into a classic Mopar?!?



(That’s going to happen with any car brand whether it be European, domestic, Asian etc, it happens here every single day but the mopar guys do go over board sometimes too and I’ve even considered the same swap because me personally I’ve been around ls engines longer then I have around hemi motors and I’ve done three ls swaps, had no drive ability issues and let’s face it I can get parts anywhere. The aftermarket support is readily available oh and op wasn’t asking you to support this project, he was merely asking if anyone’s done it or for tips on doing it then everyone started bashing in the same spirit of the guys you mentioned about at Home Depot )



Now Mopars are "in" because the other guys finally realized they're cool. Yet they still want to stick their own stuff in it. Because building a Mopar is "expensive" and "hard". To quote a friend who called out his car buds for only doing Chevies, to which they said it was half the price: "oh, so you're just cheap?!?"



(In some cases easier to work on too and reliability to 300k plus miles but at this point all brands are now expensive compared to before. )



There are millions of 3rd gen Hemis out there now (in junk yard trucks, cars, and as crate engines), and a ton of parts and information to do the swap (wiring harnesses, computers, etc.) Heck, I even bookmarked a great blow-by-blow 3rd gen into 65 Coronet (before I sold my car.)



(The cost is still almost double compared to a hemi plus any additional parts or issues since the aftermarket support is not there yet)



But you do you - just know that when you're done you'll have a car that will piss off Mopar guys, maybe even GM guys, and be worth less than the same car with a proper Mopar drivetrain.



(Agreed if that’s what he wants and can pull it off good for him, he has my support even though he hasn’t checked in after he created this thread lol thanks op, I hope it’s not a troll)



I don’t think mopar people or Chevy people will agree across the board regardless of the car, the brand, the mods etc but I think that the vision is the same, to save a 50 plus year old car and keep it on the road going.

 

[Kern Dog]

I usually place members on ignore for a number of reasons….one is when their writing skills match the stylings of a 14 year old girl texting her friends. Trying to sift through garbage is a waste of my time. I’m ready to add yet another member to the ignore pile.

 

[Purepony]

I usually place members on ignore for a number of reasons….one is when their writing skills match the stylings of a 14 year old girl texting her friends. Trying to sift through garbage is a waste of my time. I’m ready to add yet another member to the ignore pile.

Good for you but no one cares!

I ignore bipolar members who pick arguments with everyone on a daily basis then apologize a few threads later but never learn.

You should relax more , enjoy life and take it easy. This is a hobby for most people not some power trip alter ego fantasy like it is for you.

 

[Kern Dog]

I ignore bipolar members who pick arguments with everyone on a daily basis then apologize a few threads later but never learn.

This is good advice. I would suggest that others consider it as well.

 

[Purepony]

This is good advice. I would suggest that others consider it as well.

No need to get anyone else involved you know that was strictly for you. You attacked the op and then apologized but your forgot just like you forgot to add me to your ignore list.

Anyways I’m done with this. Have a good night and take care.

 

[mountain33]

At least he's not asking about converting to electric

 

[chargervert]

Maybe they can put his transgendered Mopar on a Bud Light can! Lol

 

[T2R9]

No Mopar regardless of what was done to it deserves to be on a Bud Light can!

 

[chargervert]

Okay maybe I was a little harsh on him?

 

[DeltaV]

Somebody said LS?

 

[RemCharger]

Maybe they can put his transgendered Mopar on a Bud Light can! Lol

No Mopar regardless of what was done to it deserves to be on a Bud Light can!

Great talking points!
The resolution of course would be to put an LS engine on the bud light can.

 

[khryslerkid]

This thread reminds me of ...

 

[ed-shot500]

I am convinced people come on here and say this crap just to get poke the bear and create chaos. I doubt the OP even has a RR of any year but if he does, well sell it or trade it for a G2/3 Camaro, firebird, trans am, etc.

Ya but I do though, and I'm open to anything really. Not specifically just an LS I'm also looking into a 5.7 hemi swap as well since it's apparently much easier. All I want is better driveability I realized I phrased the question wrong lol. And apparently kicked a hornets nest apologies.

 

[ed-shot500]

I'll close out my contribution to this topic with this:
Maybe, maybe the OP is just without guidance and is going by the advice of other guys....guys that have zero allegiance to Ma Mopar.
I'm not forgiving him, just trying to point out what may be the case with him.
We have all read from the newbie that joins the forum and asks "Who sells the cheapest coil over front suspension?"
I'm at the point where I can interpret the background of the newbie with fairly good accuracy. They are usually new to Mopars and have never driven one with a properly rebuilt and upgraded stock based suspension and steering. They drive theirs and the alignment is off, the previous owner swapped a big block into a slant six or 318 car with pencil thin torsion bars and no sway bar so it leans hard into turns. The newbie thinks the whole Mopar suspension system is worthless and after reading the magazine ads from RMS, Magnum Force, Hemi Denny and QA 1, they are convinced that the new stuff MUST be better than this antiquated torsion bar system.
The OP has probably heard some stories about $400 LS swaps and with his limited funds, thinks this is the answer.
I hope for his sake that he pays attention to the members on this forum that are trying to help. It isn't that we LIVE for giving people a hard time, it is that when a topic comes up that is so clearly against what makes sense to us, we have to respond.
What makes building these cars within a budget possible is networking with other Mopar guys. Make friends and you might hear of some guy selling off something you can use.
I bought "Jigsaw" for $5000. I have about $5000 of my own money in after the purchase price. Almost everything in this car is used stuff from other projects.

View attachment 1498059
It runs and drives, has 12" front disc, 10" rear drums and if I wanted to sell it, I could probably get over $20,000 from a handful of eager buyers.
THIS was possible because I have friends with parts, I made friends on this forum who helped guide me on repair ideas...ElDubb 440 for one, 1WildR/T for another. These two guys along with a few others have stepped up to spend their time providing me with FREE advice that was worth thousands of dollars to me. I am thankful for their help along with THIS forum for being a fantastic source to help people and to share great ideas.
I so wish the OP luck...I was somewhat snarkey with my comments earlier. I was just pissed at the time.

View attachment 1498061

So you've actually hit the nail on the head here I really have no clue what I'm doing honestly or how to go about doing it. I grew up a Ford guy as that's what my grand father always had. (Was never close to my dad) but recently (without going into too much detail) in the past 15years or so we've been working on our relationship. (He's the Mopar purist and the one who found the car for me in the first place) and I really bought the car for him so we could do a father son project even though I'm in my mid 30s (better late than never) and I will always keep the car so I'm trying to give it as much streetability as I can so I can drive it for the long haul. But so far the only thing I've learned about B bodies and Mopars in general Is that
A. Body panels are expensive as sh** and almost impossible to find yet A body stuff is plentiful and has reproduction stuff made for it.
B. The stock steering is garbage.
C. The stock brakes are garbage (going to swap the rear end to a disc brake one)

 

[Kern Dog]

One thing that may come as a surprise is that MOST old cars were NOT muscle cars. There are some people that fondly remember the past but often remember it WRONG. The overwhelming majority of old cars were just everyday transportation just like today's cars. The legendary ones were out there but in no way were they the majority. Most were six cylinder or small V8 cars that were easy to drive and to maintain. There were fewer cars on the road so the brakes were not as good as they are on today's cars.
Taking even a Road Runner and bringing it up to legendary status is certainly possible but my suggestion is to follow what the factory did for the performance models of that time. Sad to admit, the 318 was the base engine for some Road Runners from 1973 to the end. It really was a matter of selling an image at that point. Stripes, scoops, fancier wheels and the name, Road Runner. The 1973 could not keep up with a '68 to 70 383 Road Runner but in 1973, the Chevrolet Camaro Z28 had a weak 350. The Mustang was slower than before, most of the American car market was stepping away from high performance for several reasons, one of them being high insurance rates for anything of 350 cubic inches or larger engines.
Your car will drive far better with larger torsion bars, a good set of Bilstein shocks, sway bars and urethane bushings. That Borgeson steering unit is the best that you can get that retains some original structure to the car. Those aftermarket coil over suspensions are a step back in terms of durability. They aren't really anything new either. They are based on a design FORD used in the 1971 Ford Pinto and later the 1974 Mustang II. They were not designed for a 3700 lb car but they have been modified a bit to fit them. They will cost about double what you'd spend to rebuild your current setup with some worthy upgrades.
If you really do want advice and are willing to consider some suggestions from some well intentioned people, this forum can really be a great asset to you. Many of us never had kids so helping out a young guy is sort of a new thing for some of us. We will make some mistakes just like some do with parenting the first time. Please understand that we just want to help you avoid what WE think are mistakes, wastes of money, etc.

 

[70chall440]

Ya but I do though, and I'm open to anything really. Not specifically just an LS I'm also looking into a 5.7 hemi swap as well since it's apparently much easier. All I want is better driveability I realized I phrased the question wrong lol. And apparently kicked a hornets nest apologies.

And my apologies for going all postal...

Back in 79 or so I had a gun metal grey 318 3 spd 74 RR which I painted yellow and put in a 340 and a 4 spd. That car was/is awesome (is still running around today, a friend send me a pic of at a car show last year).

There is no doubt that stock suspension and stock drive trains are lacking, usually because they are old and worn out. In "like new" condition they are not bad at all, however they were never known for their handling or braking (none of the American Muscle cars were really, some were better than others but not by a lot).

You have options, you do not necessarily need to go G3 Hemi although that is an excellent (albeit not cheap) path. Literally you can take any of the period engines, put a roller cam in it, aluminum heads, good quality components, EFI, Dual sync distributor, good controller like Holley HP system on it and you will have modern drivability/reliability.

Next you need to rebuild the suspension completely using good quality stuff, stiffen up the overall body, apply some more modern components like adjustable struts, tubular upper control arms, big sway bars and really good shocks and that car will handle.

Rebuild the stock brakes using good parts or install an after market brake kit from Wilwood, Baer, etc. and the car will stop.

At this point you pretty much have a new car that is fun to drive, reliable and safe.