5.7 Hemi swap on the cheap Tips and tricks inside.

Ok guys I am doing loads of research for my Hemi build and I figured I would post up my experiences to help some guys make this swap in their cars a bit easier. I am not finished so this thread will get updated as time goes on with new information bu tI will try and post everything I have found so far to help as much as I can.

Parts break down:
03 5.7 hemi thrown rod bad crank $450 (friend doing stroker in 06 magnum swaped out for good shortblock)

03 Truck Harness (donated by 5.7Hemi Again thank you) Harness' can be had for 250-450 on ebay

04 Hemi Manual trans computer (truck) $100 (junk yard)

05 and Up car exhaust manifolds should work($50 per side from dodge) or BBK Shorty headers $299

Motor mounts ( Fabbed up my own) $30 bucks of steel and 2 mounts from Napa @ $8.99 for 67-70 pancake mounts

A-833OD with 318-360 bellhousing $550 local purchase

Stock Mopar high torque starter (small body) $159 (Napa no core)

Drive by wire Pedal out of a 3.5 Charger (Junk Yard find) $25

I will post my modifications to the stock wiring harness in detail when I get that finished

There are several forums that deal with the LX/LC side of the new hemi that you can get several Take off parts from like manifolds, rotating assemblies for motors with spun bearings, Timing covers, etc etc.

I highly recommend doing as much of the work yourself as most of this swap is the labor and leg work to get things to work together. I plan on being under 4g when all is said and done and for the most part the ebay engines are 2-4g soooo will I make this a financial good buy I hope so and with the lack of real good info that is freely availible I hope this will help some guys.

Also other members who have done this swap feel free to add to this thread with what parts ahve worked for you and where you feel you scored the best prices.

I for one will be looking forward to your progress

I'll be watching this thread as well!

what are your plans for an oil pan? The truck and car pans will not work. I scored a durango pan that looks like it might work with slight modification. I also have jeep cherokee manifolds that look like they might clear as well. I am going to see if I can squeeze the pacesetter longtube headers that I have from my old truck in there. And see what mods they might need to work. They should have good ground clearance, as they don't hang below the stock truck oilpan. And they will fit inside the factory framerails. I'll keep you posted.

What are you doing for a flywheel, clutch and release bearing?

what are your plans for an oil pan? The truck and car pans will not work. I scored a durango pan that looks like it might work with slight modification. I also have jeep cherokee manifolds that look like they might clear as well. I am going to see if I can squeeze the pacesetter longtube headers that I have from my old truck in there. And see what mods they might need to work. They should have good ground clearance, as they don't hang below the stock truck oilpan. And they will fit inside the factory framerails. I'll keep you posted.
Running a modified truck pan I'll post that up when I get it made. I'm basically taking my 318 pan and mating it to the truck pan I have and seeing how well that works out. Jeep manifold are a total go on it Car manifolds are a tight fit but from what I've seen they clear. I'm ordering a set of BBK car shorty's in the next couple weeks so I can report how they fit then.

What are you doing for a flywheel, clutch and release bearing?
5.7 crate motor flywheel from Mopar performance 10.5" clutch disc out of a 340/360 set up and a pressure plate out of a ram. The fork/ release bearing will be stock 340/360 stuff with a home done hydraulic set-up.

Thanks for the info. Post pictures as you go, I am interested in doing this swap in the future.

I will also be following this thread and hoping for pictures for your hydraulic set up!

I will also be following this thread and hoping for pictures for your hydraulic set up!
about a month or so away but I have been collecting parts I still need to get my clutch and flywheel combo first.

please let me know how well this goes. I am curious about the OD. I have a 5 speed automatic for mine, but I also have a 4 speed OD. I always thought they would be geared too low and you need a 5th gear to shift to.

please PM me.

I'm going to run a 3.73 gear with the od 4 speed since I'm running a 20 inch tall tire the 5 speed is such a pain to get working that I never thought of it being in my budget. Plus with this being a daily driven car when I get it together running the od made the most sense opposed to a 904/727 plus it eliminates the need for another computer.

Running a modified truck pan I'll post that up when I get it made. I'm basically taking my 318 pan and mating it to the truck pan I have and seeing how well that works out. Jeep manifold are a total go on it Car manifolds are a tight fit but from what I've seen they clear. I'm ordering a set of BBK car shorty's in the next couple weeks so I can report how they fit then.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MIL-31000/
I don't think anyone can modify a pan any cheaper than this, including time and tig welding. And that is counting time to "solve" the placement for the pickup tube. If not correctly placed you can foam the oil and starve the motor of lubrication. $204.95
STREET SUMP, ENGINE SWAP Allows the new, high tech Hemi to be installed in 1959-1974 A, B, C, and E body cars. While the Mopar crate motors come with a rear sump pan, that pan will not fit in mid-sump muscle cars. This pan provides a custom fit around the K-member and the drag link and provides an increased power design. Increased oil capacity and oil control are an absolute requirement to handle the demands of higher RPM and increased horsepower. Oil control baffles 100% subdue any unwanted oil movement which results in consistent oil pressure and increased power output. This pan uses the stock dipstick location in the side of the block. While a stock windage tray can be used, the Milodon version is improved and will yield better oil control and power output. Pan Capacity is 6 Quarts Plus Filter -
6" Sump Depth

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MIL-31000/
I don't think anyone can modify a pan any cheaper than this, including time and tig welding. And that is counting time to "solve" the placement for the pickup tube. If not correctly placed you can foam the oil and starve the motor of lubrication. $204.95

STREET SUMP, ENGINE SWAP Allows the new, high tech Hemi to be installed in 1959-1974 A, B, C, and E body cars. While the Mopar crate motors come with a rear sump pan, that pan will not fit in mid-sump muscle cars. This pan provides a custom fit around the K-member and the drag link and provides an increased power design. Increased oil capacity and oil control are an absolute requirement to handle the demands of higher RPM and increased horsepower. Oil control baffles 100% subdue any unwanted oil movement which results in consistent oil pressure and increased power output. This pan uses the stock dipstick location in the side of the block. While a stock windage tray can be used, the Milodon version is improved and will yield better oil control and power output. Pan Capacity is 6 Quarts Plus Filter -


6" Sump Depth

yep price has come down on that bad boy right there. Now if the pick-up tube is under 95 bucks I might be swayed in that direction. I mearly wanted to build my own stuff because I'm really impatient and what my car running and on my budget that pan will take me 4 months to save for.

$79.95 for a 7/8 pickup tube ;-) Summit Racing

For the budget minded people Pacesetter makes a mid tube (shorty) header w/ oxygen sensor bung, bolt on flange to biscuit type mounted (stock) exhaust. Tubes are 1&5/8 painted black for $263.95. These can be found in JC Whitney online catalog. I got a set and they are worth the money, had traded some work for ceramic coating (barter system).

http://www.jcwhitney.com/performance-header-kits-for-4-6-and-8-cylinder-vehicles/p2006319.jcwx?skuId=385666&filterid=c10479d18048y2006j2

For the budget minded people Pacesetter makes a mid tube (shorty) header w/ oxygen sensor bung, bolt on flange to biscuit type mounted (stock) exhaust. Tubes are 1&5/8 painted black for $263.95. These can be found in JC Whitney online catalog. I got a set and they are worth the money, had traded some work for ceramic coating (barter system).

http://www.jcwhitney.com/performance-header-kits-for-4-6-and-8-cylinder-vehicles/p2006319.jcwx?skuId=385666&filterid=c10479d18048y2006j2
So are those truck headers? How do they fit on the passenger side?

I haven't tried them yet. The headers are snug to the heads, at the second tube from flange to bottom of tubes it is 6" ( right at the motor mount). I haven't mounted them yet to see where they end up. I just got an A body Cuda. I originally bought them for my A-100 truck to install the 5.7 Hemi. Due to limited space in the "coffin box" I couldn't install the motor. Thus a new car was in order. Now the Cuda is the candidate.
I will take a picture of them with tape measure in hand. A picture is worth a thousand words. I haven't even got the motor out of the crate yet due to finishing my boat motor first.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16186&d=1287602773
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16187&d=1287602811
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16188&d=1287602838
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16189&d=1287602879
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16190&d=1287602918
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16191&d=1287602944
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/vbpgimage.php?do=full&p=16192&d=1287602982
These are pretty tight as you can see.

Those look like they would dump right into the firewall on an a-body. Just like the truck manifolds do. Especially on the passenger side.

those are for a ram. i am actually going to se if pacesetter will work withme on getting a set of headers built for the hemi swap. they are local to me, and I would be more than willing to drop my car off for them to design them once the time comes, or i can build them out of the truck long tubes that i have and see if they will take them and make them for everyone. i will be building my own motor mounts but i will be following the TTI measurements for engine placement of thier headers. so hopefully i can get something going for everyone. who knows we might be able to get the truck headers to fit without a problem.

those are for a ram. i am actually going to se if pacesetter will work withme on getting a set of headers built for the hemi swap. they are local to me, and I would be more than willing to drop my car off for them to design them once the time comes, or i can build them out of the truck long tubes that i have and see if they will take them and make them for everyone. i will be building my own motor mounts but i will be following the TTI measurements for engine placement of thier headers. so hopefully i can get something going for everyone. who knows we might be able to get the truck headers to fit without a problem.
Yeah I used their measurements when I built my mounts just remember they are tight to the passenger side about a good 1/4 inch. With my car I snaked it over a slight bit so I can get the vavle cover on and off without unbolting the motor for the k member.

yeah 44JIM those will hit the firewall they need to drop down before the back of the head to clear like the jeep/car manifolds do.

They make a set for the 2010 Challenger, full length would these be a better choice? Would these be a better choice/fit? Part # 72-C2242 (ceramic coated) or plain Part # 70-2242. Jegs has them for $293.99 (plain) & dbl. for ceramic.
Cool thing is I can put the ones I have on my Ram ;-)

They make a set for the 2010 Challenger, full length would these be a better choice? Would these be a better choice/fit? Part # 72-C2242 (ceramic coated) or plain Part # 70-2242. Jegs has them for $293.99 (plain) & dbl. for ceramic.
Cool thing is I can put the ones I have on my Ram ;-)The challenger full length will hit the ground you are better off with the BBK shorties they should fit pretty well and have a nice nickel coating.

those are for a ram. i am actually going to se if pacesetter will work withme on getting a set of headers built for the hemi swap. they are local to me, and I would be more than willing to drop my car off for them to design them once the time comes, or i can build them out of the truck long tubes that i have and see if they will take them and make them for everyone. i will be building my own motor mounts but i will be following the TTI measurements for engine placement of thier headers. so hopefully i can get something going for everyone. who knows we might be able to get the truck headers to fit without a problem.



tech@pacesetterexhaust.com (http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/tech@pacesetterexhaust.com) or all of us send a request to there tech. dept.

I would gladly buy a set if they make them.

or all of us send a request to there tech. dept.
I have had better luck calling them in the past. Once I talk to them about it I'll start a new thread, because I'm sure they will want a few people intrested before they commit to making them. I'll keep everyone posted here in a few days. I ned to get the motor in the car before I worry about headers. It will probably be 3 weeks or so before I get the motor in. So those of you needing something now it might not work for you. But I'll see what they say.

I have had better luck calling them in the past. Once I talk to them about it I'll start a new thread, because I'm sure they will want a few people intrested before they commit to making them. I'll keep everyone posted here in a few days. I ned to get the motor in the car before I worry about headers. It will probably be 3 weeks or so before I get the motor in. So those of you needing something now it might not work for you. But I'll see what they say.
Hey I'll send you my mounts to speed things up if need be.

They make a set for the 2010 Challenger, full length would these be a better choice? Would these be a better choice/fit? Part # 72-C2242 (ceramic coated) or plain Part # 70-2242. Jegs has them for $293.99 (plain) & dbl. for ceramic.
Cool thing is I can put the ones I have on my Ram ;-)

buy the coated ones. They are more money, but they will look better longer. I have a set of coated long tubes, that I installed on my ram back in 05. The truck saw 100,000 miles with them and they still look good. I bet I could polish them and they would almost look brand new. Try that with painted headers and you will have to paint them every day.

Hey I'll send you my mounts to speed things up if need be.
thanks for the offer. But I already have mounts. I'm cuttingg the factory brackets off of the ram I have. Then I'll gusset them and call it good. Reason being is I have a slant 6 k member and someone cut the mounts off and put in there own for a 318, and it looks like a blind man did the welding using a stick welder.

I just spoke with pacesetter. And they are going to pass my info allong to the Rand D guys. And if they think there is a possibility of selling them then they might consider it. I'll keep everyone posted. If you guys can send in emails that would be great. We need to let them know that there is a market for them it will help.

Sent there tech dept. a message right after you said they would possibly make them. Lets hope they realize the market.

buy the coated ones. They are more money, but they will look better longer. I have a set of coated long tubes, that I installed on my ram back in 05. The truck saw 100,000 miles with them and they still look good. I bet I could polish them and they would almost look brand new. Try that with painted headers and you will have to paint them every day.
Sent my Rams into a friend and had them Titanium coated. Nice when you can exchange work for work.

Sent my Rams into a friend and had them Titanium coated. Nice when you can exchange work for work.

off topic but you going to MATS in the spring? I hope to have my car up and running to attend.

on the header discussion do you guys think that these might fit....... it looks like it might be close and i might have to message the firewall a little, or dimple a tube. maybe even relocate one but it might work we will have to see.

nope they will not fit the tubes have to drop straight down about 4-6 inches before they reach the back of the head and then drop back. At least on the passenger side. That head sits right up against the firewall I am lucky to get a finger in between the head and the firewall.

I'd like to see a set of the TTI's though to see how they run their tubes on the passenger side.

Here are the tti headers you can see the tubes go down well before they go back. And here is a picture of the jeep drivers side manifold.

I'd like to see a set of the TTI's though to see how they run their tubes on the passenger side.

Did you get my PM?

Yes I did Mark

Jeep SRT8 manifolds, fit like a charm, perform like a header (shorty).

well then maybe a little cutting and welding will take care of them then if you notice it's the middle 2 tubes (cyl 4 and 6) that need to be reworked. If I can make the drivers side fit, I'll use them. And modify them and call it good we will see when the motor goes in. I pulled the motor about 15 min before the pic was taken, and have not attempted to mess with it yet. Haveing the pic of the 33% headers will help to get them correct. Thanks for that.

Jeep SRT8 manifolds, fit like a charm, perform like a header (shorty).
If they fit in your tight engine bay should be a breeze in a later a body.

Boden posted this in my harness thread and I figured it would be a nice addition to this thread. This is his break down of the harness modifications to get his engine running in his car.

I used the car manifolds on mine. had to modify the right frame rail a little. Here is a pic of all the different manifolds.

191282

191283 here are a couple of pics of my 5.7 hemi in my 68 dart Just wish i could get it running. Every single detail of getting this motor in this car has faught me. It will be well worth it when im done but lots of modifications to make it work.

how did you make it work with power brakes? I want them too but was told I have to run manual in order to drop in the hemi.

how did you make it work with power brakes? I want them too but was told I have to run manual in order to drop in the hemi.

yes give us some insight on all the modifcations you mentioned and more pictures

I dont know if there is much difference, but my engine is out of a 06 jeep gc. I had to notch a corner on the head and valve cover on the L side rear. It wont clear the steer column. I had to notch for the alternator in the fender well. I cut out part of the K-frame and boxed it in for the oil filter. You can run a remote system so you dont have to do that. To get the motor in, I had to take out the steer column, and the steer gear box. I left the headers off and had all the steer linkages off. I took the nuts off the brake power booster and tied it to left as far as I could out of the way. It was still a pain. Wraped every thing in card board and with a lot of tilting and cussing I got it in place. There is no room. I slid the headers in thru the bottom, had to pick up with hoist each side of the motor to get room. Getting to bolts in was hell, used a magnet to get them in the hole then came up with contraptions to tighten them up. The bell housing bolts at the top were a nightmare too. lots of prying and had to shorten the bolts. I eliminated the power steering and A/C comp. I didnt want to use the elimination kits for that so I modified my water pump to take a different belt tensioner. I went to the parts store and got a tensioner that had reverse tension from the original, i changed that pulley to a smooth pulley. and I notched a groove and pryed the tensioner in place where the old tensioner fit. Lot of work but it looks and works good. Here are some pics of all that stuff.191472

191473

191474

191475

191476

191477

191478

191479

191480

now I see why I have had some requests for a "tubular K frame...along the lines of the ones I've built for the "old style" hemi. I can see this install suffers from the same problems of the older hemis...needs a BIG shoehorn......it appears the motor should come forward perhaps a 1/2'', move the steering shaft towards the shock tower maybe 3/4'',center the motor in the engine bay,for easier header installation...eliminate the torsion bars (coilover conversion), and relocate the lower crossbar (steering rack mount) so it doesn't interfere with the oil pump/oil filter and as Gomer would say..."Shazam"....am I missin anything...please let me know

cant wait, future plan is same swap in my 64 convert, hoping to find engine trans combo in a yard larry

now I see why I have had some requests for a "tubular K frame...along the lines of the ones I've built for the "old style" hemi. I can see this install suffers from the same problems of the older hemis...needs a BIG shoehorn......it appears the motor should come forward perhaps a 1/2'', move the steering shaft towards the shock tower maybe 3/4'',center the motor in the engine bay,for easier header installation...eliminate the torsion bars (coilover conversion), and relocate the lower crossbar (steering rack mount) so it doesn't interfere with the oil pump/oil filter and as Gomer would say..."Shazam"....am I missin anything...please let me know


i see your doing your homework denny. hope this shed some light on the situation for you

rich

The outer shell on the steering colum can be cut leaving just the shaft, and pleanty of room to clear the head.

reading other threads leads me to believe Bill at RMS has this scienced out already...and his K frame uses the bigger Mustang rack w/power steering...sounds like the "hot"set-up to me...A lot of people I talk to think it's a priceyset-up, but when you add up all the components....it's not bad. I"m sure Bill like myself could sell K frames ONLY for the desired price of around 5-6 hundred ,but its all the other components neccassary to make the conversion from rear-steer to front-steer in addition to the coilovers that gets the price up there.

hey...if it were easy ..their probably be a "bowtie" on it

On mine I cut the outer shell on the steering column. Besides that the power brakes bolted right on. Mine uses the smaller Dia Booster.

what car did the booster come from? I might have to look at getting one. I am building my own motor mounts and would need it in order to make it work. Although it looks like you have to remove it to change the spark plugs. That will by a PITA. But worth it to have power brakes.

My booster is from an A body up to 72. Both my 71 and 72 demon have the same one. In 73 they went to the bigger flatter booster.

i bought a disc brake conversion kit with the smaller brake booster in it. it came from aardvark

ill have to look into getting a booster then.

Jeep SRT8 manifolds, fit like a charm, perform like a header (shorty).

Tincup.. You aren't using the factory K and steering, right? Jeep SRT-8 may hit the factory steering box.

Aaron

I'll find out soon enough I have a set on the way here.

I'm hopeing I can get the passanger side ram manifold to fit around the gear box. Because if it will I'll be about as happy as can be. That means less fab work to make the turbos work.

Tincup.. You aren't using the factory K and steering, right? Jeep SRT-8 may hit the factory steering box.

Aaron

No, I have the Alter-K. Remember, jeep srt8 and regular srt8 manifolds are DIFFERENT!

No, I have the Alter-K. Remember, jeep srt8 and regular srt8 manifolds are DIFFERENT!

I know they are different. I have a set of JGC SRT-8 manifolds. With a stock K and steering box, I think it hits. I'll have to double check my test fit pictures.

I have a pair of NEW in the box, polished, block wrap Hemi header that would work great set up 4-sale for $150

hows the project coming i'm doing the same project a 5.7 w/5 spd auto pull out from a 2004 donor durango i have the ac delete and 45 for the oil filter from hotrod lane. oil pan and pickup from summit, cold air kit and stock hearders off a 6.1l and a 1966 dodge dart gt convertible that is being brought back from the dead...still working on sorting out the wiring harness, can gat it to start but won't stay running.....:headbang:[IMG]

Garageman, welcome to the club, I would love to see some pic's of your build. There are not many early A + Hemi builds on here.

good job garageman you should post a build thread

[COLOR="Blue"]that brake booster is your standard after market power brake booster,usuall sold for the street rod world,,,usually has a GM master cyl bolted to it,,,

mopar performance use to sell, and probably still available thur mancini and others, a off set brake booster bracket for the A bodies with the monster 426 hemi,,, that off set bracket would move your brake booster over towards the fender and clear the 5.7 head im sure,,,

the steering column can be modified,cut and section the outer tube,shorten after you cut it reuse the bearing end and reweld it together,or just shorten it,,,find a bearing with the same I,D as the O,D of the shaft and weld it to the end of the shortened column tube,,,then cover the end bearing with a torsion bar grease boot, no one will ever know and you have plenty of clearance[/COLO

i will be following this and refering back to it for info. I just picked up my hemi today and was going to tri to start it on the floor but i only have a small block bell and the oem hemi starter wont mount to it. will the oem small block starter work against the auto hemi flexplate? just for a floor fire/ compression test or two?

tried to pull start it but i broke the rope that i was using off my weed eater...:mad:haha

hows the project coming i'm doing the same project a 5.7 w/5 spd auto pull out from a 2004 donor durango i have the ac delete and 45 for the oil filter from hotrod lane. oil pan and pickup from summit, cold air kit and stock hearders off a 6.1l and a 1966 dodge dart gt convertible that is being brought back from the dead...still working on sorting out the wiring harness, can gat it to start but won't stay running.....:headbang:[IMG]


i beleive that some of these PCM's have a security feature that may be your issue with the engine shutting off....it can be programed out .. justa thought

Watching and learning. keep posting please.

Cool build man

How are you going to modify the oil pan? The factory piece is quiet steel - two layers of steel with plastic in between.