1971 Dodge Dart Swinger, slant6 to 360 swap, questions, also help needed!
Hi there,
I have some questions in regards to my 1971 Dodge Dart Swinger. It currently has a slant 6. This car has been my daily driver for 12 years. It is a rust free California car and well taken care of. The engine is finally getting worn and needing a rebuild. The thing is I really don't want to rebuild this engine. It has some issues, I dislike adjusting valves (solid lifters), hard to find parts for, etc. There's more reasons, I have nothing against slant 6, but for my situation I would really like to swap to a 360+727.
Over the years that I've owned this car I have done several upgrades:
V8 radiator (I believe that's 22") and re-cored.
15" Rallye wheels BBP
Front disc brakes 11.75" off a 1979 Cordoba
8 3/4 rear end, 2.7x clutch type sure grip, green bearings
Various suspension upgrades such as front sway bar, new leaf springs, torsion bars off a V8 car (not sure which), Edelbrock shocks, HD tie rods
Oh also, the car has manual steering, so no power steering conversion to deal with
This swap would be very stock. I do not need high performance or anything. This car is just my daily driver, groceries, out to eat, etc. I work from home so I do not commute. This car would do the occasional road trip every so often but normally just an around town driver. No headers, no fuel injection, no exotic carburetor setup, etc. I am attracted to the 360 due to parts availability. Not interested in going to a 318 or 273.
Aside from things like shortening the drive-line and having new exhaust installed, what else would I need to accomplish this? I believe engine-swaps makes the conversion mounts so I can keep the same K frame, correct? Any transmission mount or floor pan alterations to accept the 727? Currently the car has a 904.
Also, 1 more thing, and this may be the biggest challenge of all! I live in San Diego, in the city, and I live in an apartment. I need to find a Mopar enthusiast, or a mechanic shop, in the area that would like to do this. I have the money and everything ready to go, just need to locate that. Maybe someone on this forum?
Thanks in advance for the assistance everyone!