Okay, so I had this crazy idea and I wanted to talk to some Mopar guys about it. You'll either hate me or love me by the end of this post.
I'm a GM guy, always have been. So when I got my S10, the first thing I wanted to do was swap it. Obviously the SBC and LS would be an obvious choice, but I found a different route to take.
The Dodge 5.2/5.9 Magnum. This engine can be found both easier and cheaper than SBC/LS engines in junkyards near me. So, I've been planning a Magnum swapped S10. The V8 S10 guys love the idea, and some have shared stories of seeing SBC swapped Dakotas.
My plan is the following:
The S10 SBC swap uses a motor mount that moves the SBC forward a bit in the engine bay for clearance. It mounts to a 2.8L frame mount, which uses the traditional design SBC mounts (triangle pattern). Both the SBC and the Magnum engine have a triangular shaped mounting point on both sides of them, and it almost looks like I could use a standard Short-Wide SBC motor mount on the side of the Magnum engine. The SBC mount is located underneath the #1 and #3 cylinder head exhaust, whereas the Magnum's mount is located under the #3 and #5 cylinder head exhaust. Since the Magnum's mounts are already further back than the SBC, I believe that using a flipped Short-Wide mount on it would not only locate it where the SBC would sit but would allow it to mount up to the 2.8L frame mount. Thus, allowing me to physically place the Magnum into the engine bay.
Another note is the angle of which the cylinder head exhaust flange is. The Magnum's exhaust flange sits more straight up-down than the slightly tilted SBC's. This is important, as the SBC swap headers (at least the shorty headers) traditionally go around the steering shaft in order to fit. But, I believe that by using a set of shorty Ram 1500 heads I may be able to clear the steering shaft altogether with the angle of the cylinder head exhausts. If that's not the case, I may be able to use a set of S10 SBC headers welded onto Magnum exhaust flanges. I know a guy that can do it too.
Not only that, I already have a 350 TBI system so making it work on the 5.9 is possible using a carb'd intake & a carb-to-TBI adapter (the TBI PCM uses an EEPROM chip setup, which can either have custom chips burned or EBL/Live Tuning). There's a guy on YouTube who's done a setup similar to this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBf1UWzEevc) using an older 70's reluctor type distributor on the Magnum to talk to the Ignition Coil Module and the GM PCM. If I did pick up a 5.2L however, I believe I could use the 5.0L 305 TBI injectors in the 350 body. Both setups would be 0.2L of displacement within each other, and luckily GM TBI's have these kits that slightly increase the fuel pressure to accommodate for changes such as a cam or larger displacement. See where I'm going with this?
ATI also makes an adapter plate for a 5.9 Magnum to GM transmission. So, using the GM transmission with my GM TBI system on the Magnum seems like it would be perfect. Assuming I use a 700R4/4L60E, depending on where the motor would be located in the engine bay compared to the SBC (which I'm almost certain would be almost in the same spot if I used stock flipped SBC plates, as the S10 swap plates push the SBC forward) I would be able to use my stock driveshaft.
But, this doesn't have to be the case. You see, my S10 came with the 4L60E which is the same as a 700R4 length wise. The best transmission that matches these dimensions? The 904 (30RH/32RH), which can also be found super cheap in junkyards as well. The difference in length is that the 904 transmission is 1.5" longer than a 700R4/4L60E. I believe that the difference in length could easily be accounted for using my stock driveshaft, but if not it's also possible to have it shortened as well.
Am I crazy, or does this seem like it might be a viable option for a relatively stock V8 swap here? The V8 S10 guys absolutely love this idea, and the Mopar facebook groups have also been buzzing about it as well. I've also attached a picture of some of my ideas as well. Let me know what you guys think!
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