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V8 Dakotas
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JimsDakota4x4
Dodge Dakota
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2/24/2007
06:02:02
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 Subject: 360 fits in what?
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I'm 22 and plan on starting my first "real" project. I can't work on my dakota as much as I want too; it is my daily driver. Since the only engines I know anything about are the 318/360, I figured it'd be best for me to stick with cars that can easily fit those engines. So what cars does the 360 fit into? And what is a good manual transmission to go with? I know the 727 auto works, but I want a manual.
Matching #'s/original parts doesn't matter to me, I'm just planning on building a 12 second or faster car that is still streetable (not daily driver). Hopefully entire project is under 10k and can be done in about a year, but driveable in 6 months.
So far my options:
Thinking MAYBE a 1988-93 dakota
70's charger
70's challenger (they cost too much)
70's cuda (cost)
Anything else? I'm leaning towards a charger if I can find one in decent shape. Any tips are also appreciated, my friends aren't exactly into cars like I am.
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Jimsdakota4x4
Dodge Dakota
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2/24/2007
07:42:25
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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add dart to that list, Dart is #1 so far..price etc.
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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2/24/2007
23:07:41
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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The LA smallblocks were in pretty much everything Mopar made in a front-engine/rear-drive configuration, even some they didn't make:
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/celica-318.html
A 360 with 904 automatic makes an incredibly easy swap into a Dodge D50 pickup. Yes, a little bitty D50. Not cool looking like the cars, but man, what a wild ride. Cheap, very fast.
Mopar's 4-speed A-833 tranny was used behind everything. A special HD model even backed up the 426 Hemi. For a modern Mopar-used stick, look to the full-size trucks, but something from a Mustang GT would be a better fit.
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Jimsdakota4x4
Dodge Dakota
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2/25/2007
08:46:22
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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Wow, that celica's pretty crazy. I would've never thought about that.
Well I'm pretty broke and after more research it looks like I can get a Dart that runs for $1,500 - $2,000. I'll get an extra 360 motor and slowly put money to build it up, maybe buy a Nitrous kit for the car until my the new motor is done.
Now I just have to find a manual transmission that will work. From my understanding most darts are automatics.
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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2/25/2007
14:05:04
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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Yeah, most cars, in general are mostly automatics. The Dart is a great car for your plans. I like sticks too, but don't think a good Torqueflite is a performance loser. In fact, it was the first auto tranny that could regularly beat a stick-shifted opponent at the drags. Granted, there's more to sticks than just drags, and I love speed-shifting a stick, but my first car, a '69 Charger was an automatic. I pulled the original 904 and replaced it with the bigger 727 (I mean, the car weighed 3,800lbs). The tranny had the B&M shift kit that allowed full auto/full manual control. I shifted the floor shifter manually most of the time, and enjoyed the up and down-shifting on the twisties out in the country driving to and from school (true shifting control, much better than the "auto-stick" setups from the current factory offerings). At the same time, the car would slam second gear so hard (318 had some good hop-ups) it'd lunge forward and slap you in the back. I also had the kickdown tweaked to where it'd shift at 5,500rpm at WOT when in "D", which was just about perfect. Manually, I'd shift around 5,700. Most of the stick-shift benefits, without ever having a clutch to deal with. And the beauty of it all was that when in "D" and under part throttle, it still shifted mildly. The deeper you went in the throttle, the harder it nailed the gears.
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knifemaker
Dodge Dakota
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2/25/2007
18:26:50
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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Had a 74' Challenger with a 360 and a shift kit that was pretty much unbeatable..except in the curves. Weight distribution wasn't quite right for the curves, but it had plenty of go.:>)
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Slow4x4Dak
Dodge Dakota
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2/25/2007
18:57:02
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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Stick is just more enjoyable to drive for me. Especially since this is a secondary/project vehicle. My dakota's a 5 speed and it's great, although my next daily driver is going to be an automatic. Bumper to Bumper traffic the clutch gets old.
"The tranny had the B&M shift kit that allowed full auto/full manual control"
I like that idea, a friend of mine has a malibu that has a slap shifter. I might go with something like that.
The goal of this car is:
12 seconds 1/4 but still streetable (probably bottle until new engine)
Driveable from the get go
Cool paint job
Head turner
Built in a year
The future of this car (2-5 years):
Full dragster 10 seconds or less
GET THE WHEELS OFF THE GROUND
I need a transmission that's economical now, that I can upgrade (shift kit) later and can handle all of what I plan to do from start to finish.
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Kowalski
GenIII
2/26/2007
07:11:32
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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Since less weight equals more speed, you might want to give priority to any A-body mopar. Along with the Dart, that would include Duster, Demon, Valliant, and Barracuda through '69.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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hemichuck
Dodge Dakota
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2/26/2007
22:36:34
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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A few things to think about,Darts are fine but they have a serious lack of rear wheel space so if you plan on going fast you will have to tub it or move the springs in. The Duster might be a better choice,about the same weight,bigger rear wheel wells,and Chrysler made a bunch of them so you should be able to pick one up pretty cheap.Dusters really transfer weight very well too.Not to mention there are a ton of used speed parts out there for them like fiberglass body parts and headers and everything else.If you want lightweight find a 2 door post 67-69 Valient,at 2800 pounds they were about as light as a Mopar got.I've had a lot of experience with these cars,I've owned several hundred of them over the past 30 years.Good Luck
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gen1dak
Dodge Dakota
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2/26/2007
22:58:56
| RE: 360 fits in what?
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Yep, Dusters have huge wheelwells. Here's a good read on a Demon (Duster by another name) with a 380 horse 360. Runnin' 12's.
http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/featuredvehicles/1971_dodge_demon_dale_gilmore/
A few years ago, there was a workup on a mellow Duster with a very streetable 440, basically cleaned up, headers, MP 509 cam. They said it was mellow enough for Granny to drive to the grocery, but would run 10.80's at...I forget what speed. Total sleeper. Well, the big tires gave it away, but still pretty mellow looking.
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