Ballpark estimate for the cost to do a 5.7 Hemi swap in a '70 Charger

[Kern Dog]

What do you want out of your car performance wise?

For me, it wasn't about the power as much as the reliability, durability and the combination of power and road-worthiness. I like the way our 2015 Challenger is fast and gets 25 mpg at 80 mph.

Yeah. Labor is up there in many areas of the country.
One hurdle will be the FEAD[ front engine accessory drives] package. There are passenger car and truck versions. Greg, this might be a good time to add to your reading collection. Lots of info available here.
Hemi Engine Swaps: How to Swap

Thanks. I think that I'm priced out. I could do it but I don't think the benefits are worth the expense unless I can cut the costs way down.

 

[4mulas]

For me, it wasn't about the power as much as the reliability, durability and the combination of power and road-worthiness. I like the way our 2015 Challenger is fast and gets 25 mpg at 80 mph.

I get this so much! I think about it all the time too and am in fact looking at buying one that is already done. He currently without hesitation takes it on 3-4000 mile round trip adventures without hesitation. Starts right up, no stink, and claims 22 mpg all with an a 833 overdrive trans and 3.23 gears. Says it also pulls like a freight train! He bought it done and is trying to get back what he paid. I believe what he has into it too.
I bet I can buy it for less than what it would cost me to find a rust free B body with excellent paint, low original miles, and then do all the converting myself. Perhaps this is a thought for you. Look around for one that’s done, transfer it into your charger and vice versa and sell which ever one you don’t want…
Good luck no matter what you choose!

 

[Photon440]

Have you read all the stuff in the "Hemi Swap" forum? New Hemi Engine Swap

 

[Kern Dog]

For me, the mileage is icing on the cake. I'm actually okay with 15 to 20.
The reduced anxiety regarding cam and lifter failures that a roller cam provides is in the top 3 though.
Power is important. I wouldn't want to step backwards from the 383. I have a thread on the site about putting a 440 crank in a 383.

Who has used a 440 crank in a 383 block?

Something like this along with better heads and a roller cam could be done for a fraction of the 5.7-6.1-6.4 Hemi swap. It would make more power and be reliable, yet with an overdrive automatic, get closer to 20 mpg target than ever.
I got 15.1 twice in the red Charger....that is with a 495" engine with a big cam and 850 Demon carburetor. A lighter car with fewer cubes and milder cam timing should beat that by a couple of mpgs.

 

[toolmanmike]

I'm considering all options for this car:

View attachment 1763736

Currently, it has it's original 383 with a MP 280/474 cam and it isn't that impressive. It has a decent 727. I want to retain an automatic transmission of some type.
I've thought of a stroke kit from the 440 source, I've thought of going with a stroked LA or Magnum 360/5.9 to take advantage of the anxiety reduction I'd feel with a stock based roller camshaft. I'm also open to the idea of a 5.7 Hemi. The advantage of the LA/Magnum or Hemi is that I could use an A500 or A518 trans to get that great overdrive gear. Big block automatic overdrives mean aftermarket stuff that will cost a lot more to do.
The only people that I have seen do the late model Hemi seem to really go all out with it....so much so that it is far more expensive than I want to deal with. I've seen nobody do a build with factory manifolds, a carbed intake and a Chrysler OD Trans.
I have no immediate plans for any of this, I'm just curious about the options.
The absolute simplest and cheapest would be a roller cam and stroke kit for this engine so the exhaust and induction can be retained and a 500/518 with a B/RB aftermarket bell housing attached to it. THAT or a Gear Vendors to tack onto the end of this 727.
Low tech but it would work.
The 5.7 Hemi swap is interesting though. I'd retain the stock K member and suspension. I'd use the 6.4 exhaust manifolds that a buddy gave me.
The engine mount brackets and transmission crossmember from Holley....

View attachment 1763740

The 5.7 I have is still in my 2007 truck and is still running great even at 407,000 miles. Of course, it will need to be rebuilt so a longer stroke crank kit would be great. Still, it is a truck engine so the oil pan is wrong,

View attachment 1763742

and so is the front end accessory drive...add in the costs for those:


View attachment 1763744

That alone makes it a deal breaker. NO way I'd pay $3400 + for all of this stuff. I'm at $4300 just to get the engine in place and I still don't have a computer to run it or a fuel system to feed it and the engine internals have not been touched. No wonder people go BIG when they do this swap....They must figure that if they're spending $6000 before ever touching the inside of the engine, they might as well go all the way and use a new crate engine.
At this sort of expense, I'd be much better off going with the stroked 383 with a roller cam and Gear Vendors. I'm just looking for more power, some comfortable freeway driving and reliability. The old fashioned engines are not high tech but they can still work good enough for me.

If you have to ask it's probably too much.

 

[Phantomx]

I think I’d just massage what’s there. Put better heads on it and an o/d and call it good. Keep the cam on the small side so it runs good down low so it’s good in overdrive. Take a look at the 383 vs 383 episode of engine masters. Dulcich put together a 383 that made 430-ish? hp with a [email protected] cam and 906 heads with strong low end torque. If you want a nice modern car that gets 25 mpg at 80 with the a/c and seat blowers, just drive the challenger.
Travis..

 

[ruffcut]

$175 an hour?
Any guys here in a business that charges that much?

I've been and still am a bldg contractor and don't charge that much and I guess that's why I'm still working at 73! Might be time to raise my labor!
Yes, and location has a lot to do with that.
Fact is tho, our hobby aint cheap!

 

[Derwud]

Have you read all the stuff in the "Hemi Swap" forum? New Hemi Engine Swap

I have started the parts acquisition for a swap in my Wagon, the L.A. motor is hurting and I do not want to spend on a rebuild.. I have a line on a Good used 6.1 and I already have a 4spd auto trans set-up for a Gen 3 and Fuel Injection tank.. Just need money and motivation.. I want to turn my Wagon into more of a daily..

 

[Kern Dog]

I think I’d just massage what’s there. Put better heads on it and an o/d and call it good. Keep the cam on the small side so it runs good down low so it’s good in overdrive. Take a look at the 383 vs 383 episode of engine masters. Dulcich put together a 383 that made 430-ish? hp with a [email protected] cam and 906 heads with strong low end torque. If you want a nice modern car that gets 25 mpg at 80 with the a/c and seat blowers, just drive the challenger.
Travis..

I thought that I knew you....now this?
Who hacked this account? Did an old man or 17 year old kid steal your password? Guys our age have more spirit than this!

 

[PROSTOCKTOM]

Stroked big block and you can run a 3.00 gear in the rear and still get great mileage without using an overdrive.

Stick to the KISS method and you'll experience less anxiety and still have money in your pocket to drive the car.

Tom

 

[OneWheelPeel]

If a 5.7 challenger or charger was the donor how compatible is the oil pan and accessory drive on those?
I ask because there was a decent challenger for sale at a small dealership last spring stupid cheap and I kept thinking it could be worth it for parts alone.

 

[Stephen Hotz]

Sublimeparts

Sublimeparts

sublimeparts.com

Used to be Diyhemiswap. Can give you info on how to use the truck harness and jailbrake the ecm etc.

 

[Kern Dog]

If a 5.7 challenger or charger was the donor how compatible is the oil pan and accessory drive on those?
I ask because there was a decent challenger for sale at a small dealership last spring stupid cheap and I kept thinking it could be worth it for parts alone.

Oil pan is rear sump. That won't work with stock based suspension.
Front end accessory drive for trucks and SUVs somehow interfere somewhere, I don't recall exactly where.
It looks like to do a swap, you either have to do some modifications yourself to make stuff fit or buy the parts that are designed to fit old cars and our limitations. I do know one guy that put an all aluminum 6.1 in a '70 Barracuda. Maybe I'll ask him what he did.
I don't blame a company for their prices if they are trying to recoup their development costs but it still stings the wallet.
Many times, I am frugal even when I have the money to spend. It is just how I have always been. When I see a situation where the cost of something seems far higher than the benefit from it, I just feel like a punch to the gut to pay the money.
I never claimed to want these old cars to behave entirely like new cars. I just thought that the newer Hemi engines would give both power and economy and do it for a price that I could justify. I like to smell some fuel and exhaust when I drive it, I like the vibrations and road feel. Most of us daily drive a tame and comfortable, quiet car. In a classic, I want to retain some of the charm of being in an old car.
I don't know what I expected to find but I sure didn't think that it would be so expensive.

 

[RR Fan Dan]

and a 500/518 with a B/RB aftermarket bell housing attached to it.

I did this on m 68 Coronet with a 400RB. I would do the A518 over gear venders. Better o/d drive ratio. Was turning 2 grand at 70 with 390 gears. If it were me I prefer old school engines in old cars. You can’t go wrong with a 400 or 440.

 

[Photon440]

Oil pan is rear sump. That won't work with stock based suspension.
Front end accessory drive for trucks and SUVs somehow interfere somewhere, I don't recall exactly where.
It looks like to do a swap, you either have to do some modifications yourself to make stuff fit or buy the parts that are designed to fit old cars and our limitations. I do know one guy that put an all aluminum 6.1 in a '70 Barracuda. Maybe I'll ask him what he did.
I don't blame a company for their prices if they are trying to recoup their development costs but it still stings the wallet.
Many times, I am frugal even when I have the money to spend. It is just how I have always been. When I see a situation where the cost of something seems far higher than the benefit from it, I just feel like a punch to the gut to pay the money.
I never claimed to want these old cars to behave entirely like new cars. I just thought that the newer Hemi engines would give both power and economy and do it for a price that I could justify. I like to smell some fuel and exhaust when I drive it, I like the vibrations and road feel. Most of us daily drive a tame and comfortable, quiet car. In a classic, I want to retain some of the charm of being in an old car.
I don't know what I expected to find but I sure didn't think that it would be so expensive.

I seem to recall another member sticking a 6.4 into a purple Charger. I wonder if some of those issues have been addressed?

 

[Kern Dog]

He is more comfortable spending the money that it takes to do an installation using all new parts that have a proven record of fitment and reliability.
I already balked at spending the approximate $8000 to $10,000 to do this, his 3G probably adds $35-40,000 to the build due to him using a new engine, new transmission and all supporting equipment being new as well.
That just isn't me. Even if I had the money to spend, I'd still look to cut costs or abandon the idea if it reached a point that I didn't think was worth that amount. For me, it is the principle of the matter. My ability to afford something is often irrelevant to it.

 

[Kern Dog]

Plan on 10k to do a decent 5.7 swap. A 2009 or later eagle headed 5.7 Hemi will yield much more power watch the engine masters episode about it.

Therein lies another issue.
I had considered using the engine from my truck since I bought a replacement for it in 2023. Both the truck and the next engine are the first version of the 5.7 engines. The 2009 and later have better heads and Variable Valve Timing which added over 50 HP and who knows how much torque.
I already have an engine to use but I'd be short-changing myself by putting in the early engine. A junkyard 2009+ engine with reasonably low miles is still over $3500 around here.

 

[moparedtn]

You know how I am about dissimilar generational engine swaps....

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Don’t you love how the YouTube guys make it seem so easy, especially when they get their parts for free


For what it’s worth, I put a lunati flat tappet cam in my 440 a year ago, I haven’t had any troubles. The car is as close to a daily driver as you can with current gas prices. 15 mpg, plenty of power to have fun with, but not too much it can cruise around city like everyone else. Sure it isn’t a rocket ship, but like a few said, keep it simple.

have you looked into this, pricy but it’ll get a 518 behind your big block
https://racewithjw.com/product/ultra-bell-big-block-chrysler-to-tf727-or-a518/

 

[Billccm]

Dylan McCool put a Jeep 5.7 Hemi into an E Body several years ago. He goes over what it takes to delete the Multi Displacement, install, and some of the issues along the way. Search his YouTube channel.

As previously mentioned he does get many items donated to the channel for his builds.