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

[furious70]

A turbocharged 383 is fun. It's not cheap or simple tho. But rewarding.
392 cam in a 5.7 changes it's attitude some

 

[Kern Dog]

I like the stock hood and have no interest in anything sticking out of it or a scoop on top of it.
I wouldn't mind a stroked 400 but I'm not aiming for the ultimate with this car, just a level of satisfaction that is probably just a few small moves from here. I built this 383 myself. The decks were squared and surfaced to have the pistons .005 below deck. The cam is the MP 280/474, not too wild. Yeah, it was just installed without being degreed. The heads are

The '346 heads were milled and cc'd to 84ccs so they had been milled a couple times before.
It isn't as if the car is a slug, it will peel out in a straight line and runs great, its just lacking the torque that the other cars have. The shorter stroke is probably at least partially responsible.

 

[furious70]

A modern cam and some TF or stealth heads would make you happy

 

[Kern Dog]

I was unaware of the costs to do a 3G Hemi swap until a few days ago. It was like the guy that looks outside, sees that it is sunny and steps out for a moment not knowing how damned hot it is.....then turns around and goes back inside.

 

[icetech]

stock converter?

 

[Kern Dog]

No, it is an 11” that was built by Lenny at UCC for approximately 2800 stall but that was behind the 440/493. I used the trans and converter from the red car when I swapped a 5 speed in it.

Maybe it does stall too low for a 383. Good point.

 

[Photon440]

Man, I've forgotten all the numbers......but a 400 block and 440 crank makes 451 iirc. That's also a good combo. Don't know about the 383 combos since the bore is smaller as I like big bore engines.

383 bore may be smaller, but 4.25" is still pretty good, it's the same as a Chev 427.

 

[icetech]

No, it is an 11” that was built by Lenny at UCC for approximately 2800 stall but that was behind the 440/493. I used the trans and converter from the red car when I swapped a 5 speed in it.

View attachment 1764643

Maybe it does stall too low for a 383. Good point.

yeah, if i understand properly lower torque will make the converter not flash as high? so that could be a lot lower than 2800... is it doggy all around or just from a stop?

 

[Kern Dog]

Once I'm up to speed, it picks up nicely. It was first put on the road with a 3.23 and ugh...it felt way too slow. I have a 3.91 in it now and while it is better, it still lacks the snap of the Dart or other Charger.
I have another factory "Hi-Stall" that I got some time ago. I had it gone through at a converter shop in town. I could swap it in in half a day and know if it helps.

 

[icetech]

Once I'm up to speed, it picks up nicely. It was first put on the road with a 3.23 and ugh...it felt way too slow. I have a 3.91 in it now and while it is better, it still lacks the snap of the Dart or other Charger.
I have another factory "Hi-Stall" that I got some time ago. I had it gone through at a converter shop in town. I could swap it in in half a day and know if it helps.

couldn't hurt... with 3.91s i would think that thing would be zippy.. i never used that cam though.. my 400 had a .484 in it and LOVED that cam

 

[Kern Dog]

I had this same spec cam in my first 440 in the red car. It would spin the peg leg single tire all the way to where I got tired of peeling out and just let off the gas and let the tire hook up. With a 3.91 SG in it, it ran a 14.01 at 101 with a crappy 2.40 60 ft time. Zero traction but once it hooked up, it ran strong.

 

[PA_65_Plymouth]

Do you want ac?
If not the eagle truck accessory drive is fine. Later one with electric ps if you don't have ps in that one.

The carb intakes are rare and kill tq from the dynos I've seen, race only IMO.

My 6.1 stroked to 426 with a Prefix carb intake and 1000cfm carb, small cam and 10.9 cp made 620/540 on the dyno

 

[furious70]

My 6.1 stroked to 426 with a Prefix carb intake and 1000cfm carb, small cam and 10.9 cp made 620/540 on the dyno

View attachment 1766038

426" vs 345" tho

 

[Kennith]

Not a price but a lot of information about everything used to put a 5.7 in a 1968 Dodge Charger.

 

[Buckminster]

I am doing a budget build 5.7L hemi with an 8 speed 8HP70 to take advantage of the 8HP's .66:1 OD ratio. I did the math on rebuilding the 340 that i have in it and adding a GV's OD. and the costs for a budget build are similar. I budgeted $9K and have been tracking the costs to date. The most expensive part is the Hotwire harness and ECU mods, since I've gone with a non-factory combination. the 8HP70 was never supplied with an early Gen III hemi. that was $2,650 for the wire harness, and trans controller. I bought a 2006 Dodge Charger that had just had a rebuilt engine installed, and then that owner subsequently wrecked, for $4K. I pulled the motor and sold most of what I could for a net investment of $1,500 bucks. Could have bought a motor for less than that, but this one had less than 1,000 miles on a rebuild. So far, using Holley tranny mount, hooker blackheart cast manifolds, holley cast oil pan and a lot of salvage yard scavenged parts (2006 commander alternator (smaller), angled oil filter adapter, etc.) and i'm under budget by about $1K so far. I budgeted for all new parts, but have been able to scrounge stuff. I am doing all the work myself, so that helps tremendously. If you want more details, happy to share what I know. This is still in work, so final tally is not done. This also included the cost of HP tuner to tune the ECU for future mods.

 

[Butch Harley]

I just bought another car.

 

[coloradodave]

I have hemi fever soooo bad.... funny thing is i don't need more than like 450hp.. and i can do that with a small block.. but... still want one.. I will polish it and stare at it and smile

Is this too much to ask...
View attachment 1764489

Would a 392 work? There's got to be thousands of those with superchargers sitting unused in ex drag racer's garages, minus the accessories. Try Racingjunk.com ...

 

[Dennis H]

You managed to drag both Durwood AND Colorado dave out of the woodwork with this thread. I second the 392, but they don’t like Blowers. That’s why the 6.2 went in the Hellcats.

 

[chrger1967]

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.

How much would it cost to rebuild and upgrade that 383?

 

[Dennis H]

6.2 SC or 6.4 or don’t bother. Cut big holes, put in mucho hp. 5.7 good but not enough juice.