03 Dakota ext cab

[Vimes]

Went to the shop today. It was a mixed bag.

First the good - the engine arrived and it was as promised. It was on a pallet with a wooden frame around it. I'm glad I had it shipped straight there instead of to my house as I normally might. The engine was set up to run on the pallet and even had fuel in the tank. So, engine, transmission, exhaust up to the back of the trans, ECM, wiring harness (felt like 40lbs of wire) steering column, start button, shifter, and both pedals with sensors. It was a very complete swap kit. I bought it from Cleveland Parts & Perfomance, and the donor was a 2018 Challenger with 27,000 miles on it. Cost was about 14K and a bit shipped. Considering I was looking at just an engine running more than this, I couldn't pass it up even though it's an iron block so extra weight. This will save a ton of money and frustration even if I wind up having to rebuild it.


Instrument cluster, wrapped up. I didn't want to remove it just yet.




The rear is going to work fine, and is still a work in progress. This is the 2013 Camaro SS IRS differential. Unfortunately, the fuel tank plan isn't going to work. I wanted to do a saddle tank in front of the rear diff, but the frame rails and all will be in the way. I'll probably be putting it behind the rear diff, unless I come up with something after I get the truck back.


Everything is still tacked up front because they ran into a problem, which I'll deal with next. But, it's looking like I will just need a 2 inch flare on the fenders. That will be decided later though, as the tires that are on there now are 275/40R18 and I think they're 18x9, while I will almost certainly be running 285/40R18s on 18x10s.

My vision is coming together. I can see the bed on it, and it's looking like I'd hoped it will. The bed is just about the same length as the hood area. The distance from the cab for the front and rear wheels is about the same, and the overhangs will be about the same. It looks like it'll sit low, but it's being built to sit several inches off the ground. I don't want to screw around with having to creep over speed bumps, or try to get in and out of something that sits on the ground.


Now for the problem, and I'm hoping for some advice. The front cradle is not going to work, and is a huge oversight on my part. The problem is that the Corvette wheels are so far forward that the engine sits behind them. The harmonic balancer is like an inch behind the steering rack. On my truck, the engine sits centered on the wheels. In order to put the engine in the same position that the Corvette engine is, the engine would come into the cabin 18 inches - think full size van with a doghouse over the engine. If they mount the engine where it has to go, the valve covers will be outside of the hood. There is only 16 inches from the steering rack to the firewall.


The two ideas we have at the moment are:

- Build lower control arm mounts out of tubular steel and use the existing Corvette parts. They would install a cross member to replace the cradle. This would likely require spindles with steering arms that hang down lower, which are available.

- Use a Mustang II style front suspension. I'm not in favor of this one as it means chunky heavy steel parts, unless there's a way to use the Corvette parts from the hub out.

If anyone has any ideas on how to solve this problem I'd appreciate the direction even if we ultimately do not go that way.