Convert slant over to v8

-
Ricksdust

Ricksdust

70 Duster
Joined
Jul 15, 2006
Messages
178
Reaction score
1
Location
jackson nj
Want to take my slant six out and put 318 or 360 in my Duster. I know about the k-frame. But what about the wire harness of it? Should I get one from a junkyard? And do you just disconnect it from the blukhead and plug the v8 in it? I have a v8 radiator for it too. Thanks Rick
 
/6 wiring is the same and should work fine. I'm going to be doing this swap as well. There's a ton of extra length on the slant wiring which makes it even better for rerouting away from the heat :)
 
Project......Are you going to change the k frame or get the motor mounts that change over? Also I have to change the 71/4 rear.
 
If you do the math it is less money to buy the adapter mounts than to buy a k-member and buy a set of original mounts. I am converting a '72 Duster from a /6 to a 340 and I am going to use the adapter mounts.
 
do the mounts help with clearance issues on the steering box? I'm putting a 400 in a 68', and thinking the new mounts may raise the engine alittle and help with clearance.... We'll have to see, it's still a couple of weeks til the engine is back from the shop, so I'll post some pictures.
 
I don't know about the big blocks but the small block mounts put the motor in the stock location. The passenger side motor bracket is the one that is different to make the conversion.
 
i am doing the same thing, already have my 318 rebuilt, i am putting a v8 k member in mine though. I think im giong to buy a new wiring harness for mine, ive heard that Painless wiring systems is the way to go, but they dont make them for 75 dusters, but they do make them for darts i believe. So do you think if i order a harness for a dart, it will hook up with my duster?
 
The only real difference of consequence is the length of the coil wire (/6 and big block need the long one). You don't need to change wiring.

All mount solutions should put the engine in the stock location. Generally self-serve wrecking yard parts make the k-member and stock mounts cheaper ($20 k-member, $10/each for mounts) and buying the same parts from a fellow Mopar guy will make the conversion mounts cheaper.
 
I'm going to go the Shumacher route. Heard nothing but good about them. I seem to remember hearing that they offer the /6 to big block conversions too and supposedly it all bolts up like it should with no fabbing or cutting :)
 
Some of the Schumacher kits require cutting. It all depends on the application. Their quality is top-notch, but still not the way I will go due to the cost.
 
340mopar said:
If you do the math it is less money to buy the adapter mounts than to buy a k-member and buy a set of original mounts. I am converting a '72 Duster from a /6 to a 340 and I am going to use the adapter mounts.
Click to expand...

That depends on what you pay for the K-member. Stock mounts are about $50 for the pair so if you can pick up a k-member for under a $100 then you are ahead of the game by swapping.

Also, in regards to the wiring harness. The wire to the oil pressure sender and to the coil are long enough on the \6 harness that you will want to cut them down. Everything else is fine as is. However, if you want to purchase a new harness Evans Wiring is the place to go http://evanswiring.tripod.com.
 
do you already have the V8? if not, id spend a day at the junkyard getting a big block instead of a k frame, if your going to convert to a V8 might as well skip over the small blocks. swapping 273-318 to 340-360 is one thing, just a simple swap, but for all this work, might as well just get a big block. a 383-400 will be the easiest way to go, i got my 400 at a yard for $135 top to bottom including all the stupid extra taxes i have to pay at the junkyards
 
dgc333 said:
That depends on what you pay for the K-member. Stock mounts are about $50 for the pair so if you can pick up a k-member for under a $100 then you are ahead of the game by swapping.

Also, in regards to the wiring harness. The wire to the oil pressure sender and to the coil are long enough on the \6 harness that you will want to cut them down. Everything else is fine as is. However, if you want to purchase a new harness Evans Wiring is the place to go http://evanswiring.tripod.com.
Click to expand...
The mounts from Schumaker are $150 so the price is the same if you use your pricing. But I have tried to find a k-member less than $100 and I can't and try and find 340/360 a-body engine brackets, 318 no sweat. Then you have to buy mounts from the parts house add the labor of swapping a k-member then have your car re-aligned. Sorry I don't see were the k-member stock mount route is cheaper. But maybe I'm missing something.
 
It's cheaper because I won't pay more than $50 for a k-member and routinely pay around $20 at the self serve yards when they have them. I've also never paid more than $40 for a pair of mounts (usually $10/pair at the yards). Currently I have all the parts I should ever need, but I'm always looking for 73-76 V8 k-members (to build big block k-members). It's also a rare swap that does not occur at the same time as a front end rebuild (at least around here).

I also like to drop the k-member into my hot tank for a good cleaning, so it's coming out anyway.
 
340mopar said:
The mounts from Schumaker are $150 so the price is the same if you use your pricing. But I have tried to find a k-member less than $100 and I can't and try and find 340/360 a-body engine brackets, 318 no sweat. Then you have to buy mounts from the parts house add the labor of swapping a k-member then have your car re-aligned. Sorry I don't see were the k-member stock mount route is cheaper. But maybe I'm missing something.
Click to expand...

Well when I did the \6 to 360 swap I picked up a complete 73 Dart Swinger (318 car) for a case of Bud. Besides the k-member I also harvested the brake parts for a disk swap. I sold all the trim that was any good for enough to cover the cost of having the carcass towed away and to replace the case of Bud with a case of Killians. I even gave the 318 and 904 to a needy fellow moparite.

The passenger side mount is the same between 318/340/360. The drivers side is only different in respect to the front to back spacing is narrower on the 340/360. A simple 1/2" spacer is all that needed to use a 318 mount and is what I did in my car.

When I did my swap I started about 9 on a Saturday. Had the engine out, the engine compartment re-painted and the new K-member in by 3:00pm. Sunday morning I installed the engine and had everything back together and fired the V8 engine around 4:00pm. The k-member all by it self is maybe 1-2 hours work.

Though not a bad idea I don't think there is enough variation between k-memebers to make an alignment mandatory. In my case I checked and everything was still in spec.

Again the decision to swap k-members is a function of what you have to pay to get the k-member. If I hadn't picked up the Dart doner car I would have gone with the conversion mounts.
 
Is $200 too much for a k-member? I found one in an old 73 (once a 340) duster in a junkyard. The dart im getting my rearend out of had an old 318 in it, would the k-member out of the dart fit in my duster? They are the same sizes arent they?
 
Also, in regards to the wiring harness. The wire to the oil pressure sender and to the coil are long enough on the \6 harness that you will want to cut them down. Everything else is fine as is. However, if you want to purchase a new harness Evans Wiring is the place to go http://evanswiring.tripod.com.
Click to expand...


Would a wiring harness from 72-74 A body still work on my 75? B/c evans doesnt have harnesses for 75 model
 
Joe334 said:
Is $200 too much for a k-member?
Click to expand...

YES. The only time I paid more than $50 was for somebody else and I didn't have time to hit the self serve yards to build him a DC k-member. That was $75 and I didn't have to pull it out.
 
$200 might be steep to some for a k-member, because you can get it rather easily, if however you dont have any old yards near by then you would have to pay for some seriouse freight to get it to you from somewhere else. I can sell v8 k-members all day long over in my neck of the woods for an easy $100 a pc. so it just depends on ...location...location...location.
I swaped my slant six k-member out to a v8 one because I wanted it done right. I have seen the Schumacher ones and though they work, I didnt personally like the set up much. I used the beefier k-member and plugged in some good beefy t-bars and used factory engine mounts. I also installed a front sway bar from the donor v8 k-member which is a nice feature. I guess it all depends on what you want, but I think I am happier with the real
k-member. I am pushing a bit over 400 hp from my 360 so I just wanted to be "sure" of everything below it.

for what its worth

-RPM
 
joe,
I dont see why a '74 harness wouldnt work in a '75.
with any harness you may have to cust an splice somwhere, but it will be close enough to make work.

-RPM
 
There is no difference in the beefiness of any of the k-members (except possibly the factory DC units - I've heard that the LCA pivot tubes were fully welded on them). All the other stuff just bolts on.

As for shipping k-members. The last one I shipped was about $40 FedEx. The last k-member I saw at a swap meet was sold to Tom Condran for $45 (he used it as a core for the DC copy I sold him at the same meet).

Watch out for different year harnesses as Chrysler did make changes to the pinouts on the bulkhead some years, if not all years.
 
RPM said:
$200 might be steep to some for a k-member, because you can get it rather easily, if however you dont have any old yards near by then you would have to pay for some seriouse freight to get it to you from somewhere else. I can sell v8 k-members all day long over in my neck of the woods for an easy $100 a pc. so it just depends on ...location...location...location.
I swaped my slant six k-member out to a v8 one because I wanted it done right. I have seen the Schumacher ones and though they work, I didnt personally like the set up much. I used the beefier k-member and plugged in some good beefy t-bars and used factory engine mounts. I also installed a front sway bar from the donor v8 k-member which is a nice feature. I guess it all depends on what you want, but I think I am happier with the real
k-member. I am pushing a bit over 400 hp from my 360 so I just wanted to be "sure" of everything below it.

for what its worth
-RPM
Click to expand...


There is nothing wrong with the conversion mounts. It sounds like you are trying to scare him into the k-member swap with your whole the v-8 k-member is more beefier doom and gloom thing if you don't use it. I don't thing there is any different between the two except the mounts.

Like I said in a previous post I was trying to do the factory stuff thing but could not find the stuff reasonably priced and I sure not going to pay twice as much as the conversion mounts just to have factory parts... forget it.

There are exceptions to every rule and I will tell you that for the most of us (or at least me) don't have a donor car or we have to have everything shipped in that adds expense.

I am not saying it is better, I am saying more times than not it is cheaper to use the conversion mounts.

If I could find the factory stuff for cheaper than the conversion stuff I sure wouldn't spent more for the conversion mounts so it goes both ways.

Transdapt also makes conversion mounts, here is a link
http://www.tdperformance.com/TransDapt.html

If you have a V8 k-member for a '72 a-body, 340/360 engine brackets w/bolts and new rubber mounts for $150 plus $10 shipping I will send you the money asap, this applies to anyone that thinks I can buy stock stuff cheaper than buying the conversion stuff.

If someone comes thru I will then eat my words... deal?

Chuck
 
not trying to scare anyone into anything. (doom and gloom?) If you read, I said it all depends on what you want. the key word being "you"...not me. I was merely informing of what I did. Maybe "beefier" wasnt a good term, It just looked to me when I did a side by side comparison of the slant k to the v8 k there were subtle differences in craftsmanship that made me appreciate the v8 one more. I didnt say the Schumacher kits were bad at all. I just didnt like the set up myself, thats all. If its a more cost effective route, then go for it.
In the mopar camp over here, people are split between the lines over the two set ups, just depends on ...what you want.

-RPM
 
Jim Lusk said:
YES. The only time I paid more than $50 was for somebody else and I didn't have time to hit the self serve yards to build him a DC k-member. That was $75 and I didn't have to pull it out.
Click to expand...

K members are cheap and not that hard to replace once the engine is out. I ought to know, I've replaced many of them from slant 6 to V8 and back again. Of course you need to swap torsion bars for the heavier engine.
 
RPM said:
$200 might be steep to some for a k-member, because you can get it rather easily, if however you dont have any old yards near by then you would have to pay for some seriouse freight to get it to you from somewhere else. I can sell v8 k-members all day long over in my neck of the woods for an easy $100 a pc. so it just depends on ...location...location...location.
I swaped my slant six k-member out to a v8 one because I wanted it done right. I have seen the Schumacher ones and though they work, I didnt personally like the set up much. I used the beefier k-member and plugged in some good beefy t-bars and used factory engine mounts. I also installed a front sway bar from the donor v8 k-member which is a nice feature. I guess it all depends on what you want, but I think I am happier with the real
k-member. I am pushing a bit over 400 hp from my 360 so I just wanted to be "sure" of everything below it.

for what its worth

-RPM
Click to expand...

I hear ya.... Here in the Northeast (Philly), you walk into a yard and ask for anything older than 85' there's two reactions. First, a blank stare, then laughter :headbang:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top