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Engine swap 5.9 TO 3.9 YES to a 3.9!! ??

4K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  PR1AWRet 
#1 ·
Alright guys here is the deal, my son is buying his first project vehicle today and this will be our first project together! I'm really looking forward to this and have been for some day!! As a gear head when your kids become involved and interested in the same stuff as we like it really can get exciting! So I found him a truck and he really likes it and what it can be once it's fixed back up. The truck is at a local junk yard about the be parted out, clean title and not wrecked, it's a 1996 Ram Indianapolis 500 pace truck that needs quite a bit of fixing up. The 5.9 has been beat hard and has given up the fight for the moment. So the plan is to pull the engine, run the numbers and rebuild it. Now here is the part where I have to play DAD and decide if the 5.9 is too much for a first time driver...and I am leaning hard towards YES. My thoughts are to swap in a 3.9 V6 for the time being and let him beat on that for awhile and finish fixing up the truck as we go. Then when he shows a little responsibility (and the look in his eyes fads a bit) we will put in the fully rebuilt 5.9 and complete the truck.
Everyone seems to want to yank out the wimpy 3.9 and swap in a 318 or 360 so I can find plenty of info on that but what about going the other way and installing the 3.9 in place of the 5.9 ?? Any advise and encouragement would be a big help. My son and I can handle all the required work, we just don't want to tie up a bunch of money in a ass-backwards engine swap!
Thanks guys and looking forward to hearing your responses!!!
:Hey:
 
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#2 ·
There's a lot involved, but the trans will match up.

I'd recommend just do a 5.2, still a V8, but not the torque monster that 5.9 is.

If you really want to limit the power, they make drop in limiters for the distributor. When I was younger, my friend's little brother had a mustang with a 3000 rpm limiter...
 
#7 ·
I'd do the 360 overhaul. Would be a good learning/bonding experience. Don't think a stock built 360 would be that fast. Yes a 318 would be better for a kid. Nice project to restore the truck to original, something to be proud of. He may have more interest in waxing it and keeping it nice, than beating hell out of it. Or he could turn out like me.
 
#8 ·
My 4 cylinder s10 with 89 hp would do highway speeds no problem. Point is you can do stupid things and kill yourself with any vehicle. If you don't think he's trustworthy enough and smart enough to drive then he shouldn't be driving a v6 or a v8.
 
#9 ·
I was thinking the same thing. 175hp V6 is more than enough to get into trouble. Usually, the ones I notice most are the V6 Rams with loud exhaust as they always seem to have it floored trying to get somewhere. Pulling out in traffic with marginal power can ruin anyone's day, even a responsibly acting teen, so there's the other side of things. Even a stock 5.9 isn't some wild beast straining to break free like those little pocket rocket turbo cars, or some V8 Mustang/Camaro types. I never liked the thought of a rev-limited engine as, once again, the one time you need the extra power and it's not there, you're toast. Can anyone say they've never pulled out, and out of nowhere comes some crazed maniac that wasn't there only a heartbeat before? Too late to stop. Only solution is to stab the gas and get clear. It happens. Track the truck. If things get wild, take the keys. Nothing like humility, and I mean several months of it, to adjust an attitude. If he wants to hot-dog, get him a go-cart.
 
#10 ·
And I'm sure that rev limiter will stay on when he pulls out of the drive. Good thing removing a distributor cap is a HUGE pita and you need to be a certified mechanic to do so.

;)

IMO don't shelter them they will deceive you. Educate them and teach them and they will be responsible. My parents had few "rules" for me but taught me right and wrong and I almost never got in to trouble. (who can really say they NEVER got in to trouble...)

My friends who were not allowed to do this and that, had to be home by this time, weren't allowed to go to this place, etc were the one's constantly breaking the rules/laws and getting in to trouble.
 
#11 ·
Sure you can get into trouble with low horsepower, but you are unable to do the real stupid things like excessive speeds in residential areas and stuff like that as easy, or burning the tires off in the mall parking lot.

It's not sheltering them, the kid gets a truck he has a chance of affording the gas in.
 
#14 ·
I find this statement false. I had a 91 Dodge Ram 50 with a 2.4l 4cyl and 5 speed manual. I set the tires on fire it the parking garage once. I would also do 90 mph from my house to my friends. I was leaving black marks and smoking tires every time I accelerated from a stop and I was always splashing in the mud. I beat the shit out of that little truck. That all changed when I was in my first wreck. I was using my dad f150 which I drove responsibily and I was pulling in my driveway and got hit on the drivers rear by a car doing over 100 mph. I was a good kid and my dad was no stranger to a belt across the ass. Kids are going to do what they do. Some of them just need to be told some need to put effort it to it so the are proud of it and some need to learn the hard way.
I say get the two of you out there and build the truck. He will respect it more.
Teach him what kind of power it has and show him what it'll do. He will respect you more. Enjoy the Esperance and he will too. I hope it turns out great.
Mick
P.S. you don't want the v6 thing to backfire into an I'll show you deal where he does stupid things on purpose. That's what my issue was I wanted a full sized truck and I got stuck with the Ram 50. I paid for it did the maintainance my self and supplied my own gas but dad wouldn't let me get anything else he wanted to teach me how to handle a truck before I got a V8.
 
#20 · (Edited)
A 2.4 is nowhere near as powerful as a 360, to even suggest so is heap of bull
I'm not saying that a 2.4L is anywhere near as powerful as a 360, but I am saying you can do real stupid things with low horsepower, because you said you couldn't.

This is the comment I quoted in my post.
Originally Posted by Swaggerville Ram View Post
Sure you can get into trouble with low horsepower, but you are unable to do the real stupid things like excessive speeds in residential areas and stuff like that as easy, or burning the tires off in the mall parking lot.

Mick
P.S. I was also saying the reason I did those stupid things was because I was forced to get something less powerful in order to stop me from being able to do stupid things.
 
#21 ·
I'm not saying that a 2.4L is anywhere near as powerful as a 360, but I am saying you can do real stupid things with low horsepower, because you said you couldn't.
I did not say you couldn't. I said not as easily. You even quoted that in my post but failed to read an comprehend.
This is the comment I quoted in my post.
Originally Posted by Swaggerville Ram View Post
Sure you can get into trouble with low horsepower, but you are unable to do the real stupid things like excessive speeds in residential areas and stuff like that as easy, or burning the tires off in the mall parking lot.

Mick
P.S. I was also saying the reason I did those stupid things was because I was forced to get something less powerful in order to stop me from being able to do stupid things.
Well given your maturity level at the time, I can see why your parents made that choice. For you to suggest that things would have been different if you got what you wanted I find suspect at best. Talk is cheap. Your admitted level of maturity and respect at the time tells the real story
 
#13 ·
I don't have any children. I didn't say I have all the answers. Just giving my opinion from my experiences. I take a look at myself and those around me and like I said myself and my good friends that the parents were reasonable with and taught them right from wrong are the ones that were responsible and not in trouble. The kids I knew in high school and college that were sheltered and the parents constantly on their back they were the ones always in trouble and doing bad things.

All you can do is give your kids guidance, you can't control them which is what a lot of people try to do. Like it or not they are going to make their own decisions, good or bad. Or there's the other extreme where parents don't raise their kids at all.
 
#19 ·
I think it's a great plan and he is going to be a lucky kid. as someone said we all did stupid things when we were kids. and as you fix up the 5.9 (make it worth the wait) it will give him time to respect the truck, great idea.
 
#22 ·
When I was in HS I had a station wagon with a 440/425hp. Yes I did spin the tires, see how fast it went, and how it cornered. At 54 I still lay rubber, see how quick it can go and how well it corners (04 Z06). My parents taught me responsibility. If I messed it up it was my money. I paid for my gas, car ($80) and insurance. Putting my foot in the gas cost me money at about 5 miles a gallon in town and 12 on the highway. Kids will be kids and some of us grown ups too.
 
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