6.1 Hemi Swap

[hpjunke]

Ill be doing a detailed swap on how i did mine. learned a ton and i wanted to post some of my learnings here since i get tons of questions daily on it but here it is so far all done in the garage by me. Still need power steering stuff i have been waiting on but i should have it back soon .

 

[1969VADart]

That is a beautiful car and a very clean swap. What transmission and rear end are you running behind that? Did you purchase the 6.1 direct from Mopar or pull it out of something else? And do you have a few pics of the interior? I am considering this as one of my options on my 72.

 

[hpjunke]

Thank you very much the trans is a 545rfe ram trans , i got the engine off a guy who wrecked his charger motor maybe has about 15k on it . Ill post some interior shots it's not done that's the next thing i have to work on

 

[Cazbah362]

Very nice and clean install, yes please post details. I am finishing up a 5.7 install and found it a little difficult to find clear information on some parts of the swap. Lots of learning, so it is nice to see others approaches.

 

[1969VADart]

Thank you very much the trans is a 545rfe ram trans , i got the engine off a guy who wrecked his charger motor maybe has about 15k on it . Ill post some interior shots it's not done that's the next thing i have to work on

Also very interested to know what wheel and tire combo that you have there? I really like the kind of low stance to the car. I want mine to hug the ground a little.

 

[mpdlawdog]

WOW thats a nice ride!! I wish I knew more about the swap before I had my 340 rebuilt! Please post whatever you can...I know a lot of people are considering the swap!

 

[MoparcudaRay]

Beautiful setup, very interested in following your information and future progress.

 

[Avalanche]

What year motor charger did it come out of??
Gen 3?

 

[hpjunke]

What year motor charger did it come out of??
Gen 3?

a 2008 srt charger yes gen 3

 

[1969VADart]

I also had to look close to realize you kept the flat hood (non-RT without the callouts). I was leaning towards swapping to an RT style hood, but that flat hood on your car looks very clean.

 

[hpjunke]

I also had to look close to realize you kept the flat hood (non-RT without the callouts). I was leaning towards swapping to an RT style hood, but that flat hood on your car looks very clean.

Thank you .. i had to really measure to see if it fit . It was close but it closes and i have room haven't seen an e body as of yet with a flat hood

 

[hpjunke]

Also very interested to know what wheel and tire combo that you have there? I really like the kind of low stance to the car. I want mine to hug the ground a little.

wheel and tire is a 18x8 front with a 255/35/18 and rear is 18x9.5 with 295/35/18. Car sits a little to low with the swap (trans pan is close to the ground). i'll have to pick it up just a bit but i like the look so ill barley mess with it . lol

 

[moparmadd077]

very nice! doing a 6.1 in my 70 cuda now. its a full resto so it will be a while before its done. any tips you have would be good!

 

[hpjunke]

very nice! doing a 6.1 in my 70 cuda now. its a full resto so it will be a while before its done. any tips you have would be good!

Of course when you get on it i'm here if you need some help ..

 

[hpjunke]

I was able to take it out for a drive and it is such a different car now still bleeding out the power steering and brakes but it’s behaving so far . Off to the exhaust shop and then to paint to touch it up plus i have been making a center console so hopefully soon it will be a complete driver ..

 

[rolling_thunder]

Welcome to the club brother! The 6.1 will be a lot of fun -- it's really awesome you kept the flat hood - its really rare people don't swap on the Rallye hood. The car looks great man!

 

[hpjunke]

ok as prosmied i started out with a 383 and found a deal on this 6.1 so i bought it sold my drive train and begain this swap. Lots of guys said this wouldn’t happen and it’s way to expensive . It isn’t easy and you have to get creative but i got creative in buying power and made this happen using my creativity and persistence .I used a 6.1 hemi out of a charger and a ram trans pedal and computer .

when i brought it home

i sold the exhaust and didn’t use the wiring harness the nag1 trans also sold to make way for the 545rfe i used . Reason is the nag 1 harness takes much more to run in our old cars and the harness is much more expensive.

You need to cut the trans tunnel a lot for this to make it fit . Only downside i seen so i did it

getting this engine to fit requires shaving the ac compressor on the rear and clearincing the k frame so the ac compressor clears. Another thing is the oil pan the swap pan you can get from milodon and pick up however you will need to swap the main cap bolt to bolt the pick up and put the pan on.

motor mounts were from street n performance which is no longer so you will have to source them elseware until i start making them . Headers were from doug thorley they needed to be dimpled to clear the torsion on the driver side the other side fit with out issues. Also the motor will have to be trimmed in order for no interference on the engine . I don’t have a picture of that but you will see when you attempt to mount it .Also the oil filter needs to be angled so i used a ram 45 degree filter adapter and cut the excess off , put a short oil filter and removed the threaded filter screw to install the adapter .I used a short filter and it fits just fine .

i got the engine in and i decided to rewire the car for the efi harness from squire

i purchased a ram computer and pedal built a pedal bracket ran the harness and installed the computer wired it all in and tested it out .

View attachment 44476

View attachment 44476

 

[hpjunke]

I had a shop mount my shifter and cover my hole for the trans . I wanted to note when you mount the trans you will have to remove the pilot bushing and it’s a pain . The 545 trans uses a bigger converter guide and you will need to remove the pilot bushing in order to get this to work .Also you will need a 545 flex plate to fit the converter the nag1 has 3 converter bolts and the 545 has 4 . Also you will need to get a brake switch that controls your converter when you brake and unlocks it under braking . It also controls your brake lights so i made a bracket and installed it on the existing brake switch bracket

i made a trans mount for the 545 using a 65 chevy rubber mount modified a l shaped bracket and welded it on my original trans brace and it works like a charm. This was before i made the mount here i’ll have to get a picture of the finished product. Also my original drive shaft splines fit into the 545 trans just needed to be shortened about 3 inches

I bought a gas tank from tanks inc it comes with the pump and sender, bolted right in used a corvette fuel filter which had a built in return to run around 58 psi which the hemi needs to run .

 

[moparlee]

Good workmanship man on getting all of that to come together.

 

[hpjunke]

Good workmanship man on getting all of that to come together.

Thank you it’s been a long road but it sure is a blast to drive .