dodge dakota 5.9 rt 1999

[ian-163jt]

hi guys , got another yank after straying away for a bit , I have my new pickup coming but I want to spend a bit to make it fast for road , I think it has about 250 hp , it has a modified exhaust so far but that's it , I wont track it / pull any weight just a toy to have some fun in , the only trouble is I have a good mechanic but he is green on this sort of thing for old yanks , I have about £1500k to spend , can anybody suggest what I can get & good mods to go for on this budget & what sort of power I would get for my money , or is it worth spending that much , do less & get a bit more bang for my buck ?
or if anybody knows mechanic / garage that would do all work supply & fit I am in no rush ?
I live in Portsmouth so don't want to drive over 2 hours to get work done ?
thanks

[Matt Harper]

I had a 99 Dodge Ram 1500 R/T Sport with the same Magnum engine.

In reality, Mopar LA motors are not all that responsive to performance modification, without spending a gigantic amount of money, in relation to the gains you might expect.

There is not a lot you can do with the OEM "kegger" intake manifold, so adding a CAI will do nothing other than create some incremental noise.

Removing the cast iron exhaust manifolds and installing long-tube headers will give you maybe 10-15whp, but will also swallow your entire budget.

I installed bigger injectors in mine, with little performance improvement - and it threw me some check engine codes.

A bigger aftermarket (BBK) throttle body might also give you some more peppy throttle response and a bit more shove, but is probably pointless without some head porting and headers.

[ian-163jt]

ok thanks , it has aftermarket headers / exhaust (Gibson ) so maybe just use as is then ? would have liked to get it to 300bhp ish but never mind , it spins the wheels easy at moment so no all bad .not worth doing any more then ?

[HD Adam]

If you're looking for a quick 50 hp, something like this is an easy bolt on and probably within your budget.

I would have it fitted & tuned by somebody experienced though.

https://www.noswizard.com/car-nitrous-kits/wet-car...

[ian-163jt]

HD Adam said:

If you're looking for a quick 50 hp, something like this is an easy bolt on and probably within your budget.

I would have it fitted & tuned by somebody experienced though.

https://www.noswizard.com/car-nitrous-kits/wet-car...

thanks for information but its not really just a boost now and again , when I got truck these are quite pretty rapid from stock with a nice 5.9 v8 , so I thought spend a few grand and get something even more fun , perhaps I picked wrong truck, but my mate had one & loved it , they are quite hard to get as well , so when I found one I snapped it up , I wanted a small pick up that was quick/ light & can use for work .what is would be best to get for under £10k ?
these trucks do move/ handle /sound good for the money (I paid £7k) so I thoiyught another £2-£3 k for mods and would be bang on budget ..

[Matt Harper]

I'd be a wee bit nervous about spraying N2O in relation to your Mopar LA engine. The rotating assembly in this motor is nothing like as stout as in the Eagle and Apache Hemis that replaced it. Nitrous Oxide puts quite a lot of stress on engine internals and yours is a low compression, utilitarian motor - not a built, performance one.
From a practical perspective, it's never going to be a screamer, but they do deliver a hefty dollop of torque, which in turn gives you some get-up-and-go, particularly from a standstill.
Is it a manual or an auto? If automatic, a higher stall torque converter and a Trans-Go shift kit will wake it up a bit (allows you to put more revs on the motor in drive, while stationary and really firms-up the shifts) and Mopar RFE transmissions are quite modifiable with an appropriate OBD tuner.

[ian-163jt]

Matt Harper said:

I'd be a wee bit nervous about spraying N2O in relation to your Mopar LA engine. The rotating assembly in this motor is nothing like as stout as in the Eagle and Apache Hemis that replaced it. Nitrous Oxide puts quite a lot of stress on engine internals and yours is a low compression, utilitarian motor - not a built, performance one.
From a practical perspective, it's never going to be a screamer, but they do deliver a hefty dollop of torque, which in turn gives you some get-up-and-go, particularly from a standstill.
Is it a manual or an auto? If automatic, a higher stall torque converter and a Trans-Go shift kit will wake it up a bit (allows you to put more revs on the motor in drive, while stationary and really firms-up the shifts) and Mopar RFE transmissions are quite modifiable with an appropriate OBD tuner.

thanks , yes don't want nos , what sort of money to do this conversion & who would do it ?
sorry yes auto & it does shift , lovely drive really , its small with 5.9 v8 so much better than my Navara , I don't know how bad the fuel will be at moment as using it for work so will find out , my Navara only does 25 ish and slow as you like .. so this is more fun ,the owner says its handful in the wet though ...

[Matt Harper]

ian-163jt said:

thanks , yes don't want nos , what sort of money to do this conversion & who would do it ?
sorry yes auto & it does shift , lovely drive really , its small with 5.9 v8 so much better than my Navara , I don't know how bad the fuel will be at moment as using it for work so will find out , my Navara only does 25 ish and slow as you like .. so this is more fun ,the owner says its handful in the wet though ...

A high-stall torque converter is not expensive - discounting shipping/duty, probably between 300-450 quid. However, the transmission has to be removed to install it - no idea what UK shop labor rates are these days. A good shift-kit (Transgo etc) would be around 100 pounds, ordered from Summit or Rock Auto. Installation is more complex, because the transmission innards need to be removed - so at least a days work. Any transmission shop should be able to do it.