Well I picked up my $300 Craigslist engine Thursday afternoon. We had to go to Tulsa for an appointment and the guy selling the engine was in Sapulpa, not too far down the road, so I was able to combine the trip. This engine is from a 1999 Ram 1500 and is essentially the same as what came out of the 1994. The only difference between the two is the newer engine does not have EGR, which will not really affect what I am doing. More importantly, the new engine has a bit more power. Somewhere around 1997, Dodge increased the horsepower rating on these motors by 15 HP. I don't know if it was a change in the cam profile or the computer tuning. If it was the latter, I am still using the old computer, so I am stuck with the lower output.
I got the motor complete with all the accessories. Externally, it looks like it is in good shape. There are no signs of coolant leaks and the grease buildup is not bad, so it doesn't look like it was abused by lack of maintenance. I haven't pulled the intake and oil pan yet, but I am pretty confident I could set this engine in my chassis, hook up the wire harness and fuel connections and have a good running engine, albeit a 125k mile engine. At the minimum, I am going to replace the oil pump, main seals, inspect the bearings in the bottom end and replace the timing set. There is a known issue with the intake plenum and gasket, so I will address that when I pull the intake, and I will replace the camshaft as well. Beyond that, some cleaning and paint should seal the deal. About $500 will make for a solid motor, the bulk of which being the aftermarket cam.
While I have everything disassembled, I am going to soda blast the aluminum engine brackets and intake manifold, then paint them with high temp clear to keep oxidization at bay. The block will get cleaned and shot with Hemi Orange. For now, I am going to hang on to the other 360, just in case I need the crank or rods, though I really doubt this will be an issue.
-Joe
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