Blue Sky Dynamics

A 5.7 Hemi Conversion

Here is Robert's personal Barracuda he has had since Oct. of 1980. Before that it was his parent's daily driver that they bought in Dec. of 1968. The car came with a 318. In 1983 Robert swapped the motor for a 340 that he built for mild street strip use. Now in April of 2007 The entire drive train and suspension is being removed for a new AlterKation front end kit and 5.7 HEMI from a 2003 Dodge truck. The reasons we went for a production engine instead of the crate engines available are many. First we can get the engine, 5 speed transmission and all the wiring harnesses for less money than the crate motor. Second, the motor comes with A/C compressor, a high amp alternator and power steering pump. Third, we get the factory computer and all the sensors to make this a turn key reliable daily drivable motor. And forth, we get the 5 speed overdrive transmission!

The photo on the left is the new HEMI from the 2003 Ram Truck. The middle photo is the main AlterKation piece from RMS. The right photo is the old 340 right before it was removed from the car. I had a lot of great times with that engine!

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The left photo is the 340 and front suspension after the body was lifted off using our custom stand. The middle photo shows the lower control arm stop plate that needs to be removed for the Alterkation frame to fit. This is the only cutting needed to make the RMS kit fit. The right photo showes the stop removed.

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The left photo shows the HEMI with the wiring harness removed. The middle photo shows how we removed part of the trans cross member support to make room for the 518 transmission. This tranny is large so we have to remove some of the floor to make clearance for it. The right photo shows where we made the first lines to cut. These were not enough so we had to enlarge the tunnel even more.

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The next step is to add sub frame connectors. 1st it will give the car extra strength, and 2nd it will give us something to weld a trans cross member onto. We decided to make our own sub frame connectors that follow the contour of the floor pan. This way they will be welded to both the front frame, the rear frame and the entire floor pan area. This will provide exceptional strength and not have to enter the driver compartment. We started by using cardboard templates, than transferred the pattern onto the 2" x 4" steel tubing. The steel was cut and shaped for a near perfect fit. Here are the photos of the progress.

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Now that the frame connectors are welded in, it's time to make and install the trans cross member. We started with 2" x 3" steel tubing and made notches for the exhaust. Next the middle was notched for a mid 70's trans mount. These are safer than the earlier mounts and are readily available. To bolt the cross member in we drilled holes into the new frame connectors. Then tubes were welded into the frame connectors to keep them straight. The photos below show the cross member being made, the tubes welded in the frame connectors right before they were ground nice and smooth and the completed notches for the exhaust.

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Now that the fabricating of the frame and trans support are done we can start assembling the AlterKation Kit. The kit comes complete with everything needed to convert to a coil over spring suspension with rack and pinion steering. disc brakes and best of all a big bolt pattern! Now I won't be limited on my rim choices. The instructions were very simple to follow. The 1st step is to assemble the sub sets of parts. After the sub sets are done we started putting the parts on in order. The photos show the different steps from start to finish. This kit was well made and went together very nicely. It sure is a nice look from front. I can't wait to feel how it handles.

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Here are 3 photos showing the HEMI in the Cuda. We still have to add the wiring and master cylinder, but you can get an idea how it fits.

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Now that the engine is in it's time to start working on all the other systems on the car. Just about everything needs to be modified some to make this work. The photos below show how we had to shorten the steering column by 1 1/4". We cut out 1 1/4" from both the outer column and inner column to clear the head. We are going to lengthen the steering shaft by about 2 1/2" to provide a better angle to the rack and pinion. We will also replace the bearings on the shaft when we are done with the modifications.

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Here is a front view of the AlterKation kit with the wheels and tires installed. Sure has a nice stance.

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Our next step is to install the Classic Auto Air A/C and Heater Box in the car and the Power Brakes. Here are a few photos of that process. Notice we used the Mopar Performance offset plate to move the Master Cylinder over to gain clearance for the wide Hemi heads.

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Now the fun part...The wiring. We are using all the factory wiring harnesses from the Ram 1500. We 1st removed all the wires we won't be using, the ABS, Anti Lock Brakes and Wheel Speed Sensors. While that did help we still have a large bundle of wires. We installed the Computers under the dash where the glove box went, and the power distribution center where the original fuse block went. The photos below show the mass of wires and the mounted computers.

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Here is the final step...Making a new transmission hump. Here you can see the steps as the floor came together. First metal was cut and bent in strips, then tack welded in place. After all the pieces were in place the final welding took place. A little smoothing with a flapper wheel, some seam sealer and we have a new tunnel.

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Well here it is. In less than 4 months and only working on it part time between customer projects we got the car running! You can see how great the engine fits the engine bay of the A Body.