Dakota front end swap

[73kay]

Picking up my donor 91 Dakata for $200 tomorrow and still got order my crossmember. I am slightly nervous on the ride height. Any pics of anyone who has done this would be appreciated. I'm keeping my 235 and t5 and probably gonna switch to a manual rack and pinion if I can. I have a ford 9 in rear and this swap also gets all my wheels on the same
Bolt pattern I'm not slamming but keeping it tight. I'll try to start a build thread on this since there just isn't as much info out there for this swap and it honestly is pretty cheap compared to the m2. Any info or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

[mongocanfly]

I looked into the Dakota swap but finding one that was right was next to impossible..I could find 6 lug but not 5..by the time I would have swapped out everything and bought a crossmember I would have had a chunk in it...soooo ..I went with a flatout crossmember and corvette front..it was more expensive than a Dakota but I'm well pleased ..now just to get it installed and on the road..
If yoir hubs are 6 lug be aware that you'll be limited on wheel choice..I think dakota and viper are all that'll fit..I think

[73kay]

Thanks mongo, it's my understanding that you can switch the odd 6lug to the ford bolt pattern by swapping out the rotors. The 87-90 I think are 5 lug but I got a good price for the donor and probably was gonna get new rotors anyway. I believe you can get rotors for a 70s/80s dodge pickup and calipers and they bolt on. That's part of the limited stuff I've seen online.

[mongocanfly]

If I remember right it takes more than just rotors...the hubs need changed and some if the brake parts as well..like I said before I was getting nowhere trying to find enough junkyard donors (dang cash for clunkers) to put one together so I just gave up and went vett..
There's a bunch of info about swapping it over.. just google it.
Good luck

[mr48chev]

I went out and looked at my $200.00 wonder donor rig and it has 6 lug hubs on it.


It is a 4 cylinder truck. I wasn't planning on using the small rotors anyhow so it wasn't an issue. If the sheet metal parts don't find a new home pretty soon the back half of the frame and the box is going to be a trailer that I can sell and get some money back out of what I paid for it.

I've wondered on what the ride height is going to be too as I want mine reasonably low with springs.

Steve posted this photo on FB this week of a truck he is building in his shop but I don't know the particulars on the suspension. It sits too high for my tastes but has pretty tall tires on it too.

From going to his fb page that one has an all custom coil over setup under it with a custom frame.

[73kay]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I went out and looked at my $200.00 wonder donor rig and it has 6 lug hubs on it.


It is a 4 cylinder truck. I wasn't planning on using the small rotors anyhow so it wasn't an issue. If the sheet metal parts don't find a new home pretty soon the back half of the frame and the box is going to be a trailer that I can sell and get some money back out of what I paid for it.

I've wondered on what the ride height is going to be too as I want mine reasonably low with springs.

Steve posted this photo on FB this week of a truck he is building in his shop but I don't know the particulars on the suspension. It sits too high for my tastes but has pretty tall tires on it too.

Thanks mr48chev, I saw you talk about your idea on some other page awhile back, that gave me the idea to check it out. Did you get the crossmember yet? That height is ok for maybe drop a tad, hahah

[mr48chev]

Haven't got the crossmember yet, waiting for my income tax return to show up. As I said above I need to sell off some stuff to pay for some of the parts for the truck.
Here is a photobucket album Steve sent me today after I emailed him and asked about the ride height.
Tires are bigger than I want to run but it doesn't sit too bad. I'm also snooping on the Dakota forums to see how they lower one without breaking the bank.

http://s206.photobucket.com/user/ELp...?sort=2&page=1

Looking at a side shot of the red truck he did and a side shot of mine I need to be about 1-1/2 to 2 inches lower to be where I want mine.

Looking at the center of the front hub or hub cap on each


I want this ride height on mine when it is done.

[mr48chev]

If you can get it to open here is an instagram of another truck with Dakota suspension and the industrial chassis crossmember https://www.instagram.com/p/BEy0Bpllyyu/

[Lo1dakota]

Dakotas are easy to lower. Typically its just springs, but you can use lowering control arms. I've had a few in my day. One of which my favorite had a Hotchkis TVS system. Lowering it 2 in the front and 3 in the rear. Bilstein shocks all the way around and almost 2 times the factory size sway bars. It handled VERY well.

[73kay]

Thanks Lo1dakota, did you use Dakota for your suspension?

[Lo1dakota]

No, I'm just speaking from having had a few Dodge Dakota trucks. My '50 is using a drop axle.

[Rickysnickers]

I had a '00 Dakota R/T. I used the Hotchkis kit lower mine. If you end up using the suspension for that era Dakota, '97-'03, you will be bummed to find out that Hotchkis no longer makes a suspension kit for those trucks. You might be able to find them used, but not new.

[solidaxel]

My 53 Chevy has one of Steve's X members and I like better than the Mll on my 55
I did need to change the springs and spindles to lower the front to get it whre I wanted it to set.
If I recall I used a 89 donor and all Ford wheels as it has a 9" rear
Both trucks have Bilstines and the 53 is much smoother ride

[73kay]

Thx solidaxel, are those 14in wheels? What tire did you use fro the front and back?

[solidaxel]

The wheels are 15"
The rear tires are 255 60 and the fronts are much smaller, what ever was on sale at the time
I will look tomorrow