Dodge Dakota HEMI Swap: The Forgotten Muscle Truck

Caecey Killian July 8, 2025 3 min read 0

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The Dodge Dakota 5.9 R/T was a turning point for Mopar performance trucks. Introduced in 1999, the rear-wheel-drive sport truck helped revive Dodge’s legacy of muscle-minded pickups. It carrying forward the spirit of the Lil’ Red Express and Warlock from the 1970s. Before SRT badges and Hellcats ruled the street, Dodge’s midsize R/T offered enthusiasts a V8-powered platform that felt raw, honest, and fun. Holley pushes it past fun with the Dakota HEMI swap.

Factory-built with a high-output 5.9-liter Magnum V8 producing 250 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, the Dakota R/T was paired to a heavy-duty 46RE 4-speed automatic. Suspension upgrades included stiffer tuning, a larger 9mm rear sway bar, and a 19mm drop for better handling. A 3.92 limited-slip rear end, 17×9-inch aluminum wheels, and Goodyear Eagle RSA rubber gave it just the right street presence. Offered in both Regular and Club Cab forms, only 16,496 were built between 1999 and 2003, making them rare and increasingly collectible today.

HEMI Swap With Holley

While the numbers aren’t mind-blowing by today’s standards, the Dakota 5.9 R/T is an ideal platform for modern Mopar muscle. Holley Performance recognized this and recently showcased a full Dakota HEMI swap into an R/T using a 6.4-liter V8 from a 2015 Challenger. The result is 485 horsepower and the kind of performance modern sport truck fans crave without the $70,000+ price tag of a Ram TRX.

Holley’s build guide doesn’t just walk you through an engine swap. It covers the essentials needed to make it all reliable, including drivetrain reinforcements and fitment details. Their goal? To create a Dakota HEMI swap that’s easy to do and just as fun on a road course as it is lighting up tires in a straight line. As Holley puts it: “Sure, it’ll burn the tires down if that’s what you’re after, but it’ll also spin that speedometer over in a way that MAGNUM engine could only dream of.”

Everyone Gets A HEMI

If Dakotas aren’t your thing, Holley also supports Gen III HEMI swaps for a wide range of vehicles—everything from 1972–1993 D-series trucks to classic B-bodies and Jeep Wranglers. Still, there’s something special about turning a forgotten early-2000s Dakota into a tire-melting muscle truck. With clean examples still out there, this could be one of the best HEMI builds for the buck.

AboutCaecey Killian

Caecey Killian covers builds, installs, and product features for Car Junkie Magazine. He has spent years on the floor of the garage chasing horsepower across SBC, LS, and modern muscle platforms, and that shop time runs through every article he writes. His current CJM project is Project Street Reaper, a 1976 Camaro built around a fresh SBC 350. He is also known for Project Mighty Mouse, a 1977 Chevy Nova running a 1962 small-journal 327 SBC, with build coverage published across multiple online automotive magazines. His media background spans long-form build documentation, install coverage, and product features across the magazine and the Car Junkie Magazine YouTube channel. He writes the way he wrenches: specific, honest about the mistakes, and grounded in real garage work.