[JTCHemiRam]

Long-winded back story....

Bought a used 07 Ram 1500 Big Horn Edition when we needed another vehicle after my son got his drivers license. I've been digging into the some of the Gen 3 Hemi stuff. Pretty cool and interesting!

I have also returned to college as a working adult and have decided to take some automotive engineering and automotive technology classes out of interest and career path (my employer is one of the world's largest automotive industry suppliers).

In some of my online digging, I have found out about vehicle salvage auctions, rebuilding engines, parting out vehicles, etc.
And that intrigues me.

So be blunt with me and return me back to the real world. Is it really possible to make money buying salvaged vehicles, parting them out, and rebuilding and selling the engines? Specifically 03-08 Hemis, stroking them out and adding some other aftermarket/performance parts? Stuff like OCP dual plane intake, PIE ported heads, etc.

I really am a newbie in all regards and just have recent internet research motivating and intriguing me.

 

[charged392]

Welcome to HTC!
I work in the automotive field and own my
Own business. I have thought about doing that very thing but then you don’t know history or condition. I can’t sell someone even used stuff not knowing 100% it won’t strand them or break. IMO it’s a waste of time unless you have a warehouse and a yard to make it a business.

 

[JTCHemiRam]

Welcome to HTC!
I work in the automotive field and own my
Own business. I have thought about doing that very thing but then you don’t know history or condition. I can’t sell someone even used stuff not knowing 100% it won’t strand them or break. IMO it’s a waste of time unless you have a warehouse and a yard to make it a business.

Yeah I can see how the scale of it could make sense. And I also can understand issues with not knowing the history and condition of things when re-selling the parts.

 

[ric3xrt]

Job security for the next few years…..learn how to rebuild RFE545 and RFE 65 transmissions someone always needs one

 

[JTCHemiRam]

I will give those trannies a look.

 

[ric3xrt]

"So be blunt with me and return me back to the real world. Is it really possible to make money buying salvaged vehicles, parting them out, and rebuilding and selling the engines? Specifically 03-08 Hemis, stroking them out and adding some other aftermarket/performance parts? Stuff like OCP dual plane intake, PIE ported heads, etc. "

(Please take this as advice and not sarcasm)
Straight up, the best thing you can get into with these early Hemi(s) is tuning, Somebody is always camming them , and a lot of the bigger tuner guys don't want to put the effort in to these older stuff.

I'm doing about 6-12 tunes a week for a few shops here in the northeast , we have a lot of LS/GM experts who won't turn work away but need help with Hemi(s) and from reading a lot of "help me " post on HPtuners .....it's not just the northeast.

PIE heads are with out a doubt the best 03-08 Hemi Head you can buy....1st , problem is Intake manifold , the truck intake SUCKS......Let me rephrase that, the 03-08 Truck intake manifold [email protected]!King sux.
The 06-08 LX intake , you need to swap the accessories/Timing cover over to Passenger car(LX-platform) Issue there is AC.....and lets face it most people want to keep the A/C on now a days.
OCP intake , great for the daily crowd, works well with cams as large as 230/[email protected] and .600 lift......Issue is ( and I respect Joe with the upmost sincerity) availability, Joe does his best to keep up with orders....but demand is High.
Drag pak,Prefix,Ritter, Holley Hi Ram, Snippers all need to have their port openings welded up to work with the PIE heads..............Trust me when I say the Prefix is the only one you should take the time to modify , HI Ram Ritter,Drag Pak, are all too big they are designed with 370-420 CFM in mind.....Sniper....I'm just going to say , it takes a lot of Short block to make it worth it.

2nd Problem with PIE heads , is 09+ Eagle head , you can hit several Ebay stores pick up re-man Eagles for 1/3 the price ...granted stock eagles are roughly 290-300CFM as bought, while PIE heads go 330CFM with the 2.10 valve and if your daring enough to stuff a 2.125X6mm valve in them , they will clear 340CFM @ .700.

I build between 10&20 03-08 Short blocks with Eagle heads on them a month for a national retailer. mostly 394CI (3.937X4.05) so there can be money in doing them, but it's hard to compete with a "National " engine supplier when it come to warranty....they can offer it , it'll kill you ..trust me. you get one local guy who thinks you f-d them , and a law suite later your out , your build money, his new build money and damages.....(Knocking on wooden desk, because I've been lucky)

Learn Tuning.........

 

[SUPER BEE]

 

[SUPER BEE]

This is my 2007 Quad Cab 1500, love it, she has 101K miles on the odometer. Good luck with your truck and education.

 

[JTCHemiRam]

This is my 2007 Quad Cab 1500, love it, she has 101K miles on the odometer. Good luck with your truck and education.

View attachment 51580

She's a beaut!! Ours is double the mileage...201k + and typical rusting out fenders and rear bumpers. Mostly use it for pulling trailers, filling the bed with woodchips, leaves, etc, letting our teenage son drive, and throwing into 4WD on nasty winter days here in MN.

 

[JTCHemiRam]

"So be blunt with me and return me back to the real world. Is it really possible to make money buying salvaged vehicles, parting them out, and rebuilding and selling the engines? Specifically 03-08 Hemis, stroking them out and adding some other aftermarket/performance parts? Stuff like OCP dual plane intake, PIE ported heads, etc. "

(Please take this as advice and not sarcasm)
Straight up, the best thing you can get into with these early Hemi(s) is tuning, Somebody is always camming them , and a lot of the bigger tuner guys don't want to put the effort in to these older stuff.

I'm doing about 6-12 tunes a week for a few shops here in the northeast , we have a lot of LS/GM experts who won't turn work away but need help with Hemi(s) and from reading a lot of "help me " post on HPtuners .....it's not just the northeast.

PIE heads are with out a doubt the best 03-08 Hemi Head you can buy....1st , problem is Intake manifold , the truck intake SUCKS......Let me rephrase that, the 03-08 Truck intake manifold [email protected]!King sux.
The 06-08 LX intake , you need to swap the accessories/Timing cover over to Passenger car(LX-platform) Issue there is AC.....and lets face it most people want to keep the A/C on now a days.
OCP intake , great for the daily crowd, works well with cams as large as 230/[email protected] and .600 lift......Issue is ( and I respect Joe with the upmost sincerity) availability, Joe does his best to keep up with orders....but demand is High.
Drag pak,Prefix,Ritter, Holley Hi Ram, Snippers all need to have their port openings welded up to work with the PIE heads..............Trust me when I say the Prefix is the only one you should take the time to modify , HI Ram Ritter,Drag Pak, are all too big they are designed with 370-420 CFM in mind.....Sniper....I'm just going to say , it takes a lot of Short block to make it worth it.

2nd Problem with PIE heads , is 09+ Eagle head , you can hit several Ebay stores pick up re-man Eagles for 1/3 the price ...granted stock eagles are roughly 290-300CFM as bought, while PIE heads go 330CFM with the 2.10 valve and if your daring enough to stuff a 2.125X6mm valve in them , they will clear 340CFM @ .700.

I build between 10&20 03-08 Short blocks with Eagle heads on them a month for a national retailer. mostly 394CI (3.937X4.05) so there can be money in doing them, but it's hard to compete with a "National " engine supplier when it come to warranty....they can offer it , it'll kill you ..trust me. you get one local guy who thinks you f-d them , and a law suite later your out , your build money, his new build money and damages.....(Knocking on wooden desk, because I've been lucky)

Learn Tuning.........

Lots of good info here! Thanks!

EDIT
So I'm coming back to this after re-reading. To summarize, the Eagle heads are a more affordable option for rebuilding/stroking 03-08s. I assume those heads also open up the possibility for more intakes, probably stock 09+ 5.7, stock 6.4, and maybe some aftermarket stuff.
Sounds like OCP intakes come down to availability for good daily driver builds.
After all that, it'll be tough to compete with the scale of national retailers offering a warranty. And no matter what, learn tuning!

 

[Rays04GTX]

Lots of good info here! Thanks!

EDIT
So I'm coming back to this after re-reading. To summarize, the Eagle heads are a more affordable option for rebuilding/stroking 03-08s. I assume those heads also open up the possibility for more intakes, probably stock 09+ 5.7, stock 6.4, and maybe some aftermarket stuff.
Sounds like OCP intakes come down to availability for good daily driver builds.
After all that, it'll be tough to compete with the scale of national retailers offering a warranty. And no matter what, learn tuning!

(full disclosure Ric has built 90% of the G3's we install at my kids shop, and we use personally)

Eagles are much cheaper in the long run when rebuilding any 5.7 over the PIE heads(*)
Swapping eagles on to a running pre Eagle has a few issues, Compression is roughly 11.7 with the OEM gasket , the OEM Eagle and 6.4 Intakes have some fitment issues.
There is a lot more off the shelf Intake options with Eagle heads.
Sniper, Hi-ram and all the single plane intakes are an Easy fit, been a while since I've seen a Edelbrock Eagle headed 03-08 build, but if I remember , Passenger car builds are fine, truck builds the Alternator is real close.
If you are rebuilding a 5.7 from scratch, Eagles offer ,High cam lift, better flowing Intake options (at a bit of an inconvenience)
If you are building a medium to high effort 5.7 based Hemi, Eagles are the way to go.
if you are building a budget MAX effort 5.7 based Hemi, Eagles are the way to go.
I describe Eagle vs Pre-eagle like this, (ford reference here) Eagles are like 351C 4v heads, 03-08 are like 351Windsor heads. both have their pro's and cons both will get you 1.8 HP/CI on 345-400 CI (max effort) EDIT: PIE heads have better mid range and are more suited (port shape wise) for a long broad TQ curve, Eagles need RPM .

another option depending on what your situation is and if you have the room.....if you are in one those Rust belt zones , there's money is Rust free Ram parts from the south. we have a few guys around here that run down to Georgia,FLA,Ole Miss, Alabama area and bring back parts trucks , break em up part them out... a good rust free Short bed in my area of PA will fetch $1500-2500, the better the paint the higher the price.
Regular cab doors , routinely fetch $350-500 a pair., QC doors can vary from $50-250 each. 9.25 rears $100-1000 depending on how desperate some one is.
Seats....Low mileage leather can get in to the high 100's, I picked up a smashed Mega Cab a few weeks back, 30k mile truck, I sold the seats for 1k front and back.

(*) I had a customer in late 2019 who wanted no money spared Max effort stock bore and stroke 5.7 for his 68 Formula S barracuda...pure race car, $23k invested in the engine build.
When I went to see it on the dyno, I was concerned because ric used a set of highly modified P.I.E heads, he left the ports as delivered from PIE , but rockers stand were milled off and replaced with custom machined stands , which were needed to the .826 lift cam, engine used Jesel solid lifters, Jesel 1.8 Roller rockers. Intake was a pieced together from two R5P7 (Mopar craftsman truck series engines) Intakes. I asked why not Eagle heads, he said "this short block won't live @8500+"

Finial dyno pull, was [email protected] rpms and 560FT @ 6200 , that car @2800 race weight runs 9.30s @ 14XMPH , on 100oct...2.14 HP/CI, ric swears it'll go 800hp with more lift and another 1000RPM.


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[JTCHemiRam]

A bunch of helpful replies here. Thanks.

I kinda get the feeling I'm outta my league here though. You guys all seem pretty knowledgable and involved in race builds here. I'm just a regular "Joe Schmoe" interested in getting my hands dirty rebuilding some junkyard/salvage stuff. I'll hang around and pick your brains as time goes on.

 

[Mrs.Studmuffin]

Welcome to our Hemi Family!!