Aftermarket lifters and 5.0 ford pushrods... Oiling problem solved as well as the goofy length pushrod. Already looked into that part when I was planning a Mod pulling tractor engine that needed to use factory cast iron heads (stupid rules). Also gonna use a 3/8 stud conversion and guideplate kit for a 5.0 so I can run some nice chevy roller lifters for half the money...

Yeah, I was already planning on running the LA mounts on the Magnum blocks since I have to use center dump exhaust in this application.

 

Yes Indeed the way to take care of the oiling issue is the one of the magnum upgrade kits he mentioned as far as the timing cover youll definitely have to change that out if you plan to use the serpentine setup for your belts as well as a water pump out of a magnum engine... reason being that it spins in the opposite direction of the older small block water pumps... the kit to retrofit a set of magnum heads to an older small block should also address the issue of the cam shaft lobe for the fuel pump... the cams are different as the fuel pump for a magnum is located in the tank instead of on the side of the timing cover as they are driven off the snout of the camshaft on the older smallblock... I'm not sure what the head retrofit kits cost but with a free small block and the potential gains due to the stronger small block id say it would be worth the cost since you have access to all the other what i call sheet metal parts ie... timing cover that sort of stuff...

 

Yeah, I already have a 360 magnum out of a 2001 ram that windowed the block... So I have all the fuel rails, injectors, heads, manifold, sensors, water pump, brackets and the like. I`ll look into that kit, where might I look?

I`m still going to use the car fuel pump, because I`m still planning on running the fuel injection... Only reason I can think of a problem with an LA camshaft behind a Magnum niming cover is clearance??

 

Good that you have that stuff for your build! If you look at the water pump area on the timing covers from both engines you should see a raised swirl pattern cast into the magnum timing cover and i believe its completely flat on the LA timing cover this is important... as i said earlier if youre planning to use the serpentine belt setup because the magnum water pump spins in reverse of the LA pump and it needs that swirl pattern in the timing cover to work properly! So definitely use the magnum timing cover if youre going serpentine on the front of that mill!

I was incorrect in the use of the word "Kit" Its Not really a "Kit!" Here is an article I remembered reading back when it was first published that explains it the correct way!

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/t...ads/index.html

It talks about what all you need to do to make magnum heads work on a LA engine... basically the heads(of Course) lifters need to have oil passages to feed the push rods and valvetrain, the intake bolts are vertical instead of angled like they are on the older SB's so you'll need a manifold for a magnum... nothing tricky at all really about converting the LA to Magnum especially with the stuff you already have! As far as I know you'd be able to use the whole top end from the Magnum engine on your older block and not have to really buy anything except a new cam and lifters just so they're fresh along with your freshly re-built long block... the bottom line is that Magnum heads will bolt right up you just need the proper lifters pushrods and intake and the doors wide open on the valve train options! As long as oil will pass thru your lifters you wont have any top end oiling issues that were described earlier in this thread! sounds like a fun build!

 

Oh I most certainly hope it`s a fun build. Already have plans to put the 318 in an 88 Toyota Corolla when the 360 goes in the Intrepid. Fact is, that 360 was supposed to go in the Toyota, but I figured the quicker reving 318 would be better suited to the lighter car...Who knows, it might get a single pinwheel to help it breate a little better too, just depends on how bored we are when we put it together lol

 

Ok, I`ve been thinking a little, and I wonder if I`m gonna need a little stiffer spring than what is recommended for whatever bumpstick I use for my 360 build??? I only say this due to the fact that I will be running boost to it and I would imagine that boost would tend to make the valves want to float a bit more... Hmmm maybe a call to my friends at Bullet will clear that up.

 

Well, just an update, there is no longer any boost planned for this build. I`ve decided an the old school LA360 will recieve a pair of RHS LA-X heads and more than likely an Edelbrock Air Gap topped with something along the lines of a 1407 jetted for E85. Plan on CR in the 11:1 range; shouldn`t be too hard to get a streetable 500+ out of it IMO.

For now I picked up a 92 318 out of a dakota. A little bookwork revealed that the stock cam is a .373/.400 lift piece, so I`m gonna drop the cam out of my core 01 5.9 in it, since I hand measured lobe lift @ .270 on both int/exh, which works to .432 gross valve lift (research shows that I was correct). I`m also cleaning up the ports the best I can from the port side (didn`t take them off the engine), doing the kegger mods (going with the 01 manifold and headers to eliminate the EGR) and boring my stock TB. Kind of a poor man`s build on the 5.2. I`m also switching the 18.2lb/hr injectors out in favor of a set of 23.2s that I have.

Hopefully that will push the car to the low 14s, I`d like to see the 5.2 outperform the 3.5 (I already know it will run circles around the 2.7). Maybe before I swap the 360 in I`ll throw a 52mm TB and some 1.7s at it to see where that takes it. A little extra umph would still be enjoyed in the little Corolla the 318 will end up in

 

Bummer!!!

 

Yeah, I know, but after thinking about it, I realized how much I would miss the familiar lope of an NA engine. Though the turbo build would definitely add to the sleeper effect since it would probably run pretty smooth... But with all the tuning involved to get a forced induction engine to run right I didn`t really feel like messing with it. That and it will be a cheaper build leaving me more time and money for my other projects.

 

Now, as promised, some pictures to whet your appetites:

One of the as cast intake manifold ports next to a (nearly) finished one.


That's supposed to have friction material on it......


Those are supposed to be flat


I think they got toasty


Those too...


It's not much, but it's a LOT better than a stock valve body


Transmission is DONE


Slip yoke fits and seals


Short of a little wiring and some accessories (alternator/AC compressor) the engine's done


Car is at the shop!


Here's a pic of the headers that are coming for this


I didn't bother taking pics of the head work I did since you can't really see it (I did it with the heads still on the engine), but I parred down the pushrod pinch pretty good and gasket matched everything. I also did my best to work over the roof of the exhaust ports and gasket match those as well. The timing chain had a whopping 3/64" of play in it so I left it be and threw a 6* offset key in there to advance the cam a bit. Not to mention I swapped out the lazy .373/.400 92 5.2 cam out in favor of a .432/.432 01 5.9 cam I had laying around

I made my own plenum plate and cut the runners at about a 60* angle then tapered everything and cleaned up as much of the rough cast as I could. I also opened up the stock TB to a true 50mm piece and I'm making my own intake. I'll post up pics of the intake after I get it finished, but it is a piece of 3.5" pipe that I flattened the one end out on so it perfectly covers the two openings above the throttle plates... I'll weld that to a plate cut out to go over the TB and bolt on using the four TB mounting bolts.

I'm hoping to get the engine/trans out of the car tomorrow and start mounting the Magnum. If I get some help and all goes well I might even start on the rear end tomorrow