something also worth mentioning, as a lot of folks breeze right past this while building:

compression ratio is one thing.. it's the mechanical relationship that's easy to figure..
dynamic ratio is the one that matters.. it takes into account valve event timing; as in when the valve closes on the compression stroke- and it will always be less compression than the mechanical ratio..

listen to what Merc has to say- he's pretty dang smart when it comes to building these engines the right way..

 

so with a 318 cam in a 360,what would the hp be?

 

are R/T heads a good set?

 

dunno that i've ever seen a dyno graph, but folks who've done it seem satisfied..

here is the thing, though-

if you're going to to a cam, and cam costs being roughly the same no matter your choice- go for the one you absolutely want, not for what you think will suffice..

you should consider bearings, lifters, springs, one piece valves, push rods- and since you're that deep in the engine, consider port matching, new guides, new heads, gasket kit, bearing caps, oil pump, front and rear main seals.. - if you're THAT deep, may as well consider pulling the engine all together and rebuilding it with the end goal in mind before hand- matching torque converter to application and range, and beefing up the trans to handle it all..

and likely get the cam that's a little over what you think you need.. I mean, if it's going to cost you the same, go get what you think you need +1.. right?

this just got expensive, huh?

 

If you are going to swap cams, go with a good aftermarket RV cam. Stockers are to 'one size fits all" for my tastes.

R/T heads have pretty much the same problems as the stock, standard heads. They are just poor castings.

Get a good set of aftermarket heads. Odessa/Clearwater make a variety, I am sure you can find some to match your needs.

Make sure you get valve springs that will tolerate the lift of whatever cam you choose.

 

R/T heads, good luck finding a set, lots of places list them but they don't have them. As other's have posted it gets costly fast and one part leads to another part.

A good read on the R/T head

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/t...s/viewall.html

@ Drew Thanks, You have lot's of great info as well.

Edit:This will give you an idea as what you are looking for and cost, Just an example nothing more, http://www.hughesengines.com/Index/p...BQYWNrYWdlcw==

 

junk yards here have them(have to pull off myself).I was looking at the hughes intake,is it a dirrect bolt on?also ebay has a 4bbl intake for both magnum and la heads cheap but i wanted to stay fi cause i was told fi motors are more torqy then carbed.cause at first I was gonna swap the top end to carb to eliminate the computer BS when it comes to mods

 

I would verify they are indeed R/T heads before putting much effort into removing them.

There are basically two choices for intake manifolds, for the FI Magnum motors, hughes Air gap, or M1 from chrysler. (M1 comes in two flavors though, 2, and 4 bbl..... 2 is direct swap, 4 needs an adapter for the TB)

 

and be mighty careful about those jy RT heads..

ya gotta differentiate between R/T performance parts, and R/T aesthetic packages of the vehicle.. that little R/T badge does not a true R/T make..

 

The air gap and the Mopar M1 intakes are both FI, both a bolt on set up, from what I understand the air gap does need some fuel-line mods. Both intakes are 2bbl not the 4bbl versions. Both intake work best with other mods. As for the pcm junk look at a SCT tuner that will take care of most your needs as far as that goes. A wide-band O2 gauge would be a good thing to add to your list as well.

P5007852 2 bbl mpi,aluminum,single plane, magnum direct replacement, with out EGR 1997-02 5.2/5.9 same height as stock manifold. 486.50

MAGNUM INTAKE INSTALLATION KIT
P5007638 Magnum intake manifold installation kit 69.95