Has anyone had experience with replacing their 360 cid engine with a Magnum? I am looking at an engine from Summit Racing. Van not used for racing. Plan on Edelbrock carb. Was told I would have to take electric fuel pump out of tank. There is a mechanical one on engine. Also, distributor is included. -- Would appreciate comments from those who have switched to carb engine and the problems experienced.

 

Can't you just use a fuel pressure regulator? I don't know why that wouldn't work.</P>


Later,</P>

 

Thanks for idea Steve. Do you have any experience with engine replacement?

 

Yeah if your going to go with the carb you can use the in tank pump but it puts out 50-60 psi you only need 7-12 psi to run the carb motor. holley and eldelbrock make fuel pressure regulators that will work fine. You didnt say what year but have you checked out there efi 360 magnum motor from mopar performance it bolts right in with all the stock stuff like a/c alternator, etc. And makes 300 hp to boot i had a 97 ram 150 4x4 with a 5.2(318) that i replaced with the mopar performance 360 magnum and loved it the extra power over the 318 was worth the time and i wanted to keep the fuel injection. I installed the race computer headers and the borla catback exhaust and exited both pipes out to one side it sounded mean and it was. It would burn the tires off and i had 35x15.5x15 tires on it!

 

What are u driving and where do u live??????</P>


Depending on where u live that carb could be illegal if it came factory injected. If you have etesting it wont pass the visual let alone the actual test itself. Check your local laws before u take the plundge Carb setup will require a new fuel system.Our Rams have no return line andarehi pressure as ab mentions. Hell if your going to drop a crate motor in go for the Mopar 380hp/360 or a 402stroker . Theres always KRC Performance or Hughes Engines n get yourself a done 408 (and a much beefier tranny) A buddy was just able to get his 408 to pass e test up here but its injected.</P>

 

Andybuzz......I was thinking about getting the Mopar Performance 380 for my Ram.
Did you have to change the stock computer or was it just another upgrade and would your stock EFI keep up with that engine?

My stock 360 has good power down low but after about 60 MPH it gets kinda weak. If this is injectors,computer, or possibly Ignition limits I'm afraid the problem will still be there with the new engine.

My 95 V-10 Ram had the same problem.

 

the 380 horse crate motor is not fuel injected. Neither is the standard Magnum 360 crate w/300hp, although I guess they might sell one (Haven't looked).

I've heard questionable reports on the quality of build on those magnum crate motors - they're fine for a grocery getter but for racers apparently they tend not to last. I'm not saying they do or don't, just what I've read online.

And the 380 horse version I personally think would be a pretty poor choice for a truck, unless it's a drag truck or a street rod type. It's got a single plane manifold and a lumpy cam in it - low end torque suffers with both.

I'm not sure a regulator is a good way to drop the pressure drastically. For carbs I'd recommend spending the money on a holley. Get something smaller than 700cfm - either a 600 or a 670 truck avenger. A lot of guys swear by the old thermoquads though.

 

I definately want to keep my fuel Injection. I wanted to use my factory Intake manifold and electronics. Possibly swapping out the injectors for some with a greater flow rate and a computer with a programable fuel and spark curve.

Your probably right about that cam tho, that wide duration cam probably wont idle low enuf for my automatic and how I use the truck. And stall converter is out of the question.

I guess for now I'll roll back my ambitions to the 300 HP version.



-Sean

 

Guys. Neither of those engines are intended to be truck relpacement, street driven engines. Those were magnum engines available for older cars that had the LA style smallblocks in them. You could probably get away with one in your truck though, but you would probably need to run an aftermarket FI system, and header/exhaust to get the HP rating they advertise.