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Thread: New Guy with a W-150/Magnum from Everett

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    RonR's Avatar
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    Default New Guy with a W-150/Magnum from Everett

    Found your site through a friend, love the info so far. We (14 year old son and myself) are building a 1987 W-150 Short bed for his first ride. It had a 318 in it, now that's off to the recycle yard we picked up a 5.9 Magnum out of a 2001 Dakota with 70k on the clock before it got t-boned.
    The heads are cracked.. and so were the second set I dug up. So we are ordering up a set of replacements. We will be using a carb (Carter 600cfm VS) and a Airgap intake with a DUI style stand alone dizzy. We still have not decided on a cam, if anyone has any suggestions fire away! I have ran some info past Richard Nash at HiPoTek (found his info on this site) and I think we have something in mind, just not sure yet. HiPoTek HPT 206X4 4x4 Hydraulic Roller Camshaft Dodge 5.2/5.9 (318/360) Magnum. We will run the stock truck exhaust manifolds and have installed a 2.25 dual system with glass packs out the back.
    It has Power steering/brakes/ac sitting on 33's with 3.75 gears and a 727 auto 4x4, weighs about 5000lb. It will be his daily driver, looking for low end tork, and for the power accessories to work as they should. Not looking for huge power, just a good runner. We are leaving the short block as is, its clean and ready to go. We will install a new standard flow oil pump and pickup tube for the 318 style oil pan, new motor mounts, water pump.
    The cam will be ground on a LA blank or an eccentric will be added to the cam so we can run the stock LA front timing cover and mechanical fuel pump.
    Are the Scram Speed .028 head gaskets worth the cost for a little more compression?

    Any other tips/tricks or ideas (besides changing out the 3.73 for 4.56)

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    ScojoDak's Avatar
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    Welcome from Arizona Show us pics of the project.
    If you haven't lived for something, you'll die for nothing.

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    BIGROB's Avatar
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    Welcome

    Project Maverick. I feel the need, the need for speed

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    99dart's Avatar
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    Welcome from over the mountain! Sounds like a great project with your son! I think the most popular headgasket around here is the Felpro 1008 for a bump in CR. It looks like they are even higher priced tho. How does the deck height look? Most of these Mag engines have the pistons down in the hole abit.
    99 DA CC R/T
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    Built 46RE MSaine 3500 stall Ultra Billet
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    Welcome.

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    RonR's Avatar
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    I will get a few pictures up.
    Deck height is standard 360, about a 1/4 down the hole!
    If my math is right $65.00 set of slim head gaskets is good for about 3hp... and about .15 change in CR. But I found the info on the web, so my little sister could have built the program... who knows !

    Anything has to be better than that Smog 318 we took out, even with an aftermarket carb/intake I bet it was only pushing 105 hp.
    I let the boy do most of the work taking it out of the truck, and then he proceeded to brake it down to the bare block. I am still not sure how that 318 even ran.
    The timing chain had enough slop you could almost roll it over the crank gear, and it was the neat style plastic gears that had little tooth left on them.

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    RonR's Avatar
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    The project is going well.
    The builder engine had cracked heads, bought another set a guy said were good... They were cracked also.
    So I ended up buying a new aftermarket heavy cast set, they cost about as much as the truck but they should do the trick. Also added a comp cam, chain, springs,locks,retainers, oil pump/water pump.
    We have it in the truck now, all bolted up with the stock 318 timing cover and all of the stock accessories.
    We did modify the alternator bracket to match the new style heads. Using the stock Dodge Ram exhaust manifolds with dual 2 1/4 with glass packs out the back. Everything else fit like it should, even the starter that I heard was a pain in the butt. We dumped the dura-turd ignition and went with a DUI/HEI one wire unit. Had to bash the fire wall in about 1/4 inch to get it to clear, but it's in!

    All we need now is the intake manifold, the professional products crosswind we wanted has been on back order for 3 months with a new ship date in May... The Edelbrock one will work, but the water pump pipe is meant for a new style magnum engine, not the old style 318/360la. So not sure what we're going to do yet,

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    RonR's Avatar
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    We also used 318 style valve covers, from the outside (besides the DUI) it looks like a warmed over 318.
    But it should be 325hp/400foot pounds. Vs the old 318 that was 105/? On its best day.

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