Engine Blocks

[twin 72's]

Is their any difference between the old LA small blocks and the new ones other than size and fuel injection I'm wondering what i can and cant use off a newer engine

[OttawaCharger]

as far as I know, The Magnum 318 and 360 engines are LA engines with different cylinder heads. The blocks are physically the same as the earlier LA engines, except the oil passage for the shaft mounted rockers is not drilled, because the Magnum engines oil through the push rods. The boss is still there if you need to use the old style heads

[Troy]

Why not use the entire engine? I bought a 5.9 Magnum from a 2002 Ram to put in my Barracuda. The Magnum heads flow very well (better than most "performance" heads for LA engines). These heads bolt on in a different manner than the previous ones so putting them on an old block (or old heads on a new block) will require drilling holes. For the most part, the intake manifolds are paired with the heads although some after market ones are dual pattern. Valve covers fit the heads they originally came with so I don't think they interchange. The Magnums seal much better though. The newer Magnum engines are obviously fuel injected but it matters here because they don't have a fuel pump eccentric on the cam which also means the front cover is different. Also, the new engines use a serpentine belt system which goes along with the front cover. The older stuff will fit on a new engine but putting the new stuff on an older engine would be more difficult. The Magnums have roller cams/lifters which is a bonus as well. You can buy a cam snout extension to add a mechanical fuel pump to a Magnum engine provided you use the older style front cover which will allow you to keep the benefits of the roller cam and Magnum heads. Since Magnums only come in trucks and vans the oil pan won't swap (not even to an older truck if I remember correctly). The stock iron exhaust manifolds are supposed to flow pretty well but may be too long for some cars (like A bodies). Exhaust manifolds/headers are interchangeable so if you have a TTi setup or something similar (or even stock) you can use it on just about anything. I'm no expert but, as I understand it, the 5.2 (318) engines are internally balanced but all 5.9(360) engines are externally balanced - although the earlier ones are weighted differently than the newer ones. The Magnums will have a flywheel or torque converter with a crank trigger. As far as the 5.9(360) goes, the motor mounts are the same. I'm not sure on the smaller engines.

My current plans are to drop an after market intake and carb on the Magnum, use an older style front cover and pulleys, and a reproduction oil pan. I may put the stock EFI back on later but the intake is really set up for low-end torque and limited RPM due to it being a truck engine. If you plan on attempting to use the EFI then be aware that the engine computer controls the transmission so if you don't plug in the stock AOD then it won't run right. Grab the computer from a stick shift. Some people drill their existing block and just add the Magnum heads because it's a relatively inexpensive swap. R/T heads are an upgrade (but only found on the R/T trucks) and there's even an aluminum version but you can buy them new so there's no need to scour the junkyard.

Troy