'68 318 to carbed Magnum 5.2: Check my checklist

ralphie361 said

I was thinking the la roller engines still oiled the rockers through the rocker shaft, I thought that when changing to mag heads that the original lifters didn't have the oil supply hole for the pushrods. The aftermarket may have combined the two part numbers.

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The whole reason I decided to go with Magnum heads was when I discovered that the engine had oil-through lifters and hollow pushrods installed in it when I got it, even though the heads had the traditional solid rocker shaft oiling as well.

A bit of Googling brought up some discussion threads noting that the factory LA roller cam engines were spec'ed with oil-through lifters and pushrods (shorter for LA purposes, and serving no real purpose other than to lubricate the bottom of the rocker pivot) from factory, more or less foreshadowing the Magnum oiling system to come.

From what I've read, the roller-cam LA's are pretty much the same block as any Magnum if you strip the heads off of them and discount the long-snout camshaft in the LA's. Even the rear main cap accepted a Magnum rear seal, as I've heard that there are different crank tolerances between the LA's and Magnums.

Not much known about these motors, but a hidden gem if you can find a good one in a sea of trashed Magnums.

-Kurt