Picked up a 5.2 magnum for Free

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Greasyfingers

Greasyfingers

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Morgan Hill, CA
I wasn't so sure about the motor until I got the truck running. It ran like a champ with good oil pressure, no smoke or funny noises. Not too bad, considering, it's from a 97 Dakota that looked liked hell. The odometer only showed 130k miles. I tore it down this afternoon and it is super clean inside. The plan is to replace the oil pump, timing chain set and convert it to a carburetor.

I was looking for 5.9, but for free I can't complain. Now I just need order some parts and find a new project to put it in.
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I put a 5.2 Magnum into my 72 Valiant, it’s a nice fit because the 5.2 is internally balanced so it took the neutral balanced flywheel. The 5.9 needs a balanced flywheel which is a few dollars. One day though, they make great power, although the 5.2 is decent.

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Canucklehead said:
I put a 5.2 Magnum into my 72 Valiant, it’s a nice fit because the 5.2 is internally balanced so it took the neutral balanced flywheel. The 5.9 needs a balanced flywheel which is a few dollars. One day though, they make great power, although the 5.2 is decent.

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Boy, do I ever love the looks of that 4 door Valiant!
But to stay on topic, I have one of those engines as well, and not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet.
And the price was right.......... free!
 
Sweet deal indeed! I wouldn't sweat that it's not the almighty 360/5.9. Those Mag teeners had a little better cam than the 360 anyway.
 
Well, further inspection and the notorious head cracks are evident. There is no sign of coolant burning, leak down test was good, so now I'm unsure what I should do. Probably shouldn't have even looked, but at the minimum I wanted to reseal it. The bottom end is so nice. The timing chain doesn't have a bit of slack in it.

I have read, where people have run the heads with no problems. Anyone done so?
 
Greasyfingers said:
Well, further inspection and the notorious head cracks are evident. There is no sign of coolant burning, leak down test was good, so now I'm unsure what I should do. Probably shouldn't have even looked, but at the minimum I wanted to reseal it. The bottom end is so nice. The timing chain doesn't have a bit of slack in it.

I have read, where people have run the heads with no problems. Anyone done so?
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Might seal check those valves/seats while you’re there.
In my experience the valves and seats loose their seal even when the rest of the motor looks really nice.
Didn’t need to test my original heads because when I turned a valve 180 on the seat I could see daylight. :D
 
With a little bit more cam, and some valve springs, that 5.2 will wind out quite nicely.

Find some EQ heads if you can.
 
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