360 magnum swap in 68 barracuda

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MUSTANGLUVER

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I'm new here and looking for some help. I'm working on 68 barracuda with 318 and I'm thinking about putting 360 magnum crate engine in it will all the accessories bolt up with no problems? Or I'm into big problems?

Thanks
Dave
 
Welcome to the site!
Need more information on your plans.
Are you planning to run the Magnum serpentine belt drive? Or are you planning to switch to the LA timing cover and v-belt drive?
Are you planning on running power steering?
Are you going carbed, running the factory EFI, or something else?
Running A/C?
 
MUSTANGLUVER said:
I'm new here and looking for some help. I'm working on 68 barracuda with 318 and I'm thinking about putting 360 magnum crate engine in it will all the accessories bolt up with no problems? Or I'm into big problems?

Thanks
Dave
Click to expand...
I did a 5.9L swap with 46RE transmission in my 68 Barracuda back in 2012. I had a 1996 dodge ram that was the donor. It was some work, but the JTEC pcm is easy to trick. I now have a 5.7L hemi and 5 speed manual transmission in my Fish.

100_2319.JPG
 
Professor Fate said:
Welcome to the site!
Need more information on your plans.
Are you planning to run the Magnum serpentine belt drive? Or are you planning to switch to the LA timing cover and v-belt drive?
Are you planning on running power steering?
Are you going carbed, running the factory EFI, or something else?
Running A/C?
Click to expand...
I thinking about just using the V belt system with A/C compressor and power steering. Also carburetored
 
Welcome to the site! Using the LA front and carb, it's pretty simple. Use the LA distributor as well. I would say ask the questions as you go, easier than trying to list 100% of everything.
 
I did the swap with v-belts, carburetor and headers in my 66 Barracuda. I even used the same 273 engine mounts, and power steering.

To get power steering box the clear I had to grind on the block a little. Also had to grind some block for the mini starter to fit.

The link @rklein383 posted a great source of info. I think theres also a how-to posted here. Ill grab the link.
 
MUSTANGLUVER said:
I thinking about just using the V belt system with A/C compressor and power steering. Also carburetored
Click to expand...
Relatively easy, then. Just swap the timing cover and water pump over from your 318, and maybe the distributor. The early TC and water pump allows you to keep your current radiator and accessory drives. Then the rest should bolt up. You will have to re mark TDC on your harmonic balancer for the old timing cover. As 66fyssh said, you MAY have to do a clearance grind or two, especially by the starter. Some headers have also been known to have interference with the mid-block Magnum mount bosses- a bit more grinding there.
Things to start looking for:
An LA360 pass car oil pan and pickup (if the Magnum is not already equipped with a center-sump pan). Your 318 pan will not fit the Magnum.
A Magnum 4 barrel intake (again, if your Magnum crate engine does not already have one). LA manifolds are not the same. Speedmaster in the past has run a Black Friday sale with something like 40% off, so that's coming up...
A 5.9 Magnum flexplate. It has the balance weights to allow you to run your '68 torque convertor.
A set of headers or later ('73+) A body manifolds, preferably 340/360 units. Earlier manifolds ('67-'72) MAY have some slight interference issues with the Magnum heads, and Magnum exhaust manifolds will not fit A bodies with power steering. Thus the headers or later manifolds.
Save all the bits and pieces from your 318; motor mounts, linkages, etc. they can all be made to work on the Magnum. The motor mount mods are well documented on this site. The throttle linkage mod is here:
Throttle Bracket for Magnums
 
It's easy to keep the Magnum serpentine setup too. I just grabbed a power steering bracket from a van and ran it with the van belt. The van setup moves the power steering pump below the factory battery tray.
If you're not running AC, Dorman makes an idler pulley that takes the place of the AC compressor so you don't have to hunt for the non-AC alternator bracket.

I like having the automatic belt tensioner and late model parts availability like coils and water pumps. Sad to say, I've had a hard time getting those *in stock* for old cars.

I've never understood why they made a different alternator bracket for non-AC setups. It barely moves the alternator at all but it is damn near impossible to delete the AC without it if you don't have the aftermarket idler. You can re route the belt but that results in piss poor belt wrap.

And it seems like Chrysler made about five Magnum engines total with factory AC delete. I even called salvage yards in Alaska trying to find AC delete trucks and couldn't find any. I guess they needed AC for defrost in Alaska but damn, it must've been a VERY rare option. Maybe Hawaii?
 
Here is my 408 magnum with a sanden sytle compressor and v belts in my 71 Barracuda.

IMG_4792.JPG
 
jos51700 said:
It's easy to keep the Magnum serpentine setup too. I just grabbed a power steering bracket from a van and ran it with the van belt. The van setup moves the power steering pump below the factory battery tray.
If you're not running AC, Dorman makes an idler pulley that takes the place of the AC compressor so you don't have to hunt for the non-AC alternator bracket.

I like having the automatic belt tensioner and late model parts availability like coils and water pumps. Sad to say, I've had a hard time getting those *in stock* for old cars.

I've never understood why they made a different alternator bracket for non-AC setups. It barely moves the alternator at all but it is damn near impossible to delete the AC without it if you don't have the aftermarket idler. You can re route the belt but that results in piss poor belt wrap.

And it seems like Chrysler made about five Magnum engines total with factory AC delete. I even called salvage yards in Alaska trying to find AC delete trucks and couldn't find any. I guess they needed AC for defrost in Alaska but damn, it must've been a VERY rare option. Maybe Hawaii?
Click to expand...
The non-AC alternator bracket does not move the alternator at all. It has the mounting point for the idler pulley raised so the belt will clear the water pump pulley when used with van power steering bracket.

The full size pickup and Dakota power steering bracket mounts the pump higher. You can run a for-AC alternator bracket with a pickup power steering bracket, no AC compressor, and use the non-AC belt routing. It will clear the water pump. But in a A-body the truck power steering pump hits the battery tray. If the battery is in the trunk this is not a problem.
 
jos51700 said:
And it seems like Chrysler made about five Magnum engines total with factory AC delete. I even called salvage yards in Alaska trying to find AC delete trucks and couldn't find any. I guess they needed AC for defrost in Alaska but damn, it must've been a VERY rare option. Maybe Hawaii?
Click to expand...

Somehow I ended up with 3 of those non-AC brackets. I have one going into my '91 Dakota on the 5.9 I am swapping in, and I am holding on to one for my Duster in case I needed it if the G3 swap goes away for some reason. Best I can tell, I only have the third because I didn't realize I had all I needed and grabbed another at some point.

The Dakota is a non-AC 318 TBI truck and might even have the same bracket, which would mean I have 2 spares.
 
DionR said:
Somehow I ended up with 3 of those non-AC brackets. I have one going into my '91 Dakota on the 5.9 I am swapping in, and I am holding on to one for my Duster in case I needed it if the G3 swap goes away for some reason. Best I can tell, I only have the third because I didn't realize I had all I needed and grabbed another at some point.

The Dakota is a non-AC 318 TBI truck and might even have the same bracket, which would mean I have 2 spares.
Click to expand...
Dude, I looked for a YEAR to find one. So, you have four of the five Chrysler ever made and I have one lol
And Bob is right, the alternator doesn't move, the pulley does. Sorry, it's been a few years since I swapped mine. You'd think they would have taken that into consideration when building one or the other ...
 
Since you're going to run an LA timing cover, v-belts, and a carb, there is one more consideration when swapping to a Magnum: the fuel pump. If you're planning on an electric pump, you're good to go. But if you want to run a mechanical pump, there's more work to be done.
Magnums, being fuel injected from the factory, never had provisions for running a mechanical pump. The cam snouts were shorter, and no provision is made for adding a fuel pump eccentric onto the cam.
Hughes Engines makes a cam snout adapter that allows the installation of an eccentric to drive a mechanical pump- so now you can bolt a fuel pump onto the LA timing cover like normal.
https://www.hughesengines.com/Index...Q==&searchmode=partnumber&page=3&partid=22194
 
I have a non A/C bracket from a Gen 2 Dakota, if needed.
When I built the Dart I used all of the pieces from a 1999 Dakota, with A/C. No power steering. It works perfect.
Look up though my avatar and you can compare.
Good luck with whichever way you go.
 
DionR said:
The Dakota is a non-AC 318 TBI truck and might even have the same bracket, which would mean I have 2 spares.
Click to expand...

Just an FYI follow up, the TBI non-AC bracket is completely different than the Magnum one.
 
Not attempting to change your mind, just showing what the serpentine set up looks like.
This was from a 1999 5.9 Dakota R/T.

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20221025_175925.jpg
 
Lastly: The water pumps for the magnums turn the opposite of the LA setup, due to the serpentine system.
Be sure to get the correct one either way you go.
 
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