5.9 magnum...whos running one?

[71gtdart]

would like to know who is running one of these in their a body, what kind of specs, and what kind of performance you have gotton from it.

I have read about what is required to swap one over in place of a LA engine and think I have that covered.

here is the idea that I am playing with.

use the stock short block from a junk yard engine. take it apart and maybe put rings and bearings in it, along with some new freeze plugs, oil pump, and timing chain.

order a set of EQ or RHS heads to replace the stock magnums that are most likely going to have cracks anyway. I would still use the factory rockers. on the cam I would go with a little better grind from comp.

use a thinner .028" head gasket to raise compression to around 9.5-1. top it off with a RPM Air Gap intake and a 750 cfm Holley.

anyone have a similar combo?

while its not an A-body, I have came across an Aspen Wagon that is cherry and have always wanted to do a street bruiser build on one. that would be where the magnum would end up. just trying to build a hot little street motor on the cheap instead of going through the full expense that I normally do with my engines.

thanks for any replies.

 

[Canucklehead]

would like to know who is running one of these in their a body, what kind of specs, and what kind of performance you have gotton from it.

I have read about what is required to swap one over in place of a LA engine and think I have that covered.

here is the idea that I am playing with.

use the stock short block from a junk yard engine. take it apart and maybe put rings and bearings in it, along with some new freeze plugs, oil pump, and timing chain.

order a set of EQ or RHS heads to replace the stock magnums that are most likely going to have cracks anyway. I would still use the factory rockers. on the cam I would go with a little better grind from comp.

use a thinner .028" head gasket to raise compression to around 9.5-1. top it off with a RPM Air Gap intake and a 750 cfm Holley.

anyone have a similar combo?

while its not an A-body, I have came across an Aspen Wagon that is cherry and have always wanted to do a street bruiser build on one. that would be where the magnum would end up. just trying to build a hot little street motor on the cheap instead of going through the full expense that I normally do with my engines.

thanks for any replies.

In an A-body that should be good for high 11s or very low 12s. The 4 door 72 Valiant that I own use to run 12 flat with a similar setup. The engine is in a 65 Rambler American now, 400 pounds lighter than the Valiant, and he's running 11.6s or 7s. His daughter is running a junkyard 5.9 with a million miles in a 67 Valiant 2 door and is running 13.1s.

 

[71gtdart]

In an A-body that should be good for high 11s or very low 12s. The 4 door 72 Valiant that I own use to run 12 flat with a similar setup. The engine is in a 65 Rambler American now, 400 pounds lighter than the Valiant, and he's running 11.6s or 7s. His daughter is running a junkyard 5.9 with a million miles in a 67 Valiant 2 door and is running 13.1s.

that sounds promising!

I know that wagon is gonna weigh more, but I would love to click off some high 7 second runs with it in the eighth mile. going to use a beefed up 904 with the lower first gear set and maybe a 4.10 rear, but no less than a 3.91.

 

[Abodybomber]

Www.Magnum swap.com,started by LX guy here. He had a Dart that was in the 11.70 range. We do have a separate Magnum section here too,now.

 

[Todlich]

Www.Magnum swap.com,started by LX guy here. He had a Dart that was in the 11.70 range. We do have a separate Magnum section here too,now.

Like Abodybomber said:



http://www.magnumswap.com/ THE place to go for the in/outs and what worked for LXGuy!


http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/forumdisplay.php?f=131 Sub forum opened up roughly a month or so ago just for the magnums!

 

[71gtdart]

thanks guys, I had not noticed the magnum forum.

just since I posted the op a while ago, a buddy of mine that runs a yard said he would let me have all the magnums that I wanted for $250 each. to boot, he has a brand new set of Edelbrock magnum heads that he said he would sell for 1,000 bucks.

seems like a good deal.

 

[Abodybomber]

thanks guys, I had not noticed the magnum forum.

just since I posted the op a while ago, a buddy of mine that runs a yard said he would let me have all the magnums that I wanted for $250 each. to boot, he has a brand new set of Edelbrock magnum heads that he said he would sell for 1,000 bucks.

seems like a good deal.

The Eddy's are decent,make sure they are the Magnums(no shaft rockers,screw in studs). Witch takes to a new point of interest,valve train. I would at least have clearances checked,if new out of the box. The Magnum Eddy heads required a chevy rocker arm & a custom push rod.Other expenses you have to consider.

 

[jbc426]

It's the reflashed - OBDII factory EFI that makes them sweet. Hit the key in the morning and vroom, plus the performance increase from a good tune is amazing compared to the stock factory settings.

The trick is to use an ECM out of a 1998 1/2 or 3.4 ton pick-up with a manual trans and have the security key and a few other non-essentials disabled too.

I got my ECM from Solo Electronics in Florida and had Sean a.k.a. Hemi Fever tune it. He gets feedback from you and resends different tuning configurations to you via email to download into your SCT Tuner.

Now that I'm building a 408 stroker with ported Eddie Magnum heads, a bigger cam, a better intake, a larger throttle body and larger injectors; he's going to send me a tune for that set-up. I will video the wideband readings as I go through the gears and drive around, and he will fine tune it further using that feedback. It's amazing actually, using real time driving versus a rolling drum dyno tune to dial in your tune.

Here's a pic of my junkyard long block. Unfortunately, I've only always had 90 psi in the #2 cylinder. The rest came in between 145 & 155 psi. The thing still runs in the mid to low 13's with 3.23's & a 727.

 

[Walker434]

I am running a stock bottom end 80,000 mile 5.9 magnum. Tore it down, all cylinders looked good so I put it back together with the stock heads and thinner head gaskets. Got a comp custom grind cam and the hughes 1110 valve springs. It's in a 71 dart and runs REAL strong. Can't wait to get it to the track. I'm running a 904 and 3.91 gears. I'll post results when I can get it to the track.

Good luck with your build!

 

[easyrider]

jbc426, how does the kick down cable on the 5.9 hook up / operate the 727?

Tom

 

[jbc426]

jbc426, how does the kick down cable on the 5.9 hook up / operate the 727?

Tom

I hooked it up to the stock location using a Lokar cable, but had to cut and weld the bracket a little different to line it up better.

Basically, I adjusted it so that at wide open throttle,the kick-down was all the way pulled back, and then I backed the adjustment off from there a tiny bit until it shifted the way I wanted, or should I say the way the motor wanted.

I'll post a picture of the stock bracket and the modified one in a bit.

 

[zijmer]

that sounds promising!

I know that wagon is gonna weigh more, but I would love to click off some high 7 second runs with it in the eighth mile. going to use a beefed up 904 with the lower first gear set and maybe a 4.10 rear, but no less than a 3.91.

you may not like that low gear set with 4.10s. engine rpm comes up real fast not giving you much time to shift.

 

[mshred]

you may not like that low gear set with 4.10s. engine rpm comes up real fast not giving you much time to shift.

Unless you have turtle like reflexes it will be just fine actually...and should help with the 60' also

 

[zijmer]

Unless you have turtle like reflexes it will be just fine actually...and should help with the 60' also

i built two, they both came back asking to have the stock ratio put back in. but then what do i know.