Help with my first engine build (5.9 Magnum)

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ValleyRat said:
Could be! Definitely a lot of moisture around here, they where pretty rusted. Before I started pulling them I read in a thread that you can just twist them out with needle nose pliers lol. I felt like I needed the jaws of life on a couple of them.
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Yep. It seems random even on the same engine. Buddy's Aspen got a 360 Magnum motor from a van, and had the shields on one side pop right out (didn't even need pliers on two); the other side was an hour of pulling, prying, and swearing. (In hindsight, it would have been much easier BEFORE pulling the heads.)
 
Also a sunken valve seat lowers your seat pressure. You can overcome that by shimming the springs. It also increases the installed height. It also throws the rocker geometry off. A cheap spring height gauge and a cheap set of vernier calipers would help. Your installed height is going to be all over the map. It’s a personal decision, are these heads going to be used for a longer term? Answer is yes, I would have them machined. If you are going to go bigger in the next couple of years? You could shim the springs and live with the geometry. What rockers?
 
JoePole1 said:
Did you have to re-balance your engine with the KB107's? I am using Speed pro H655CP's but they are factory replacement with no increase in compression.
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I had to rebalance with the KB107 pistons, it cost me $250
 
Finally back to working on the Barracuda after a summer of farming. I started to hone the cylinders yesterday only to find another issue. In 3 of the cylinders there are rough areas of wear. I’d say the rough areas are all located about 3/4 the way down cylinder wall. Is this from piston slap, and does it need I’ll need to take it to the machine shop? Or is it possible it is below the lowest point that the rings will travel? My hope was to do a garage rebuild (without a machine shop)… but that may not be plausible anymore. Thanks everyone!

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Thanks for the replies... Ill track down a bore gauge and double check it, but I have a feeling I already know what I will find. I can't believe that didn't catch my eye before I ordered my piston rings (first timer mistake I guess)... In some cases can the bore be cleaned up without needing to upsize the pistons?
 
I am seeing up and down scratches also, I bet you end up boring that block.
At least here it is not that much to bore a block.
 
As others have said, it looks like it needs to be bored. Whether or not you do that depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for cheap and quick, hone it as best you can and throw it back together with the new rings and bearings. If you want expensive and if you have a lot of time, send it to the machine shop.

Personally, I would put it together and send it. Same with your heads - lap those valves until most of the deeper pits are gone, assemble, send. I mean, it ran before you took it apart, right? Obviously it won't be perfect, you might get a bit of blow-by, and the valves might not seal as if they were brand new, but so what?

If it were me in your exact situation, I would put it together with what you have and put it in the car. When you're ready to buy aluminum heads you can find another 5.9 short block and send it to the machine shop to be built properly. Then you can put your $2000+ aluminum heads on a fresh short block and your car is only down for a short time while you're swapping the new engine for the old one. And again, if it were me, that would be my plan but I would probably end up running the first engine for 10+ years.
 
Well I called my local machine shop... I was surprised what I was told. For the following...

Cylinder boring
Decking the block
Cam bearing install (I provide bearings)
Crank polishing
Crank balanced to new pistons (I provide pistons)
Hanging the new pistons on the rods

it came out to $2090... I haven't ever had machine work done before, but is that a reasonable price? To me it sounds pretty high, makes me think more about sourcing another block... what do you guys think?
 
Considering your location, I bet there is not a lot of options for machine shops. That being said I feel like the price is not crazy for that amount of work. If good quality machine work is done. Ask him if he has torque plates for a sbm.
 
I had all of that done including turning the crank, at my local machine shop and he assembled the short block for 1500. Seems a little high, but considering how things are now, not crazy.

Keep in mind that even with another block, unless its new or very low mileage, you'll probably still have to do a lot of the same things.
 
I agree with Autopar put it together, it will last you enough time to find another 360 mag, not hard to find I bought a complete core for $150
 
Brooks James said:
I agree with Autopar put it together, it will last you enough time to find another 360 mag, not hard to find I bought a complete core for $150
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Ha ha, I expected to get some serious heat for my post, since most people on this forum prefer to do things the right way. But not even one "Disagree" rating!
 
That might be the thing to do, I could always find another motor later on and build it "right". For right now I'd just like to have it running well enough to have some fun with for a few years. As long as it doesn't have a god awful amount of blow by I would be pretty happy. I appreciate the advice guys!
 
ValleyRat said:
That might be the thing to do, I could always find another motor later on and build it "right". For right now I'd just like to have it running well enough to have some fun with for a few years. As long as it doesn't have a god awful amount of blow by I would be pretty happy. I appreciate the advice guys!
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Put a good set of moly rings in it
 
ValleyRat said:
Thanks for all the posts everyone, it’s more than I expected! Today I pulled the cleaned up the block up some, and got the the point where I could pull pistons.

At first glance the heads don’t appear to have any cracks, but I’ll be able to tell for sure after I remove the valves.

Rod bearings didn’t have any extreme wear, some copper showing on the topside bearing.

Cylinder walls aren’t perfect, but I think a dingle hone will clean them up well in preparation for new rings.

Tomorrow I’ll pull the cam and keep cleaning up the block in preparation for paint.

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You want the valves out to look for the cracks.
All I have seen were directly between the seats, at 3:00 on one and 9:00 on the other.
 
Finally some actual progress to show you guys, besides just talking and ordering parts…

I found a local guy selling a set of 360 heads that had been upgraded already. Hughes valve springs, roller rockers, and some mild porting of the intake ports. He bought them new, raced with them a couple times (dirt track), and decided he wanted to upgrade to aluminum heads. My main reason for buying them was their new(ish) condition. No pitting on the valves or valve seats. So they will be just the ticket for my motor. I pulled all the valves to get a good look at the head and make sure there aren’t any cracks between the seats. Going to lightly lap the valves and then put the head back together.

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ValleyRat said:
Application:
1967 Barracuda Coupe
4 speed manual

Starting Point:
Stock 360 Magnum (141k miles)

Plan:
-Dingle Hone Cylinders
-Re-ring Kit (Federal Mogul 205-6378-000)
-Professional Products 4 bbl aluminum intake
-Carb 4bbl (I haven't decided yet)
-Cam Upgrade (COMP Cams 20-746-9) Advertised Duration 265/273, Lift .506/.506
-Upgrade Valve Springs (Mopar Performance P5249464 - 1.418 in. Outside Diameter, 1.640 in. Installed Height)
-Headers (I haven't decided yet)

Questions:
1) With this sort of cam application, do I need to upgrade my valve keepers?

2) Would a fresh set of stock roller lifter hold up, or would they need to be upgraded as well?

3) Any other miscellaneous advice would be warmly welcomed. This is my first motor build of any sort, so I am learning as I go. Thank you!

* I am aware with this sort of swap, there are some small things to look out for: Rear sump oil pan, rear sump oil pump, timing cover swap for mechanical fuel pump, engine mounts won't line up perfectly.

Again, thanks for all your comments!
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I always replace the valve spring's, retainers and keepers, timing chain and sometimes the cam retaining plate when ever I have done a cam change. If this has been already discussed, I apologize sir as I didn't read all of the article.
 
sniekamp said:
I found a local guy selling a set of 360 heads that had been upgraded already. Hughes valve springs, roller rockers, and some mild porting of the intake ports. He bought them new, raced with them a couple times (dirt track), and decided he wanted to upgrade to aluminum heads. My main reason for buying them was their new(ish) condition. No pitting on the valves or valve seats. So they will be just the ticket for my motor. I pulled all the valves to get a good look at the head and make sure there aren’t any cracks between the seats. Going to lightly lap the valves and then put the head back together.

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And for of those that say, “They all crack”, yea…..
 
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