Is this a good candidate for magnum head conversion?

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steveh

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69 318 with the standard bolt ons.

Top end: Edlebrock performer intake, 600 holley, no headers (yet). Old rebuild, but limited miles since. Stock rebuild on the heads.

Bottom end: A bit of a mystery: rebuild was so long ago, I can't read the receipt from the machine shop anymore. It was bored 30 or 40 over, and is running the following cam

[ame]http://aftermarket.federalmogul.com/en-US/Technical/Documents/Camshaft%20-%20CS1019R.pdf[/ame]

Stock 904 but replaced the rear end with a 3.55 suregrip.
Car is now a daily driver 200mi/week so I'm not looking to build a hot street car, just something a little more respectable.

Tons of threads out there with folks chatting about the various magnum conversion builds but I'm not looking to make 400hp, just want to wake this older engine up a bit. Is this a viable option or a waste of money

thx
Steve






[ame]http://aftermarket.federalmogul.com/eUS/Technical/Documents/Camshaft%20-%20CS1019R.pdf[/ame]
 
Hi Steve. For what your looking to do and if the engine is tight and runs well as is, i'd look to adding the headers/exhaust first, and then go to a streetable torque converter with a 3000 or so stall speed. Assuming you have a fairly low compression build, that should pick it up quite a bit for the $$$ spent. Not to mention that those parts can work well if you go bigger down the road. I will add that you have enough gear to use a more modern cam in the range of a Comp XE262 or a Lunati Voodoo 60402/10200702.

I guess my opinion is, if the engine is solid, i'd skip the head conversion as a bolt on boost, for what you need. If you decide to totally build another engine down the road, the Mag heads may become a option.
 
Thx for the advice gents. 3000 stall is okay for a daily driver? It is a bit of a dog out from a dead stop...is a deep pan enough or should I also go with a trans cooler...from what I read on other threads, better off paying the Money and getting something matched to my set up.

Everyone is very big on Dynamic Converters...a lot of guys seem to be running 3000 all the way up to 3800 on the street without issue it...saying that it performs more like a lower stall converter until they get on it. I assume that's not always true with cheaper off the street converters

thx again
Steve
 
Old Rick up there is right on. I like the Lunasty grind he talked about over the Comp. I could not get the link to work for the cam you posted, so I cannot compare. I see it's a Federal Mogul, so I ASSUME it's that .443/.465 204/214 @.050 on like a 114 that everybody makes. It's something close to that anyway. IF that's it, I say leave it alone and run it. It's a good little street grind.

I vote a resounding NO on the 3K stall for your combo. You need a converter that matches everything else you have and that ain't in. My vote goes for either a factory high stall, or a good 2500. The 3K unit is best suited for hotter cams and higher numerical gears than what you have. If you choose the 3K converter, it will be very inefficient on the street, because it will probably never achieve good enough lockup to eliminate excess slipping and heat buildup.

All of this is just one opinion. I am sure there will be many more.
 
I just rounded off the stall speed at "3k or so". I've personally never used a converter from today's popular builders, but the overwhelming consensus seems to be that the high quality units built today are highly streetable. And with the fact that you've already got the 3.55's in it, i believe you'll turn enough r's on a average basis to not have issues.

I was just looking to get you some bang for the buck without tearing into the engine, since it seems to be sound at this point. I've seen guys, me included, try and up the stall 500/700 even 1000rpm over stock and be disappointed with the results after the time, effort, and coin spent.

By the way, not a recommendation, but i used ATI stuff in the more critical builds I did back in the day. I was very satisfied with what they provided for the $$$. Yes, it was 30+ years ago, and I did live 7miles away from them...lol.

Also, I did use aftermarket coolers on most of the street cars.
 
I went with a 2900 stall with my 904. Very streetable.

Based on info from my transmission guy, and guys here on FABO... modern torque converters are different than they were 15 yrs ago. You can go with a higher stall, and still find it mild-mannered enough for daily driving. My 2 cents
 
RRR,

Pretty close on the specs...card reads 442/465 214/[email protected] on112.

Sounds good idles well. I a car guy but certainly not a mechanic. Built this engine with the Bn motor SGT and his friend 17yrs ago. It sat for many years but has now become my daily driver. Put 40 miles a day on it...20 of it hwy miles. Apart from a bad reluctor in the dizzy its been humming along for over a year now with no mech issues.

Want to keep it streetable...nothing fancy...just needs to be dependable and able to get out of its own way at light. What is a factory high stall 1800-2200? Should I run a cooler with that or will a deep pan do the trick
 
Steve, if you aren't planning any crazy updates and intend to run it the way it is after you get the cam etc, I would call PTC and tell them exactly what you have. They will want to know everything, car weight, engine combo, gearing, usage etc. Then let them build you a converter to work exactly the way you want it too.

It will cost a tad more initially, but you shouldn't have to drop the trans and put another one in when you are disappointed with the first one.

Just my 2 cents.

PS. I would run a small external cooler. I do on my car and haven't even put the new converter in.
 
thx all,

multiple recommendations here and in other threads to pay a little more and do it once...makes perfect sense to me...It may be a while before I can get to it, but I will certainly post an update here when its in.
 
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