Need Advice On Magnum Crate Engine

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helliphinon8

helliphinon8

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Location
Queen Creek, AZ
I picked up this engine cheap here in AZ. The specs are in the pics below. It is a pristine magnum performance short block from 1999, was still wrapped in the bag in the blue crate. Came with heads and intake. This engine did not include rocker arms, lifters, lifter retainers or pushrods.

My question is, I'm not sure how much the heads we're milled. They have burrs on the water & oil ports, so I know some material was milled off. Wondering if if they will just use stock Mopar 5.9 pushrods & rockers, or if there is a measurement to determine what I will need.

They seem to be stock magnum heads with new valves & springs. No, there are no cracks, I performed a florescent penetrant inspection on them. Please see all of the pics before replying. I'm a welder, not an engine guru. I can build an engine if I have all of the correct parts, deciding on what the correct parts are is my issue. I'm thinking I should drop it off with a good engine builder here in the Phoenix area and let them figure it out, but I'd like to avoid that if I can. Also, will the intake that is provided work with a carb setup? I can weld the injector ports up, or sell it and buy a dual plane.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance!

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Trust but verify.

You really don't know anything about the engine that came out of the crate.
 
Dana67Dart said:
Trust but verify.

You really don't know anything about the engine that came out of the crate.
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It has never left the crate. The short block is solid & brand new. I'm just worried if the heads are good to just bolt on with stock parts. Not sure what is needed, online searches have all led to dead ends, with no real answers.
 
helliphinon8 said:
It has never left the crate. The short block is solid & brand new. I'm just worried if the heads are good to just bolt on with stock parts. Not sure what is needed, online searches have all led to dead ends, with no real answers.
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Did you actually pay 3800$ for that?
 
If you got the engine cheap, then enlist the help of a good engine builder. I think a professional touch is the way to go. A lot of the work is already done, which will save you some money.

Just make sure they are fluent in MOPAR. Guys who are pros with a big block Chevy can't necessarily build a Chrysler product.
 
jonn6464 said:
If you got the engine cheap, then enlist the help of a good engine builder. I think a professional touch is the way to go. A lot of the work is already done, which will save you some money.

Just make sure they are fluent in MOPAR. Guys who are pros with a big block Chevy can't necessarily build a Chrysler product.
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That is what I'm thinking. Finding a Mopar shop in PHX is another endeavor. I'll be searching tomorrow.
 
Appears to be a smokin' deal. If it was me i'd slap it together and run it. Maybe. LOL
The heads appeared to have been worked. Maybe disassemble them and do an inspection. And a little porting. Or since you saved a bunch of cash, aluminum heads?
To be safe you probably should take it to a machine shop. I'm confusing myself. Haha
Opinions will vary.
 
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moparmandan said:
Appears to be a smokin' deal. If it was me i'd slap it together and run it. Maybe. LOL
The heads appeared to have been worked. Maybe disassemble them and do an inspection. And a little porting. Or since you saved a bunch of cash, aluminum heads?
To be safe you probably should take it to a machine shop . I'm confusing myself. Haha
Opinions will vary.
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Very similar build to one Mancini Performance used to sell back in the day. I just talked to a guy yesterday that had one in his 67 Fastback Cuda. 65'
 
helliphinon8 said:
Thanks! I was looking at blueprint crate engines for a few weeks, I just couldn't bring myself to pay $6k for one.
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They appear to sell a fine product, and I may eventually go that way. But I damn sure wouldn't jump over the engine you bought to get one. LOL
 
moparmandan said:
Appears to be a smokin' deal. If it was me i'd slap it together and run it. Maybe. LOL
The heads appeared to have been worked. Maybe disassemble them and do an inspection. And a little porting. Or since you saved a bunch of cash, aluminum heads?
To be safe you probably should take it to a machine shop . I'm confusing myself. Haha
Opinions will vary.
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That's what my intuition is telling me. But I'm sticking with the heads I have for now. Aluminum heads will be the next upgrade. I'm just looking to smoke my friend's 347 stroker in his '65 mustang
 
Because I have been down this road before, I will just say this...
Don't plan on making changes in the future. Like aluminum heads, for example.
You have a short block (blank canvas) sitting in front of you. Do whatever your finances will allow for now. Then it's done and you can spend your time and $$$ on other areas of the car later.
Like new wheels, or an interior makeover, re-chroming the bumpers, etc.
Just a thought.
 
I agree 100% My dart has a freshly rebuilt 904 with a shift kit that probably won't last long under the new power, plus the 8 3/4 is one legged, and still has the slant 6 leaf springs.
 
jonn6464 said:
Because I have been down this road before, I will just say this...
Don't plan on making changes in the future. Like aluminum heads, for example.
You have a short block (blank canvas) sitting in front of you. Do whatever your finances will allow for now. Then it's done and you can spend your time and $$$ on other areas of the car later.
Like new wheels, or an interior makeover, re-chroming the bumpers, etc.
Just a thought.
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The dart currently has a 4 barrel stock 318 in it. I will obviously need a different flexplate and other ****. I was only looking for around 400hp cruiser motor/daily driver. This should meet most of my expectations when done. All of the additional upgrades will be suspension and drivetrain.
 
Couple thoughts: heads were probably only milled few thou, mopar wasn't known for going nuts on that because they used stock valvetrain. You could put in stock valvetrain and feel play on pushrods as you tighten it down. Otherwise get adjustable rockers then adjust them with stock rods and don't have to pay pro builder. Second advertise the intake for trade to dual plane rather than weld up good FI intake.
 
3406pk said:
Couple thoughts: heads were probably only milled few thou, mopar wasn't known for going nuts on that because they used stock valvetrain. You could put in stock valvetrain and feel play on pushrods as you tighten it down. Otherwise get adjustable rockers then adjust them with stock rods and don't have to pay pro builder. Second advertise the intake for trade to dual plane rather than weld up good FI intake.
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I was thinking the same thing with the intake. My friend would like to have it for his stock fuel injected magnum powered rock crawler. I could buy a dual plane to better fit my needs.

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If you don’t use that intake I would gladly buy from you if you don’t weld up the injector bosses. Let me know.
 
The heads being milled an unknown amount is really no big deal other than you now must calculate your compression ratio if you are trying to get to a certain number. The pushrods should be the last thing you buy after the heads are on and torqued and you know what rocker you’re going to run. Just buy an adjustable pushrod from one of the cam companies and measure the length you need. It’s super easy to do it the right way. I would not just bolt on stock stuff and run it.
 
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