318 LA to 5.2 Magnum swap questions!
 

Hey guys. New here and I recently ended up with a 1973 D100 with a running but tired 318 and a 727 trans. I've done some trading and ended up with a 5.2L Magnum engine that will need rebuilding and it came with a new Mopar Air Gap Intake for it. Now this is my first Mopar never touched one befoe. I'm traditionally a Blue oval guy but my "chevy and mopar" buddies do the normal banter so I manned up and decided to try owning all three. Its the Dodge's turn. Now what I would like to know is what all will I need, to do this swap. And what parts can I use from the LA engine to make it work? Any help is much appreciated!

Are you going to use EFI or carb? The main differences with a magnum are........most have no mechanical fuel pump, no place for one, and no cam snout to drive a pump

The heads and valve gear are different. Magnums oil through the pushrods "like a Chivvy" while LAs oil up through a hole in the block / heads / rocker shafts

Most important difference is probably the bolt angle on the intake bolts. Magnum intake bolts go "straight down" so you would need an aftermarket manifold if you go carburetor instead of EFI

I AM NOT FOR CERTAIN but I believe the "balance" is different between LA and mag, but on a 5.2, they might both be "neutral" so far as the flex plate. That is one thing you need to research

If you can use the magnum oil pan, fine. The older LA pans will not interchange between 360 and 318, but the magnums use the same pan between the two engines. This means the LA 318 pan won't fit the magnum.

To put this another way, on the LA 360s, the "half moon" in the back was actually SMALLER than the 273-318-340 LA pans. The magnums, 318/ 360 both use what amounts to a 360 pan.

I have a Mopar Magnum Intake for a spread bore Carb. And I noticed right off the bat that the intake bolt angles are different so the intake I have is for the Magnum. So the LA oil pan is different? Will any of the stock magnum oil pans work in the 72-93 Trucks? And as for the fuel delivery I can setup a in line fuel pump and regulator if I had to. But the Magnum engine is gona need to be rebuilt. So I will probably put a performance cam. If they make these mechanical pump friendly do these engines use an Eccentric on the front of the cam gear to run the fuel pump or no? And if so can I use the one off the LA and the timing cover? Keep in mind these are both 318 engines.. only difference is one is LA and one is Magnum.

Welcome.

Here's a bunch of info.

http://www.magnumswap.com/first-steps/

I've done this swap a few times (8+times) If you use your original timing cover ETC you will need a Professional Products Crosswinds intake, the Mopar one is made for the serpentine style cover & water pump with the thermostat in the wrong place & the need for a rigged bypass hose etc
The balance is the same (neutral) & the pan already on it will work
I can shed more light on this swap later in the day