sooo,i bought this..kicks tire,and no,it doesnt have a hemi

[beatersRus]

transmission turned out to be a a500,904 variant.
think it came out of a dakota,it should be fine yes?

and i found this old rams head hood ornament today so i messed with it a bit too.

 

[Magnum Aspen]

This is in response to a few days ago.
I am not completely sure how much the F and M cars share, but here is a picture of the K frame from my Aspen for comparison.

 

[beatersRus]

does anyone know if an 87 5th ave wiring harness will work in an 80 lebaron?
are the plugs the same?

 

[Duke5A]

okay after melting my brain on the turbo do-s and donts ive decided to postpone that joy.
wayyyy too much chancey stuff and engine melting for anything less than a full kit install.

so im going to proceed with the 318 magnum with the 500/518 overdrive trans for now.
get the car up and going again,and ready it for paint and por-15.

can someone give me tips and advice on the install of this transmission?
i see theres a huge pinch weld going across the roof of my tunnel > should i cut that off?
also,im thinking id like to be around 2800 stall,with a good cam in the 318.

parts i know ill need
car pan and pickup for the 318 magnum motor.
cam selection for the 318
motor was freshened recently so ?
new 4 bbl intake for magnum motor...or..how to use an la manifold?

This is where you run into having to do things twice. A forced induction motor vs an NA motor are totally different builds. Different cam specs, static compression, ring gap, etc, etc. You will end up having to pull it again or at the least make some significant concessions that will keep it from being a decent driving build until you toss a turbo/SC onto it.

Honestly, what I would do is build this motor to make a good driver and get another block at a later time to build into your boosted motor. This way you can take your time and the car is still driving.

To get that 500/518 to fit you need to cutout the cross-member that the transmission mount bolts to. Slice it on the inside of the bolt holes and drill out the spot welds.

Next that pinch weld you reference, while it doesn't interfere with the bell housing it will cause you grief reaching the bell housing bolts. You don't need to cut it out though. Just put a few slices in it, one at the top, and two on either side then pound it flush to the floor folding towards the engine bay.

You will need to make your own transmission mount. I've got plenty of photos I can post on these steps later (I'm at work right now).

Since you have a Magnum motor, don't look back at any of the LA stuff. Just pick up an Edelbrock RPM Air-Gap intake. For a cam you can use the factory cam that came in the 5.9L Magnum if you want to keep cost down and reuse the lifters if they're in good shape. That cam in the 5.9L crate motor made 380HP and is a good driving cam.

 

[beatersRus]

so im buying a parts car tomm,and i also had a curve ball thrown at me last nite.
friend of mine has a big block motor and trans Dirt cheap,so cheap i bought it sight unseen.
supposedly its a 400 steel crank motor with a working trans still in the car so i can hear it run.
unfortunately i have no idea what pan or mounts is on it yet.
im assuming it will need a specific pan and mounts for the m body.

im debating? if i should put the bb into this car,to be able to drive it around locally.
and in the meantime do what you said,
get all the parts together to do it Right one time for the 318/a500 turbo build.
TYVM for your reply it definitely Helps.

Edit,i looked up the edelbrock air gaps for magnums,its a bit overpriced,
in fact itll cost me more than the car did.
considering the same intake for other motors is half of what they want for the mopar app.
wasnt there a cheap chinese knockoff for those manifolds?

 

[Duke5A]

If the 400 is already in a car, then it has a center sump pan on it and it should work. You'll need the conversion motor mounts from Shumacher Creative Services (about $150), but I think that is it. Even the factory transmission mount should bolt up to the BB transmission.

BB can handle a lot more power than a SB can if you wanted to boost the BB. From what I understand after 500HP the longevity of a SB becomes questionable and that power number is easy to hit with boost.

You can mate a 518 to a big block by using an Ultrabell adapter. This is the option I went with.

Sounds like you got some decisions to make.

...Yeah, there is a Chinese knockoff Air-Gap called a Crosswind. Heard of fitment issues though.

To do what you want to do reliably isn't cheap. You can do it on the cheap with Chinese knockoff parts, but you're going to have something that could be featured on an episode of Roadkill. Chinese turbos have a knack for falling apart and the motor sucks up all the debris.

If you're having reservations on costs you may want to think about giving up the boosted route and go big block. If you have a running motor and transmission in front of you then you can swap that in and have buckets of reliable fun without breaking the bank.

 

[Oldiron440]

I don't care witch way you go performance cost money, how much performance and money is up to you. But nobody rides for free.

 

[beatersRus]

I don't care witch way you go performance cost money, how much performance and money is up to you. But nobody rides for free.

??DUH??
thanks? for your insightful and most helpful post.
had you actually read the posts,you would have seen that i intend to throw money at this car,but want to do it right the First time.

now back to the Duke
ty sir,and yes im thinking go big block for now.
mileage will suck but the smiles per gallon will be endless.
so far the major hiccup seems to be Out of Stock schumacher conversion kits...
they are dirt cheap at a 160 but..noone has any?
for a /6 k frame...i of course have brand new A body bb mounts.

meanwhile i can gather all the parts and get the 318 engine rebuilt again for turbo,
and the transmission,and then do it all at once/meaning thatll be down for a month lol.
depends on how long it takes to run/make the tubing and lines.

btw,i`m completely understanding you can make turbos work cheap,
but if you want it to last you buy the good stuff.
already on board with that,ive been reading the Boosted section on the abody forums.

 

[8T2TOP]

Go BB and nuts like this..

 

[Oldiron440]

Your the one looking for cheap Chinese knockoffs, what because they perform better. Lol

 

[Duke5A]

I would honestly pick and engine family and stick with it. Boost the big block? Might be better to learn the ins/outs on a motor with a factory rotating assembly. If you blow it up you won't be out a $2500 rotating assembly. You'll just need to keep the boost turned way down, that's all. The BB itself should be able to handle 700HP vs the 500HP of a SB.

If Shumacher doesn't have mounts then Mancini might. I know they used to stock a lot of Shumacher's parts.

Engine Conversion and Replacement Kit
Engine Conversion and Replacement Kit

Decisions, decisions...

 

[Oldiron440]

If you are truly going to push those limits of the blocks go gen 3.

 

[beatersRus]

Your the one looking for cheap Chinese knockoffs, what because they perform better. Lol

again,if you had Read the post,you might be able to comprehend what im saying
imo,the prices for the edelbrock air gap are almost double that for chevys or fords and for no valid legitimate reason.
its the same intake,albeit for diff motors.
thats <<< why i asked about the knockoff INTAKE...not turbos,nor anything else knockoff.
thanks again for your Splendid contributions so far...insert sarcasm.

and again,back to the guys who are helping.
TY Duke and 82.
the 4 x 4 looks....different.

and i figured id have to keep it around 5psi of boost yes.
i hadnt even considered boosting the big block tho.
i was leaning towards the smaller displacement,for fuel economy when im not going mach 3

 

[Oldiron440]

If you didn't like the price of the intake manifold research Big Block headers that fit your car. Its probably enough to make you only think small block.

 

[beatersRus]

 

[Oldiron440]

The hood scoop and ornament is picked out, I know your serious, I don't know why you don't think it was read.

 

[beatersRus]

okayyy,i hadda block that guy.
if you arent gonna help then please dont bother commenting.
im a us army vet and dont much have tolerance for bs.

now,back to the ones who Are helping..
heres the parts car.
shout out if you see something You need
Besides the front bumper hood and engine/trans/wiring harness.
those i am keeping,
then im trading the car off for the big block motor and trans plus cash back to me.
so far i have 735 bucks in these 2 cars....a very good start indeed.

 

[beatersRus]

 

[8T2TOP]

Spot on..
Should have a plethora of parts..

 

[Joe12459]

Sounds like you have a great start!