bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
I'm wondering if late 318 FI heads will interchange with a early, (1969) LA 318 and what is involved to make the swap. Just thinking ahead.
Thanks, Will.
Thanks, Will.
318 questions
- Thread starter bluefury361
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traintech55
Senior Member
I'm sure you are referring to "Magnum" heads to go on a 1967 thru 1992 318. If you are, the heads will go on without a problem, but you will need to change the lifters and pushrods. The older style 318 oils the rocker arms thru the shaft, the Magnums oil thru the pushrod. I believe you would use A.M.C. lifters to do this.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
Yes, the Magnum head is what I was thinking about. By A.M.C., are you refering to American Motors....?
Will there be any issues with manifolds, intake/exhaust....? I plan to upgrade the cam a little when I get into it also....
Thanks for the information.
AMC lifters are very similar, if not the same, to many Chevy ones. If so, using the Chevy's will be cheaper.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
I believe all the new lifters are oil through. Ehrenburg wrote extensivly on this. Pretty sure he said that on newer MOPAR lifters. You will need to have your intake drilled for the Magnum
Heads. Hughes Engines website has a lot of technical info & has the parts. The Magnum heads are about 1 point higher compression & gave a 1.6 rocker ratio. A buddy of mine just did this on a 69 318 last week. I believe you can use the old LA valve cover even thought there are more bolts in the mag head. As long as you have rocker clearance
Heads. Hughes Engines website has a lot of technical info & has the parts. The Magnum heads are about 1 point higher compression & gave a 1.6 rocker ratio. A buddy of mine just did this on a 69 318 last week. I believe you can use the old LA valve cover even thought there are more bolts in the mag head. As long as you have rocker clearance
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bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
I'm not planning anything radical. Future plans to upgrade the Admiral for towing duty.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
The roller cam 302 heads are a simpler upgrade. True bolt on. A little hard to find. Any 86-91 318 with fuel injection should be the 302 casting. Carefull on used heads as they are crack prone. The A body site FABO has several good threads on this swap. Not as much power as the Magnum heads. If you decide on Magnums buy the Engine quest heads. Superior to any factory head including the R/T head.
traintech55
Senior Member
Plus you can order them with either intake manifold bolt option.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
That's correct. The EQ heads can be ordered with either bolt pattern.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Will, you would be better off buying brand new replacement heads. All the Magnum heads you find will most likely be cracked they will not leak but do you really want to put money into them. Also the intake manifold bolt holes are angled wrong for a LA intake, the replacement heads can be ordered with properly angled bolt holes to allow LA intake to be used.
The other to look for is #302 or #308 castings from late 80s to 92. 302 are 318 port with heart shaped swirl combustion chamber, 308 is 360 port size and heart shaped swirl combustion chamber.
Another thing to look for is the spider and dog bones for a roller cam lifters to work on a LA engine, same basic years as 302/308 heads. Then put a hydraulic roller cam for better profiles and more reliability.
My 2 cents FWIW
P.S. the 302/308 are bolt on with rocker shafts same push rods as you currently have with some port match and bowl clean up they will be perfect for what you want to do.
The other to look for is #302 or #308 castings from late 80s to 92. 302 are 318 port with heart shaped swirl combustion chamber, 308 is 360 port size and heart shaped swirl combustion chamber.
Another thing to look for is the spider and dog bones for a roller cam lifters to work on a LA engine, same basic years as 302/308 heads. Then put a hydraulic roller cam for better profiles and more reliability.
My 2 cents FWIW
P.S. the 302/308 are bolt on with rocker shafts same push rods as you currently have with some port match and bowl clean up they will be perfect for what you want to do.
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
Chevy lifters are .842 in diameter so that will not work unless you bush the bores ,bad idea to reduce diameter of the lifter.
The AMC lifters oil through, I believe almost all lifters are made with this hole nowadays so the pushrods just need to oil through and be correct length.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
Yep. LA is at an angle. Magnum is straight down. Hughes & many machine shops can re drill yours. Or best order EQ heads with the LA bolt pattern
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
I just checked pricing....... their pretty proud of them.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
Last time I checked EQ had them for $550 a pair. When you consider that these are the best iron head out there for a street car & ready to bolt on. Is not that bad. And they are new. Not rebuilt. Hughes sells a performance version of the EQ head they call them Iron Rams. $800 a pair last I checked. More of a street/strip head. High RPM head.
That's really not bad considering Edelbrock heads run around $1,500 for a set.
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
Thoth Performance Sidewinder aluminum heads. $1295 for da pair. Compare to Edelbrock. Street Strip head. Available from Larry Smith, CPPA & Bruce Thoth. Big & smallblock
bluefury361
Old Man with a Hat
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
You can buy them from EQ, LKQ or NAPA
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