A few compatibility questions.

Treblig said
One thing you might consider.....96/97/98 Jeep Grand Cherokee V8 engines came with the large hole
2 1/16" exhaust manifolds. The starter is on the passenger's side on these engines, don't know about the Durango engines?? treblig

Will probably run headers,got a set of (for the application very oversized) 1 7/8"TTI headers that i could use or i might just fab something up but that is relevant information will run my old 904 transmission so the starter will be one the driver side,regardless.
Thank you.

Bobzilla said
What combination do you want to run; carb or fuel injection?
Differences between trucks is exhaust manifolds and power steering pump location. Steering pump moves up or down, and a little tighter toward the engine depending on vehicle. Engine short blocks are otherwise interchanchable.
Factory Magnum distributor cannot be used with a regular ignition system and carb setup. Factory LA distributor can go in Magnum's place to fix that with no modifications on carb setups.
Bypass hose mismatch is a minor issue. The hose gets a little weird bend but works fine.
I never tried placing a Magnum timing cover over a long snout LA cam. Easy enough to buy a short snout Magnum style camshaft. If I have time tonight, I'll slide a long snout cam in and check that clearance.

Not sure yet that depends on money,if i get it all togheter and still have enough money to put some "selftuning" EFI system on the thing i will but i have a couple carbs i could use instead if money gets tight.
Good thats not going to put a big dent in the plan then,since i have a couple distributors left over and i can surely live with a oddlooking bypass hose.

The thought about camoptions where mostly for future reference since i have a left over solid roller and it would suck to get everything set up nicely with the magnum front accessories and then have to change them again if i want to get alitle more serious about things in the future.
Thank you.

sport74 said
The comp cam I run was for a LA with the bolt on fuel pump eccentric. I didn't use the eccentric and run the magnum timing cover and serpentine setup.
Many people use the van power steering as it moves it lower down. This normally interferes with the battery tray, but as the OP stated he doesn't have one to worry about.

Thanks thats some good knowledge:) darn it must look alitle nicer with the powersteering pump alitle lower but finding a mangum out of a van over here is pretty much hopeless,plenty of dodge vans from the 80s but hardly any newer vans that came with magnums. Mostly Durangos and Jeeps in the junkyards and a very limited supply of rams but not a big problem it will be more than good enough for me anyway:)