Lets build a CHEAP(!!!!!!!) bracket motor!

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gregsdart

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To kill a little time and have some fun i propose we come up with a recipe for a truly cheap bracket motor. The only rules for the build are it must be a mopar v8 , make 400 hp minimum and all things like the core engine , parts and machining labor plus tax be tallied!
My idea;
Magnum 5.9
Rering stock shortblock.
Regrind rollercam
Stock Heads would get a valve lap , bowl porting, "hack job " back cut on the valves using a drill press and an angle grinder. New springs for cam.
All stock valvetrain parts otherwise.
Single four chinese intake with the cheapest 750 to 800 cfm carb i can find/rebuild.
Cheap headers 1 5/8 to 1 3/4 with 18 inch collecter extensions.
Cost;
Core engine. $350
Regrind cam. ?$
Valve springs ?$
Intake. ?$
Gaskets?$
Hot tank heads and block?
Junkyard carb or used holley plus rebuild kit and some jets. ?$
Headers and extensions, used, ?$
Could i make 400 hp with less than $1,000?
 
Come on!you have to have some ideas!
Honestly, when I started reading your post, I instantly thought 5.9 mag.... LOL re grind cam, Speedmaster intake.... same as you. Unless you got everything 2nd hand and at a bargain, I think a 1000 would be tough to do.
 
To do it for $1000.00 or less you will have to side step many "conventional" operations, spend your money on the heads, that is where the power is.

Don't hot tank the block, take it to the car wash and spend $5.00 or so.........rings yes, blue berry hone, bearings maybe, depends on what they look like

Don't spend a dime you don't have to, but when you do make it count for the goal
 
To do it for $1000.00 or less you will have to side step many "conventional" operations, spend your money on the heads, that is where the power is.

Don't hot tank the block, take it to the car wash and spend $5.00 or so.........rings yes, blue berry hone, bearings maybe, depends on what they look like

Don't spend a dime you don't have to, but when you do make it count for the goal
I agree. My cylinder head ideas came from doing exactly as discribed to a set of 340 heads thirty years ago. My son had no money so we did what we could. That motor got a Comp 268h hydraulic and ran very well for what we did to it. It embaressed cars that it should not have been able to. 73 duster 340 4spd 3.21 gears.
 
Add pushrods to the list if a regrind is the plan.
The 400hp for $1000 makes this pretty interesting. The real question is what parts can rule out for sure? If assume the car has an electric fuel pump, that keeps cost down on the engine by reusing the Magnum timing cover, but do we include a new or reman water pump in the price?
 
Went to Rock Auto for rings , gaskets, headbolts, oil filter total about $200 shipped. Need plugs yet.
 
Went to Rock Auto for rings , gaskets, headbolts, oil filter total about $200 shipped. Need plugs yet.
that puts you at about 575 with plugs and core 360. We need a intake, cam reground, carb, valve springs, timing set, water pump, dizzy, expansion plugs, with 475 left in the budget..... that would be tough
 
Isn't consistency the key to bracket racing?

Back in the late 80's I saw a 318 powered 30's car absolutely clean up at the strip.
It ran 14.10 every single pass!
It won the final round versus a 71 malibu with a big block, and a narrowed rear end!
That guy was NOT happy.
 
Unless someone other than TTI makes stepped 1 3/4" headers, you are looking at nearly $700 for bare steel unless you can find them used. Used is fine for a theoretical build but I think you are looking at a long wait for a cheap set from a swap meet. Regular 1 5/8" headers can obviously be had cheap new or cheaper used. 1 5/8" should work fine for that level of build. The stockish heads probably aren't going to overpower the headers.
 
I kinda did just what you are planning,but with a LA 318. HP is unknown. Only new parts were gaskets,headers,shifter and a front end build kit. Every thing else was given to me or bought used.I plan on lettering the car with the name "USED PARTS". Not finished yet but close.
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For the parts i forgot about( dizzy, waterpump housing, etc) any cheap 318 core a guy could get would work. Also would need the hughs cam extension. So ya, $1,000 is a very tight budget!
 
Get a junkyard 360 4bbl with trans on Face book market place $200.
Cut the heads and clean up valves $100.
Thin steel gaskets $100
Keep the EX manifolds on. $00
a blow through used carb $100 .
make the piping for a used turbo from of a Cummins. $200 for all with the turbo at EZ pull.
turbo cam kit $200
That comes out to $900

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Get a junkyard 360 4bbl with trans on Face book market place $200.

Cut the heads and clean up valves $100.

Thin steel gaskets $100

Keep the EX manifolds on. $00

a blow through used carb $100 .

make the piping for a used turbo from of a Cummins. $200 for all with the turbo at EZ pull.

turbo cam kit $200

That comes out to $900

Yup what he said seen it done all junk yard turbo parts it kicked but
 
Bone stock 5.2 Magnum, Mag single plane, 750 DP and a 250 Shot of Nitrous Oxide. Summit or Jegs headers so you can hit rock in the road on the way home.
 
I guess I was thinking that the op was thinking of a bracket motor - meaning your there every weekend fighting for points. Not a one-hit wonder.
 
120,000 mile 5.9 mag with an LA front end and cam extension.

750 carb and RPM intake.

Keep the Mag manifolds (and manual steering)

8.25 axle and new sure grip/3.55-3.91-4.10 gears (unless you got better)

sticky tires

=scalded dog in a stripped down "29" A body


I got a friend with a similar setup.

72 Duster, but he has a 5.2 and it runs REAL strong.
 
In the begining,my plan was a low budget bracket car to have fun with like 318willrun mentioned.The 63 Belvedere above was a parts car that only several items were removed for another project.A friend had a low mileage (38K) from a 70 Coronet that he was installing a big block in. The owner said he did not want the 318/904.FREE.
The wheels started turning so a list of parts that were sitting on the shelf,others that were free from left over projects from years past.Thus very little was spent on the whole project.This happens after years of building and working on other peoples cars.
A fun car can be built with a small amount of cash outlay.
 
You know how easy it would be to do with a chevy 350. Mopar tax is a killer, nothing is cheap. Getting stuff for free from a friend doesn't count as far as i go too. Though I've junked chevy trucks with perfectly running 350's, but the rest of the truck was gone. So I guess that would have been kind of a free engine.
But like mentioned, if its just for bracket racing then it doesn't have to be fast at all, just consistent.
400 horse is a stretch for 1000 bucks in the mopar world. A warmed over 340 would struggle to make 400 horse, and it would be way more than 1000 dollars. I have a really built 340 I bought all done up, and it was much more than 1k to say the least, and it makes hopefully 450 horse.
But, I've never looked in to the newer mopar motors like magnums. I guess they could be cheap and make some horse, though I wonder if as much as 400hp. Then you have to deal with getting into an old A body, and mating it with trans, fuel, electrical, mounts, driveshaft length and all that, and I'm guessing that isn't cheap.
Interesting thread though, it's neat to see what others post as far as ideas.
 
Get a junkyard 360 4bbl with trans on Face book market place $200.

Cut the heads and clean up valves $100.

Thin steel gaskets $100

Keep the EX manifolds on. $00

a blow through used carb $100 .

make the piping for a used turbo from of a Cummins. $200 for all with the turbo at EZ pull.

turbo cam kit $200

That comes out to $900

You can get the heads decked, and a valve job for 100 bucks? Sounds really cheap.
 
440 Motorhome engine from a later C-Class .
Clean up the ports , used single plane and the right cam for the lower compression. Stock exhaust manifolds and good tune.

Done
 
B953E52D-BADA-4A05-B35C-A5466E85EF4A_zpsktbph0sr.jpg


kind of run one of those right now.... even had a cast 360 crank until the cracks were found (mid 90’s). This engine was built 24 years ago and freshened twice. Stock block, stock rods , KB pistons, MP heads that were on close out for cheap. GM 1.91 1.6 valves, old strip dominator with a swap meet BG 4150 carb. Had 273 rockers, but found a deal on some Cranes iron non roller rockers so we swapped em out years ago. Ultradyne flat tappet cam. Runs 10.6 in Phoenix
 
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