10 Day Magnum Swap - '65 Dart 270

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magnummopar

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Car show season has started here in Southern Oregon and we don't have a car ready for any of them.
We have been staying crazy busy with the Magnum swap parts for A bodies and Jeeps. Wire harness after wire harness. Always good to stay busy to keep the lights on and the kids fed but we still want to go for a cruise and check out all the hidden gems the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

So last night I was whining about not having anything cool since the 67 Dart GT Convertible still has a few months of body and paint and my need for instant gratification was kicking in.

Sitting out back has been a '65 Dart 270 just waiting around for some love. The 273 is tired but the trans works great. The passenger floor looks like a flinstone car but that's an easy fix.

So 10 days till the first working man show n shine of the season, here we go.

-Kelsey Hayes front disk brakes, borrowed from the 67 vert.
-5.2L Magnum w/ our Stage 2 (.520 lift) cam, Fully polished Valves w/ No Machine springs for some thump n grunt, Pro Gear Double Roller Timing set
- Keeping the factory trans and rear 7-1/4 till it blows
-Wheels and Tires TBD
-Fuel Injected as always

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just gotthe same bug , I blew my 390 2 Fridays ago , and I am going into conipion fits waiting in my motor builder , tookout 2 hyperutetic pistons so waiting on 8 new forged pistons so I can drop back in . I",m gonna loose it if I don't do a hole shot quick like .. GL with the prodject mostley don't hurry that's when things go wrong , butn long nights never killed us when we were kids
 
just gotthe same bug , I blew my 390 2 Fridays ago , and I am going into conipion fits waiting in my motor builder , tookout 2 hyperutetic pistons so waiting on 8 new forged pistons so I can drop back in . I",m gonna loose it if I don't do a hole shot quick like .. GL with the prodject mostley don't hurry that's when things go wrong , butn long nights never killed us when we were kids
Agreed ,Winston.. a Magnum 360, with a good cam & unported E.Q
heads,can go 11's in a heavier 71-72 Dart/Scamp... Just ,food 4 thought...
 
Crazy things start to happen when the bug bites.

Day 1-
Engine removed
Front Drum Brakes removed
Fuel Tank Removed

I don't think this car has been cleaned in the last 30 years, crazy amount of gunk stuck to everything. Cleaning is going to be the longest part of this whole swap.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it. We sold a few cams between yesterday and today so in order to maintain inventory until the next batch comes we do not have a stage 2 for this car. I will figure out the next step. We also decided to use a factory set of 5.2 heads I have laying around but still with the stage 2 springs just in case we can get this cam situation figured out.

- J

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Today was an "embrace the suck" kind of day. Lots of scraping and washing and scraping. Got most the suspension cleaned up and ready for a lil sand blast for paint.

Also cleaned up the 5.2 engine and going to start getting it put back together tomorrow after we inspect the bearings. Still need to modify the kegger intake before it goings on though.

Have my custom aluminum '65 Dart/Magnum radiator almost here.

Evan has a few customer harness' to get done but hopefully I can get him to work overnight to get this car's harness done next week.

Will be back with more pics and progress tomorrow.

-J
 
"embrace the suck" lol, i heard that term in the service once or twice. Have to do the same this weekend unfortunately. I've got to get my sub frame connectors in. Yay, scraping undercoating roools!!!
 
Will you be going to the Medford Cruise? I will probably be there, but not have a car entered. It would be cool to meet you and see the car.
 
does the 2000 magnum drop rite in , attach to a 72 727 with out moving motor mounts
 
It will bolt to trans and with correct mounts, be in exact same spot. You will need to oval one of the flex plate bolts and notch bellhousing for crank sensor. Easy to do. We sell all the parts to do swap and have a bunch of info on our site about whats needed. you can call us too, find us on the web at magnummopar. Evan
 
A horrible time to try and get a car done in just over a week. Memorial day, kids not having any school. Been CRAZY.

Cleaning, Cleaning, Cleaning. I under estimated the time it would take just to work on the car but we got some fuel lines up, the fuel tank is all set up with the pump and sending unit. The engine is mostly complete, minus the accessory bracket mods and pushrods. The regrind cam we put in needs a hair longer pushrod that we sold out of last week so waiting on the stocking order.

Here are some pics....

Will you be going to the Medford Cruise? I will probably be there, but not have a car entered. It would be cool to meet you and see the car.

Most likely. Depends on the kids schedule and whats going on closer. The MOPAR Show-n-Shine is the evening of June 16th at the Lithia Superstore so probably will grab the kids and head over. Will PM you when I know for sure.

-J

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The stage one regrind cam boost power much? I saw the stage one cam and then the stage 2 cam. Same with the eq heads stage 1 and 2. Can you explain the pros and cons.
 
The stage I cam is the only cam I know of that will work with stock Magnum valve springs and heads. Its a bit larger than the 5.2 cam and about the same as the now extinct MP RT cam . Our EQ stage I heads are equipped with a factory spring but we upgrade the valves to fully polished PEP valves rather than the surface cut ones EQ supplies them with like Jegs and everybody else. We sell them for less and use better parts.
Our stage II cam is an upgrade, 212@.050 .520" lift 110 LSA for carb and 114 for FI although we can do a flash for a 110. The stage II cam requires stiffer valve springs and on STOCK magnum heads you have to trim the guides a hair but a direct bolt on with the EQ's. The Stage II cam is the largest lift we sell as a regrind but also available in billet. We should have some dyno #'s some time this summer for the stage II combo but on a 5.9 it should be 375 HP, possibly more with big TB, flash and injectors, 400 with RPM AG FI and I would think very close to 400 on 110 LSA carbed. Lets just say they are pretty damn snappy and have stump pulling torque. We have other cam grinds that will get into .545" lift 217-220 @ .050 which doesnt sound like much until you consider that its a roller so you dont need to have valve open forever when its that high of lift, not like one of the ancient tech off the shelf grinds that all the big guys sell because it sounds cool. Thats why all the big guys sell split duration cams, designed when exhaust ports were undersized. We designed all our cams with Racer Brown who just happens to think like I do when it comes to cams. I know lots of guys like lumpy idle cams that dont make that much power, "its all about the sound" is what I hear all day long and have passed on several sales opportunities because thats not what we do. To me a lumpy idle low power cam is like a hot looking prude, if you want arm candy that doesnt perform, buy a rolex!
 
Well my stuff will be carbed for sure. Are the stage 2 heads and cam streetable still?
 
The EQ heads are some of the best street heads around, they are not ported, that would be stage III. The cams dont sound big, like I said, no lopey choppy idle or vacuum issues because the valve doesnt spend a lot of time opening up and then closing like a low lift long duration cam. They open the valve much quicker and farther. They make for a super streetable,high torque engine that works very well . Its probably the cheapest HP you will ever find and a great starting point for a sweet build. If you have existing intake off LA, you can get the EQ's with LA intake bolt pattern and not have to buy a new intake.
 
Our custom Aluminum radiator for the 65-66 Dart Magnum swap. The lower radiator port is on the passenger side to match the Magnum water pump and we left the upper port off center so the hose will bend where the a/c bracket use to be.

The radiator is a 2 core and rated to 350 HP, perfect for our build and a steal at just $250 retail.

**UPDATE**

It has been a busy week and unfortunately trying to get orders out and harness' done on top of parts delays, I don't think we are going to make the deadline. As much as we would like to of done this in the time frame we set. It has been in the upper 80s and low 90s and we rather be out on the lake with the kids than in the shop all day and night. We are both single dads with little girls and no car will ever be more important than daddy/daughter time.

Now with that being said. Our Mopar only show n shine will only be another 2 weeks from now, so maybe we will get the 270 and 4 GT done and rolling. Maybe the 'vert too!

-J

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OK couple more questions. Are you using headers I'm guessing? If so what kind and do you usually have to jack motor up to fit them or can motor be bolted in and slide them in after. I am wanting to know for my 74. The factory magnum manifolds would not fit so I had to order headers. Wasn't sure if they will go in with motor bolted completely in or not.
 
Sorry sounds like dumb questions but its my first magnum build and before I move any further with it I gotta know LOL. I'm hoping to finish bolting it in tonight and have it driving by monday night.
 
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