318 magnum 273 lookalike

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Jonnylightening

Jonnylightening

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So I throwing around the idea of building a 5.2 magnum for my 65 valiant. I have a 273 from a 1967 barracuda I'd like to use but like the idea of a roller cam. I have a 4V intake from a 70 340 I'll be using. Question is should I drill my mag heads for the LA intake or buy a set of Chinese EQ heads that have the holes already drilled? How do the new EQ heads compare to stock mag heads? Would they be worth the extra money? What roller cam would be comparable to the Hipo 273 flat tap cam? I'm just in the planning stage currently so any and all opinions will be taken into consideration! Thanks fellas!!
 
Jonnylightening said:
So I throwing around the idea of building a 5.2 magnum for my 65 valiant. I have a 273 from a 1967 barracuda I'd like to use but like the idea of a roller cam. I have a 4V intake from a 70 340 I'll be using. Question is should I drill my mag heads for the LA intake or buy a set of Chinese EQ heads that have the holes already drilled? How do the new EQ heads compare to stock mag heads? Would they be worth the extra money? What roller cam would be comparable to the Hipo 273 flat tap cam? I'm just in the planning stage currently so any and all opinions will be taken into consideration! Thanks fellas!!
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THat's lots of work. Run the Magnum and dress it like the 273 with the valve covers and air cleaner. Take off the injection and bolt on a Magnum intake and a Edelbrock.
 
You could have the Magnum heads drilled for an LA intake so you can run an LA intake. Then use the front end from your 273. You can use the timing cover, pulleys and V-belts. Although, it you use the 273 timing cover you'll need to put timing marks on the passenger side.

I was thinking about doing the same with mine. I ended up selling my Commando 273 with the valve covers and air cleaner. So, I did a 5.9 with Edelbrock Magnum heads and an Air Gap, then used a 70 timing cover and kept my v-belts, alternator and power steering pump from the 273.
IMG_20200623_160005.jpg
 
66fyssh said:
You could have the Magnum heads drilled for an LA intake so you can run an LA intake. Then use the front end from your 273. You can use the timing cover, pulleys and V-belts. Although, it you use the 273 timing cover you'll need to put timing marks on the passenger side.

I was thinking about doing the same with mine. I ended up selling my Commando 273 with the valve covers and air cleaner. So, I did a 5.9 with Edelbrock Magnum heads and an Air Gap, then used a 70 timing cover and kept my v-belts, alternator and power steering pump from the 273.
View attachment 1715869468
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Very Nice! I'm not looking for 100% clone, just "close"
 
I thought long and hard about keeping the valve covers and sir cleaner, but the unsilenced air cleaner would not fit under the hood. I think it's a good balance and most people don't know any better when they see the v-belts!!!
 
66fyssh said:
I thought long and hard about keeping the valve covers and sir cleaner, but the unsilenced air cleaner would not fit under the hood. I think it's a good balance and most people don't know any better when they see the v-belts!!!
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1497894-c50d0aaa4ceda68f1833c7fb161b4aa2.jpg
 
Call some good cam manufacturers. I used Racer Brown, my last 273 one was .450 lift, 214 duration @.050 solid lifter cam. Be very honest with what you want, trans, gears, weight, compression ratio, and most important intended usage. You already have the solid lifter valve train with a 67 273.
 
My 273 has 302 heads and a Weiand Stealth intake. the Commando air cleaner wont fit under the hood with the bigger intake.
 
You could do like I am doing right now and put a hydraulic roller in a 273. You would have a lot less money into doing the 5.2 Magnum with LA heads. You can buy pretty much all of the parts off the shelf to fix a stout 5.2, whereas most of the stuff to build a comparable 273 is going to be custom. I have no doubt that my 273 is gonna be a strong little motor, but I could have gotten more power out of a 318 or 5.2 and spent less money.
 
JDMopar said:
You could do like I am doing right now and put a hydraulic roller in a 273. You would have a lot less money into doing the 5.2 Magnum with LA heads. You can buy pretty much all of the parts off the shelf to fix a stout 5.2, whereas most of the stuff to build a comparable 273 is going to be custom. I have no doubt that my 273 is gonna be a strong little motor, but I could have gotten more power out of a 318 or 5.2 and spent less money.
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I'm really debating on making a drill jig for the LA intake on mag heads. Still debating
 
Jonnylightening said:
I'm really debating on making a drill jig for the LA intake on mag heads. Still debating
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That would work fine. There is a drill jig floating around here on FABO that you can use for the price of shipping. @Stephen Hotz built it a few years ago, and several people have used it and passed it on. There is a thread about it somewhere on here.
 
I agree with just run the Magnum heads. The 273 valve covers will fit and work fine.
 
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