My grandson has a 78 Dodge 4x4 truck that is really rough. It has an LA 318 that froze and broke the block (we won't get into that).
Someone gave him a 360 that has had the intake off of it for a long time, and the cam and cam bearings don't look very good. The wore out, and scratched up cam bearings are the problem, he was going to pull the cam & lifters out of the 318, but at this point, that is not an option.

The kid is broke, with 2 little guys under 3, and he needs the ride to get back and forth to work, a 40 mile round trip.

He is looking for a motor to shove in the hole that will bolt to his 727 that will move the truck down the road as cheaply as possible. That 727 was rebuilt a couple years ago, the truck already has an electric fuel pump and a good SB radiator (if it didn't die with the block freeze). We know about the 318-360 converter difference, but what about the 318 converter to either Magnum motor?

If we locate a Magnum 5.2 or 5.9, what has to be done to make it carbureted, and what is required to make it connect to the things in his 78 Truck? Will the 78 distributor bolt into the magnum motors and work?

I have always swapped the complete drive train and installed the EFI, but he doesn't have that cashflow right now.

There's a lot of good reading on that subject here: https://www.magnumswap.com/

Far as I know the 5.2 Magnum is a fit into the bay that held a LA 318. But a number of factors:

https://moparforums.com/forums/f81/cam-questions-318-magnum-13765/

https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/5-2-magnum-motor-vs-old-school-la-motor.274739/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExRvctx2zmM

Thanks for the links guys. Those help a lot.

The 318 neutral balance converter will work with a 5.2 or a 5.9, but you will need to use the flex plate from either Magnum motor. Also, you will need to make one hole in the flex plate oblong just a bit to get all 4 converter to flex plate bolts in. A 5.9 Magnum is balanced differently than an LA 360. The weight is on the flex plate instead of the converter. To get it carbureted, just buy one of the chinese air gap intakes that fit an LA or Magnum....they have both bolt patterns. Use his existing ignition. You may have to change the timing cover to get the pulleys to work, but not sure about that one. The motor mounts from the LA will bolt right back onto the Magnum. If the oil pan that comes on the Magnum won't fit the chassis, you will need to find a 360 LA pan, regardless of whether it's a 5.2 or 5.9. A 318 oil pan will not work on a 5.2 because the rear main caps on all Magnums are 360 size. His exhaust will work right back. Good luck with it.....hope this helped some.

Thanks guys.

Just like that the entire deal got dumped! His mother bought him a GM product, an 01 Pontiac Grand Prix with 150K miles on it.

The different converter bolt pattern and weights on the converter didn't start til 96. Til 95 one bolt was still offset, and weights were still on the converter

Well, for his sake let's hope its the 3.8LV6 engine, as that is another overall great engine. Easy to work on. Parts are cheap and plentiful. Can even get 26+ mpg on the highway.

it has a 3.8 in it. Its dropping a few drops of oil, but the kid is a tech at a GM dealer. The water temp never varied from 200 degrees (we drove it around on an 80 degree day for almost an hour).
The 4 door car drives out pretty nice, and still looks decent, for an old car. The inner rockers are rusty (holes along the edges, but the inner panels are intact), the sub frame and subframe mounting points are solid. Patched, but decent exhaust, its not loud at all. It doesn't pull in either direction when you are driving at 55 mph and let go of the steering wheel, and the brakes stop straight, are smooth, and are quiet. There are new trailing arms on the rear, and fairly new lower control arms on the front. It does have a broken sway bar on the front, and it will need a pair of tires before winter. The interior is fairly clean and not tore up. Not a bad ride for $2300, for a kid with a family that needs a driver right now.
His mama did pretty good, even though its a foreign car to the family. If he doesn't beat the crap out of it, it should be good for a year or two with a little TLC.

If still wanting to get running buy the older 318 engine, they are cheap. Anyway a 40 mile round trip will need $$$ for gas, my 01 mag gets 12 mpg tops.
I bought a 2011 Toyota 4 months ago for $1500 it has 240,000 miles that gets 35 mpg, oh what a feeling!

At this point, I suspect the search for a 318 is probably on hold. He doesn't have money to buy something he doesn't need at this minute. If I stumble across a cheap one (5.2 or 5.9 LA or Magnum) that looks good, I might pick one up just because they all are getting pretty hard to come across around here.

The Pontiac left here this morning heading for its new home. I'm hoping he takes better care of it then he did the last few rides he has had.