I posted in two other areas for my father /son 1972 Cuda restoration. Trying to watch budget, but don't want to have to go back and do over. Car came with a 72 340 motor that needs a total rebuild. That being said came across a 2002 Dodge work van with 84k miles on it. drove it home hour and 15 minutes and has way over 40 psi and never over heated, pulled strong. Reading about these builds. My suggestions to my son are, we pull the motor and part out van. Buy a new aluminum intake ( find a used one), maybe put a new cam in it and gasket motor. When he gets a job out of college and gets extra money over the years build what he wants. Do the motor mounts for the 340 bolt up to the 360? What headers/ manifold do we use? Like to hear thoughts , didn't really want to go crazy but open to doing things smart. thanks Phil par12730@sbcglobal.net if you want to email

Only real issue is a small cam and intake. Regrind the cam and upgrade the springs. I'd check the timing chain and the bearings if the pan was off.
Doug

Not sure if its a "deal" or not but ive bought reground roller cams off a ebay seller for $139 and they can do most specs. Even the long snout la cams. I think they are out of Texas. Good oem roller lifters can be found for $75-$100 a set.

I was surprised at how mild the oem roller cans are so there is alot or room for improvement.

PM me if youd like the guys info.

If it runs that well, i would buy the cam extension kit (cheap) from Hughes Engines, which will let you run the stock fuel pump. Put a carb and manifold on it and have fun.
Later, you can go through it further if you like. These Magnum motors show very little wear in the bores at high mileage though, and if a compression check looks good, may not even need rings for a performance build.

manifold/600 Eddy #1406/Hughes extension/mech fuel pump/cam/springs/timing chain. You'll be deceased by the time he gets his student loans paid off so get it running like this (no overhaul) & enjoy it. The early '92/early '93 magnum manifolds (with the 2&5/16" outlets) flow well & may run $150. Headers can be a pain. There might be a slight difference on the drivers side block tabs for the mtr mts but spacers will take care of that, hold the mt up to the block & you'll see the slight adjustment that needs to be done.

Carbed Magnum intakes are pretty rare these days and pricey when you find one.
Indy sells their carbed magnum intake for 400.00...Mopar M1s have been discontinued, but you can use LA intakes on Magnum heads, get the heads drilled or use angled washers.

yes I saw an intriguing article on that, drilling down into the intake vertical then useing angled spacers so the angle on the bottom side of the spacer matches the angle on the intake. I did not know carbed mag intakes were that pricey & there was the chinese crosswind but people had said it was poor quality, not sure exactly what area was problematic tho.

I just sold a Carbed M1 Magnum Intake for 540 shipped, I had 5 guys try to buy it, it'll be drilled for EFI...So the buyer will have almost 660.00 in it, about the going rate for a EFI Magnum M1 intakes.

Glad I'm carbed

I just bought an offbrand one for $209 off eBay. I will for sure have it checked for flatness

Just bolt on an eddy airgap and be done. Also delta cams will re-grind your cam for under $100 if you really think you should swap cams. One interesting thing though is that engine you have is almost identicle to the 300HP crate motor mopar used to sell except you actually have a bigger cam and the eddy intake is gonna make more power than the M1 dual plane those crate motors had.

Edelbrock Performer RPM Air-Gap will set you back $350 from Summit or Jegs. The Pro Products copy is about $210 from same places. They are both tall but your other choices mean redrilling the intake flanges on the heads.

Don't mess with the cam. Use a distributor with a decent curve. You may need to use Midgrade gas or maybe even Premium depending on conditions. More cam will mean more work installing better valvesprings and cutting down valveguides. Delta and Bullet are two that'll regrind a hydraulic roller for less than $150.

The exhaust manifolds are OK for running dual exhaust except they may not fit the body. Anyways if you have the 340 manifolds and exhaust system it'll fit better.

Use a Carter P4070 or its Spectra Premium or Airtex clone for fuel pump. Mewchanical fuel pumps suck..literally.

R.

Heck, I'm interested in the 2002 Van. I need parts for the one I just bought. What's left, did it have cruise? Trans any good?
Mike
Redrill the heads to use any 340-360 intake, very easy, even the factory intake and TQ off the 340 which makes the throttle-kick down linkage and choke work correct.

Cudaman, the van trans shifted fine and everything worked. the front frame rails were rotted away at the steering box areas on both side. cant remember if has cruise. will look send me your info to my email

WOW what great info. Didn't know they could re grind a used cam. Will do a compression check on the motor. What numbers am I looking for? Heard those motors head head cracking problems. How can I check that or do I have to pull and have machine shop look at.

There are replacement head castings if your heads are cracked. Engine Quest 318b is a direct replacement casting that flows better than stock, and comes with the older LA intake bolt pattern, which would be a good investment if you have cracked heads or can't find a Magnum bolt pattern carb manifold. The castings i got went for 311 each from Jegs, needed bronze guides
Put in though.

I have EQ 318B heads if you need a pic

Sent you a message
Mike