Smooth Assembly of a 360 Magnum....Mostly

We are in the Home Stretch now! It's time to get this Junkyard 360 Magnum out of a 1998 Dodge Ram put together so we can stuff it into our 1967 Dodge Dart. Join me as I smooth brain my way through the engine assembly. As we are putting some older LA parts on, so there are some obstacles to overcome.
00:00 - Intro
00:49 - Freeze Plugs
02:01 - Camshaft
04:36 - We Interrupt This Program
04:53 - Crankshaft
08:58 - Thrust Bearing Clearance
10:25 - Pistons
10:47 - Smooth Brain Moves
11:40 - Correcting the Rings
17:18 - Timing Set
19:15 - Hydraulic Roller Lifters
21:26 - Cylinder Heads
23:55 - Pushrods and Rockers
25:26 - Timing Cover
27:54 - Water Pump
30:13 - Harmonic Balancer
32:08 - Oil Pan
32:50 - This is Why You Check Your Shipments
37:09 - Oil Wrestling an Engine
38:05 - Intake Manifold
42:23 - Magnum or LA Valve Covers?

[@MontsweagGarage]

Don't forget to cast your vote! Would you rather see the engine tested on a run stand or in the car?

[@user-tr2cx7kb1l]

YEAH THE GREEN STUFF 💯

[@AndrewLee-cg6uk]

the 360 has to be one of the best motors ever made.... they are tough..... as nails

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hey Andrew! Welcome and thanks for the comment. I am pretty excited to get this engine into the car. Now just need to figure out an overdrive transmission so I'm not spinning 3000 RPMs at 65mph! Thinking either 46RH or 47RH. Just need to find one. Almost everything around here is a RE. I'd rather not deal with all that. Lol.

[@thomasandbethanygriffith892]

I was told to center cover with the balancer before tightening it to the block

[@MontsweagGarage]

Welcome @thomasandbethanygriffith892. Thank you for the comment! I learned this as well, but after I had it all together. Before that I learned to make sure the bottom edge was flush. We'll see how it holds up. Working on a run test video next.

[@dukesgarage42]

I personally like the look of the old aftermarket LA valve covers. I was lucky enough to find a set of Holley valve covers at the junkyard. I catch myself staring at my engine bay when it's clean

[@MontsweagGarage]

I am leaning that way myself. I have a set of Holley LA Valve covers in the cart at Summit but haven't pulled the trigger yet. I am also looking at the Mopar Performance Magnum Covers. I like them both. I do have both types of valve covers already though and that money could go into interior or paint. Hope all is going well with you, assuming my comment in your last video was on the mark.

[@dukesgarage42]

@@MontsweagGarageyeah you nailed it. I would go the Mopar valve covers. But I'm always thinking get it running then get it right.

[@MontsweagGarage]

I am actually REALLY liking these. www.ansenvalvecovers.com/collections/mopar-performance-valve-covers/products/mopar-performance-273-318-340-360-valve-covers-black-engraved-nameplate

[@dale7416]

Having a spare motor on hand in never a bad idea

[@MontsweagGarage]

Welcome back Dale, and Thanks for the comment. Eventually I intend to do more cars and I see so many with no engine. Just seems like a good idea to keep it for a rainy day.

[@robfromnc78]

FULL SEND, put in the car and go!

[@MontsweagGarage]

Thanks for the comment Rob, and welcome to the channel. I am torn between testing for leaks and tuning out of the car or just dropping it in, in time for for an all MOPAR car show coming up in September. There is much to do. =)

[@MontsweagGarage]

Sorry all. I had to pull this down and repost it. It shouldn't be going anywhere now. 😎👍

[@jimchance5006]

Knowing the 360 Magnum, I just know that thing still leaks like a sieve, even with all new gaskets. For real though, great job putting it together!

[@MontsweagGarage]

Thanks, Jim, and welcome to the channel! This is my first Magnum and my second rebuild. Where are the main trouble spots? I am especially concerned with the intake since I will be putting a Sniper EFI on it. The Sniper does not tolerate vacuum leaks very well.

[@jimchance5006]

@@MontsweagGarage only thing I've really had an issue with in mine is the rear main seal and the water pump leaking. Make sure you go with a good quality water pump and gaskets, and you should be golden.

[@MontsweagGarage]

@jimchance5006 Thanks for the feedback. I used Aviation Form-A-Gasket along with the felpro Gasket for the water pump, and sealed all the bolts with it as well. Did the same on my 273 rebuild, and it has held up well so far. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[@jimchance5006]

@@MontsweagGarage Sounds like it'll hold up great. First time I did the water pump on mine, I just used a cheap parts store paper gasket and it held up fine for a bit but puked coolant a few thousand miles later. It'll be cool to see a sniper setup on one of these, I'm excited to see the build.

[@MontsweagGarage]

@jimchance5006. It's coming down the pipeline as soon as work allows. I have several different things that need done while the engine is out to include a front suspension refresh, replacing the front floor pans/torsion bar crossmember, and the engine swap. I plan to do a separate video on each. The sniper install getting it's own video. I hope to see you here in the comments again. =)

[@dale7416]

Let's see your stand!

[@MontsweagGarage]

Well, That's 1 vote for the stand, and one vote for the car. I'll give it a couple weeks and see if we get more responses.

[@crazylarryjr]

"I'm sure that's great for my sockets", Your extension taking most of the abuse, due to beating with a hammer Vs driving in a brass freeze plug

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hello @crazylarryjr and welcome to the channel. Thank you for the comment. I never claimed to be the brightest bulb in the box. But, after thinking about it more, I should probably find/make some sort of freeze plug driver. Or at least use my impact sockets and extensions.

[@crazylarryjr]

@@MontsweagGarage, beat in my fair share of freeze plugs, had a dedicated extension specifically for the purpose that never got used for it's actual job

[@MontsweagGarage]

I like that idea. I plan to do more engines down the road, so I may just do that.

[@dennisowen3717]

I've been building Engines Professionally for over 55+ years. I see several issues with what you're doing in your rebuild. Did you put sealant on the freeze plugs prior to instalation. Also you should never use a screw driver to keep the crankshaft from spinning during Torque sequence. There is no reason to do so. Did you use new Rod Bolts and nuts on the connecting rods. Did you have the Connecting Rods Rebuilt prior to your re-using them. Did you clearance the main and rod bearings with plastigage or even use Micrometers to check your clearances. If not Huge Mistake. Why do you put the piston in the block all the way down to the Rings then install your ring compressor. Another big mistake. Huge possibility of the oil rings catching on the top of the deck. The Ring Compressor must be on the piston and cover the rings completely prior to installation. Did you check the Ring end gap. That must be done on every engine build. Did you re-use the main cap bolts. Another huge mistake. They stretch over time and should not be re-used. Same with Head bolts. Also never use rubber fuel hose on the rod bolts when putting them back into the engine. Buy Rod Bolt Boots from Summit Racing. They're very inexpensive and will keep the rubber hose from catching on the oil holes in the rod journals and cutting it and causing rubber hose to be lodged into the oil holes and ruin your engine in seconds . You're doing great, but you've got some bad information on engine building. We are always learning. If you have questions always ask.

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hello Dennis and welcome to the channel. Thank you for both the comment, and your insight. I did not put sealant on the freeze plugs and realized that was a mistake when I fired it up for the run test as 2 of them were weeping. The screwdriver was used to push the crank all the way forward to check the thrust bearing clearance. That process came from the book "How to Rebuild the Small-Block Mopar" which guided most of my rebuild. I did measure the crank journals and main/rod bearing clearances before assembly. All clearances were between .0008 and .0012 which is in spec according to the factory service manual. I did not replace any of the bolts aside from the intake manifold bolts as I was under the impression that the older engines didn't use torque to yield bolts and could be reused. I appreciate the information about the rings and the fuel hose on the rod bolts. I was not aware doing either of those things could cause issues. I greatly appreciate your guidance and have copied your post to reference in the future. (I hope to be rebuilding a 1969 383 Magnum next summer.) Thank you again and I hope to see you here in the future.

[@dennisowen3717]

Thank you for your reply. The older engines didn't have Torque to yeild bolts. But I have seen multiple engine failures do to broken head bolts, main cap bolts and yes even rod bolts. Too many to not warrant the need to just simply replace them. When a Customer or friend or even my own engines cost so much I simply will not risk it any more. At my age and over these many years I have learned by my own mistakes and experience that it's just not worth the headaches. I hope you call on me in the future for advice and try to impart a little bit of wisdom to help you become the very best at what you can be. Like I said. We're alway's learning. I'm an old dog but I'm still willing to learn new tricks. Good luck on your future builds. But most of all have fun doing it.@@MontsweagGarage

[@MontsweagGarage]

@dennisowen3717 Thank you, Dennis. I will definitely take you up on your offer. If you would like to shoot me a quick email to [e-mail] to establish more direct communication, I would appreciate that. I am no spring chicken either, but I love to learn new things too. I am always looking to get hands-on with things I have never done. The next major thing for me is body and frame repairs.

[@jts9120]

Nice! Getting finished building a 410 magnum. Hopefully we can hear yours run!

[@MontsweagGarage]

@jts9120 Thank you and welcome to the channel. Your magnum is bored and stroked I take it? The engine is built with the transmission connected and it is all sitting on a run stand for the moment. I want to take care of some other issues with the car before I drop it back in. I need to do a front suspension refresh and addition of a sway bar, replace the torsion bar crossmember and front floor pans, and get the fuel system and electrical prepared for the Sniper EFI. The first start will definitely be on the channel. Hope to see you there.

[@jts9120]

@MontsweagGarage Awesome! Can't wait to hear it! Yeah, mine is going in a 92 W150 NV4500 5 speed 3.92 gears. I don't have a shop to run it on a test stand. So I'll just put it in the truck. Hopefully i can upload a video. I'll definitely be watching yours.

[@MontsweagGarage]

@jts9120 I would love to see that video, My "run stand" is a home made thing of wood, carriage bolts, and wood screws. You can get a brief look at it in the video where I pull the 273. It's not that impressive, Lol. I'm just working out of my garage. I have been debating about starting it on the run stand and just dropping it in the car. I have asked the community what they want to see and it is a 50/50 split so far.

[@jts9120]

@MontsweagGarage Cool! Whatever works redneck ingenuity is always fun! I live in Arizona so between heat and dust and everything else in between. I can't test it outside. Hopefully i can get at least 1 horsepower per cubic inch. 360 magnum 4 inch scat crank EQ heads hughes cam and springs scorpion 1.6 rocker arms edelbrock dual plane intake.

[@MontsweagGarage]

@jts9120 Man that thing is built. Some day I will build a performance engine. This is only my second build and it is mostly stock. I will be running long tube headers and a Holley Sniper on top of the same Edelbrock intake. I am hoping to get 300-325 out of it but It will be better than the tired 273 no matter what it ends up at The Dart is going to be a weekend cruiser but wanted it to have a bit more pep so.......5.9L!

[@paulalondon2919]

Little late to ask ,but why did you put the oil pump and draw on the motor before finishing the rod caps?

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hello Paul, Welcome to the channel and thank you for the comment. The rod caps were finished and torqued when I put the oil pump and pick up on. I just didn't show the whole process as not to be repetitive. Sorry if there was confusion there. I have found that people don't necessarily want to watch me tighten bolts over and over. Lol.

[@nkcwilliams]

What headers are you planning on running? My headers are hitting the steering box on my 71 Plymouth Scamp 5.9 magnum swap.

[@MontsweagGarage]

@nkcwilliams. Hello Nick and Katie! Thank you for your comment and welcome to the channel. I am running the Summit Racing headers that were on the 273. As the 5.9 Magnum is the mostly the same block dimensions as the 273 that came out, I don't anticipate having an issue. I did a test fit with the engine on the run stand (run test coming soon...ish) to make sure I didn't have any clearance issues with the engine already. My Dart is also a manual steering car which has a bit more space than a power steering car. One of the entries in the Q&A section on Summit's page for them mentions that you might have to "massage" them a bit to get them into a power steering car.

[@barryloftin4159]

Wait are you doing fuel injection or carburetor ??

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hi Barry. Thank you for the comment. At the moment, it has a carb from the initial test run but I have a Holley Sniper sitting on the shelf awaiting the engine's installation. The final form will run on the Sniper. I Have some more frame and floor work to do before I put it all back together.

[@charlessmith3758]

What are these freeze plugs you speak of? Do you mean core plugs?

[@MontsweagGarage]

Welcome Charles and thank you for the comment. I have seen them called core plus, freeze plugs, expansion plugs, and even welch plugs. I guess it depends on where you're from. My Step-dad always called them freeze plugs when I was growing up and it just stuck I guess.

[@charlessmith3758]

@@MontsweagGarage People believe core plugs are installed to prevent an engine block from freezing and cracking in the winter, from lack of antifreeze. Core plugs are for allowing air to escape during engine production. Or the production would not be possible. Any other claims are incorrect. Maybe start using the correct term. Or I don't know. So it sounds like you know what you're talking about. Or don't, your choice. Maybe you could call a crankshaft an engine spinner thingy, or a distributor a sparky spark maker. Those words make it sound like you know what you're talking about too. First engine shop I worked at. Boss training me said; these are core plugs, got it, good? Don't call them anything else. A stern but fair prick. I never called them anything else. I think it's called learning. 🙂

[@MontsweagGarage]

@@charlessmith3758 Thank you for the information good sir. I have never claimed to be super knowledgeable about all things engines. This is my first project car, and my second engine so I am learning as I go. I do make an effort to call things by their proper name, mostly from the factory service manual which does indeed call them core plugs. I shall make a note for future engine builds. Again, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@charlessmith3758]

@@MontsweagGarage looks like you know your stuff. Also for a guy doing stuff on video. Production and camera work are pretty good. I can see the time and effort put in.

[@MontsweagGarage]

@@charlessmith3758 Thank you. I try. I am an electronics engineer by trade, with a small amount of mechanical and hydraulic stuff mixed in, so much of this is new to me. One thing the military taught me though is that with enough research and willpower, I can accomplish pretty much anything. It won't be perfect the first time, or even the second or third. But with practice, I will improve. I just hope my mistakes don't cost TOO much money. Lol.

[@pmd7771969]

Goof

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hi Paul. Welcome to the channel and thanks for the comment. I find that as I get further along in shooting a video, more of my natural personality comes out. That is what I am, a goof. =) It just doesn't always show since my brain is running a million miles an hour about what I want to talk about and trying to make sure I cover all the things I want to. I usually fail at that part. =)

[@barryloftin4159]

You’re going to be 180% out of time ! Dot up top goes up top not dot to dot man

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hello Barry and welcome to the channel. Thank you for the comment. I did roll the engine to put both dots up top before the first start. She is up and running on a run stand for the time being.

[@samhain6953]

#1 piston is brought up to TDC and the dots are matched.😅

[@rivegauche3149]

Can you please stop trying to be a comedian and just help your viewers , Jeez 🙄 thanks

[@MontsweagGarage]

Hello Rive. First off, thank you for the feedback. What, specifically, are you referring to?

[@samhain6953]

Lighten up.