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well i think im gonna just throw in a set of bearings and piston rings in the bottom end due to it running good.

Im gonna order the crane #12 cam, valve springs in a minute.

What would you guys recomend for new valve seals, guides?

also on modernperformance.com it says the mopar head gasket has been discontinued, anyone make a performance headgasket for the magnum engine?

also wondering if the JE piston ring set will work with my OEM pistons? as long as i get them for standard bore???

tkstoysrt wrote:well i think im gonna just throw in a set of bearings and piston rings in the bottom end due to it running good.

Im gonna order the crane #12 cam, valve springs in a minute.

What would you guys recomend for new valve seals, guides?

also on modernperformance.com it says the mopar head gasket has been discontinued, anyone make a performance headgasket for the magnum engine?

tkstoysrt wrote:also wondering if the JE piston ring set will work with my OEM pistons? as long as i get them for standard bore???

mag heads and non mag heads have the same head gaskets. personally, mine is felpro. i'm fine with it. and as far as oem pistons go, use oem rings.

Ok that's what I was planning. I've found a mopar warehouse website that has most items I'm needing for the rebuild!

Mopar rod bearings
Crane#12 cam
Crane sohc springs
Mopar top end gasket set

All from modernperformance

$559.00

Well here is the item list that ive ordered so far:

www.modernperformance.com

mopar rod bearings
Crane #12 camshaft
Crane sohc Valve springs

www.jcwhitney.com

Fel pro Top end gasket set (perma torque gaskets)
Fel pro oil pan gasket set


waiting on these items to arrive now (prolly beginning of next week) and will post pics.

Now im on the hunt for a set of OE piston rings and then taking my head to the machine shop to get it cleaned/inspected and put together with the new cam and valve springs.

I will be pulling the pistons/rods out this weekend to Hone the cylinder walls and get ready for the new piston rings and rod bearings.

if your going boost, do not use the oe rings as they are not designed for it!

What piston rings would you recommend then because I suggested the JE piston rings and was told they wouldn't work? I have not been able to find any other piston rings other then OEM and the JE! Let me know what you think guys cause I'm gettin things gathered up to get this started.

Like I said before I'm new to the sohc platform and combinations so all input is appreciated!

Thanks
Trey

hey guys, any suggestions on a type or brand of piston rings to go with?

also no new progress at the moment due to still waiting on the parts i ordered last week. suppose to be here on tuesday.

je's are fine. The lower the compression, the better. Wiseco are good too

You're going this far into the engine, might as well get lower compression turbo pistons and stronger rods. Will add a chunk of money to the build, but do it now, or do it later, and have to buy a new head gasket set, etc. all over again.

Yea I'm trying to scrounge the extra cash now... The 8.8:1 kit from modern is the route I'm gna take! Rather do it now then later as said above!!

tkstoysrt wrote:Yea I'm trying to scrounge the extra cash now... The 8.8:1 kit from modern is the route I'm gna take! Rather do it now then later as said above!!

Good call.

Got the head all stripped down and ready to take to the machine shop only to find out that the cam journals are all worn pretty bad. Might have to just purchase a new core to use. dont really wanna risk trashing my new cam.

Any of you guys know of a company that makes new core cylinder heads for the neons? Or a machine shop that can refurbish the cam journals in my current cyl head? My local machine shop has no way of doing so, and I'm not having any luck finding a decent magnum cylinder head anywhere...!

I got the cam and valve springs sitting in the car along side the perma torque gasket set(which I am very pleased with the looks of) and mopar bearings. Just need a head!!

if you are staying SOHC, find a Magnum head, if you can not a new Magnum head bare runs around $350...

Where can I get a bare magnum head from? I been looking and have had any luck...

from an R/T

What I meant was , is there a specific company that makes new cylinder heads or even remans used ones. I know that I need one out of an R/T...

I may have a lead on one, ill keep posted! Also pics of the goodies soon (gotta go thru the photobucket process)

Got another cylinder head coming finally, bought from a member of the forums... Will hopefully be giving positive feedback once they arrive! Also getting started on the re-assembly..

Got the cylinder head the other day and dropped it off at the machine friday. Had the same wear on the cam journals as my original head did and i am puzzled as to what is causing this? the machine shop say they can smooth them out and it should be fine but something is causing this. Lack of oil to camshaft journals is most likely the cause and i need to figure out a reason and fix it. I think i may be able to bore out the oil journals in the head a little more then stock to allow more oil to flow in.

Goin out today to start the bottom end rebuild. Just decided to go with mopar bearings and new piston rings for now just to get it back together and drive for the season. Cant come up with the extra cash for the ModernPerformance bottom end like i wanted at the time so it is what it is.

I will take pictures today of the progress i make.

I should be able to tell a little difference from the rebuild and new camshaft with the way it runs when finished.

Sooooo, scratch the last post... i pulled the bottom end apart today only to find that my car was running and getting 29mpg with two cracked piston ring lands.... Just Great... now on the hunt to find the cash for the forged bottom end... didnt take pics yet due to aggrevation levels after the find but will post later.

after ordering many parts from different companies and searching for information over the past few weeks i will hopefully be making some progress this weekend. I have found a website to which i have been ordering all my needed items from and have been very satisfied so far (www.partsgeek.com). I ordered the following:

OEM air intake tube
thermostat
o2 sensor (rear)
o2 sensor (front)
Felpro headbolts
breather tube
water pump
pcv valve
purge valve


ordered them on a saturday and received them the next wednesday.

also posted a for sale thread to post my turbo kit items up for sale due to just performing a rebuild and getting the car back on the road.

pics and updates this weekend.