Magnum head?

gabrielriley · Post by **gabrielriley** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:09 pm

I here that a magnum head will fit on my 03 SXT. Do I need the whole head assembly or would I be just as well off with the magnum cam and my stock head?

Not to sound stupid but I am not sure what a magnum head is. Is it a head from a 2gn R/T?

03blackrt · Post by **03blackrt** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:20 pm

The Magnum head is from 2001-2002 ACR's and 2001-2004 R/T's... It is far better than the standard SOHC head. All that is really different is the head (port design), camshaft and valve springs.

You would see slight gains if you swaped in just the cam, but far better results if you swap the head too.

silverneontuner · Post by **silverneontuner** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 2:51 pm

is the magnum head swap a direct swap?? what about the intake ports and intake manifold differences?

Crashin · Post by **Crashin** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 5:11 pm

It's a direct swap, your stock intake manifold bolts up without any issues and provides a nice gain.

silverneontuner · Post by **silverneontuner** » Wed Oct 10, 2007 11:03 pm

that is sexy, where should i start looking for one??. do i need any additional parts other than head and valve cover gaskets??, how about the intake manifold dont i need that???

Crashin · Post by **Crashin** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:36 am

There are usually some for sale on the forums or look for a 2gn R/T in the junk yard. You'll need a headgasket kit (cheap at Modern), new head bolts, oil change, plus I'd recommend replacing the timing belt, belt tensioner and water pump while you have it all apart, very cheap insurance! While I had mine apart I also replaced the antifreeze and the thermostat, again just added insurance as I was about that time anyways and it had to be drained to do the swap....

If you have a non- R/T intake now then a R/T or a AMM intake will definitely help give you more power, but your stock plastic one will work.
One thing I will say is it makes a HUGE difference. I raced a friends Caprice the day before the swap and I took him off the line by about 3 cars then he just started pulling and pulling, by the time (roughly 1/4mile) we let off he was 4 car lengths ahead of me and still pulling. Now over the same distance I'm almost a full car ahead of him, it'd be more if I didn't spin the first 15' or so....

silverneontuner · Post by **silverneontuner** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 2:37 pm

sweet, im a mechanics apprentice so i should be able to get one and some parts for cost. but ill have to pay one of my co workers in beer to help me

. Lemme know if you come across one. Oh and a couple more things. witch engine style headbolts do i use? and which head gasket. the 2.0 sohc or the 2.0 sohc high output.

Crashin · Post by **Crashin** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 4:03 pm

The head gasket and bolts are the same for both heads, the only gasket I noticed that is different is the one for exhaust manifold, the magnum one is much bigger.

silverneontuner · Post by **silverneontuner** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:00 pm

so, in saying that would you basically recommended installing and header at the same time.?

Crashin · Post by **Crashin** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:34 pm

I'd at a minimum put a R/T header on when you do the swap, remember, the more you do the better the returns.

Crashin · Post by **Crashin** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:42 am

Had some time to think about it, but you should find out how much the NGC is going to or if it will hurt performance if you do this swap.

aperson · Post by **aperson** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 12:49 pm

Going to? Hurt performance? Shouldn't much, but if you already have an MTX take the PCM out of the car with the mag head. It has advanced spark and fuel curves, and if you really want to, grab the wiring harness and intake too, that way it will pretty much be an R/T.

drums4life0922 · Post by **drums4life0922** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:07 pm

sorry for the stupid question but what is a ngc???

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:08 pm

next generation controler... it is the 03+ dodge PCM's

drums4life0922 · Post by **drums4life0922** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 4:11 pm

oh ok, so what will that do to performance, if you switch to it

Hurt performance? Shouldn't much, but if you already have an MTX take the PCM out of the car with the mag head. It has advanced spark and fuel curves, and if you really want to, grab the wiring harness and intake too, that way it will pretty much be an R/T

what does he mean by this

aperson · Post by **aperson** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 2:30 am

Once the computer learns you're driving style it will feel like power is being taken away, but if you already have an MTX transmission then get the PCM that has advanced fuel and spark curves. If you're planning on using the Magnum intake too then I'd recommend getting the wiring harness and PCM. That way you don't have to worry about wiring the secondaries in the manifold.

silverneontuner · Post by **silverneontuner** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 6:09 am

so the swap is no good with a stock automatic neon and computer?.if the head is close cant the computer re learn the driving style anyhow.

aperson · Post by **aperson** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 12:58 pm

No, its not that drastic, a couple of months ago I took out the resonator box because of the restriction, I immediately noticed better responce/acceleration, it's still like that, but it's not as good as when I first did it but its still better then stock. When it was stock it felt like I had a rubberband tranny going up hills I had to almost floor it to keep speed, now I don't have to touch a thing. I found a head in my area a couple months ago and I'm going to be doing this once money gets better. Fortunately they know me there so I can pay it off over a few months time.

silverneontuner · Post by **silverneontuner** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 8:21 pm

nice yea i phoned a ton of salvage yards and no luck. im gonna start callin machine shops to see if they can get one.