318 Mopar rebuild and modification questions!

[niteshift70]

Less than a hundred plus parts.

 

[drobertson]

So... I have done some things. My budget doubled from 600 to 1200. I got some headers from summit, a summit street/strip mild camshaft, 4bbl intake and 600 cfm edelbrock carb. Dual exhaust will be a factor as well. Compression will be stock. What power do y'all think I'll be making???

 

[Seventy]

So... I have done some things. My budget doubled from 600 to 1200. I got some headers from summit, a summit street/strip mild camshaft, 4bbl intake and 600 cfm edelbrock carb. Dual exhaust will be a factor as well. Compression will be stock. What power do y'all think I'll be making???

I think you should have maybe gone with a smaller carb, lol jk..

I would guess 250 hp? Are you going to chance the valve springs? I am kind of confused with your methods, $1200, just leave that engine alone for now, and save a bit more you can buy a 360 or 340...

You can buy a medium mile 360 motor, 4bbl intake for it (they have different bolt patterns on the magnums), distributor, electric fuel pump and throw it in, them motors go good and they are OK with a 4bbl on them.... Ill bet all that can be done for $1200, I seen a ram with 55K on it no bed, no nose, no interior for $550 on ebay, says can hear run in the listing... Then $200 for the intake, $150 for a dizzy, $100 for a pump, that would be what I do..

 

[drobertson]

Wow. When I started this thread I know almost nothing about these cars. In the past 4 months I've learned tons. I ended up boring the block .40 thousandths over, a summit street strip cam, 360 la cylinder heads, flattop 8.7:1 pistons, 4bbl intake w/ edel 600cfm carburetor and then summit long tube headers bolted straight to the mufflers w/ exhaust tips pointing out the sides of the car behind the doors much like a T/A or AAR. The engine is essential brand new, and I discovered that the transmission is a small block 727, not the suspected 904. What kind of power do 'yall think I'll be making??? My budget jumped from 600 dollars to about 3k to get 'er up and running as a daily driver.

 

[318 Six Pack]

I have to say the 318 is a great engine, no real reliability short falls BUT plenty of them when it comes to performance. I personally ignore the motor unless its for a farm truck. IMO you can grab a later model 360 out of a junk yard, toss in a cam, a slug with a bit more compression, a tiny bit of port matching and call it a day, not a rocket ship but it will get you sideways with the right gears and a snappy automatic...

Besides the 318 your other hurdle is going to be your budget. $650 is tight, considering rings, bearings, and freeze plugs can cost you $200+ of it..

So since rebuilding a motor is not easy I would say ignore the budget vs the performance, but that is going to be your call.

Here is what I would do...
Find a set of junk yard 302 heads, they will be sitting on pretty much any mid 80's to early 90's small black chrysler. Should be able to get a set for $20 if not for free, I know I have to have 2 or 3 sets somewhere around here unless they already made it to the junk pile, but they will cost more to ship than you can get them for locally...

First order of business would be to get your self a 360 intake gasket and a set of 2.02/1.60 valves (I know hearing 202/160 from a guy who builds chevys is a surprise, lol). Fit the valves in there (they will easily go) and port them heads to match the 360 gaskets (intake should also be matched to them), plenty of meat to do your porting.

The 302 heads are going to be the best head you can afford, and they are a nice head, believe it or not. Has a vortech style (I know chevy wording) chamber and they are around 58cc's with a thin gasket you will get some compression with a set of basic 4v relief cast pistons (probably $80 a set).

As for a camshaft, that is just as important as the heads, I would look into the purple cam, mopar has one that is something like 430/450 that I used before, I scored it on ebay for $90 new with no lifters (make sure you are using new lifters)...

I say with silvo lite/sealed/speedpro/etc 4v or flat tops (sp has a set with 1.790 height that is affordable, the KB 166s are like $500 a set, but they will obviously make more compression, even cheaper than the sealed powers is a set of speed pros they are 1.755 but again less compression and they save you $80 or so from the sealed powers which save you $250 from the KB's), a set of ported 302 heads with the 2.02/1.60 valves, 360 intake gaskets, matched aluminum intake, 650 to 700ish cfm carb, that mid lift purple cam, an ignition system capable of burning the fuel, and an exhaust capable of getting the chambers clean with out too much back pressure, you will get the HP you are looking for plus some.
Use the thin mopar head gaskets and the 360 felpro intake gaskets, put in the time with the grinder, do a really nice valve job and you will have one heck of a 318...

Falcon will have the best prices for all the parts, I have the part numbers for the valves and head gasket since I bought them at summit and can look up past orders pretty easily, if you need them. I can not stress enough that the heads are the most important part of your build, I know the valves cost me around $200 alone, if you had some extra money decking them heads will get your compression even higher but most shops charge $150+ to do it...

Good luck, I know some satisfaction comes with building a budget small cube engine that has some sack to it, I LOVE my 302 chevy and destroked small block builds, something about shifting a v8 at 8500 rpms just makes me smile... ALthough I will be the first to admit an all aluminum -500 cubic inch 800hp mill that weighs as much as a 5.0 ford is even more fun... They all have their place...


PS- I take it your block is bored but not honed since you do not have pistons yet? There is nothing worse then spending your budget on a build and having it not right. Take your time do some research then spend your money. I would get on the phone and find a set of 302 heads, buy the valves, get the heads all together and ready then move on to the next part which would be your short block. So when that is done you bolt the heads and intake on and go to town...

When you put the bigger valves in, do you need to cut a new seat?

On the prowl now for a set of 302 or 308 heads. Initial looks at local junk yards are not promising