318 to 383 worth it?

[Curiousyellow71]

Not sure if its been mentioned but your looking at a transmission swap as well to do a bb, and most 318s had a 904 which has a longer driveshaft w smaller output shaft then a 383 w a 727.
We have had lots of fun with 318s. You can get decent economy along w top end and passing power with a stock 318 just by adding a 4 barrel and headers. Getting the car moving from a standing start the 318 struggled until we added a turbocharger.
But, we no longer have a 318 in a car..they all have big blocks. I have no regrets.
I did not catch what year of 383 your considering but I wouldn't consider one older then 1968. That is the year they went to 906 heads w bigger valves. The 2 barrel 383s were pretty low compression. A 383 likes a higher stall convertor then a 440.

 

[Richard Cranium]

She runs like a scolded dog actually.

What kind of dog, a Chihuahua or a Rottweiler?

 

[Xp29h]

Is it worth it to swap to a 383 from a 318 or should I hold out for a 440?

Stroke a 400 block! (512) You won’t regret what you have!

 

[icetech]

I would wait and keep watching FBMP for deals... we still get RV 440s/trans (trans wont work, short shaft) popping up here for 7-800... I personally would rather have a 400 or 440 over 383.. but any of them will move that car better than the 318..

 

[68rrdream]

Not sure if its been mentioned but your looking at a transmission swap as well to do a bb, and most 318s had a 904 which has a longer driveshaft w smaller output shaft then a 383 w a 727.
We have had lots of fun with 318s. You can get decent economy along w top end and passing power with a stock 318 just by adding a 4 barrel and headers. Getting the car moving from a standing start the 318 struggled until we added a turbocharger.
But, we no longer have a 318 in a car..they all have big blocks. I have no regrets.
I did not catch what year of 383 your considering but I wouldn't consider one older then 1968. That is the year they went to 906 heads w bigger valves. The 2 barrel 383s were pretty low compression. A 383 likes a higher stall convertor then a 440.

My 318 has a 727 behind it. I had read some years came with the 727 so I don't know if it's that or a heavy duty package. I had inquired in another post if the driveshaft would need to be changed but nobody replied.

The 383 in question is actually a 68.

 

[68rrdream]

What kind of dog, a Chihuahua or a Rottweiler?

Chihuahua...it is a small block lol

 

[Mopar Hunter]

What kind of dog, a Chihuahua or a Rottweiler?

Greyhound.

It’s a fast small block.

 

[1967coronet]

My 2 cents, you know what you have with your 318.
The 383 is a crap shoot as far as condition.
You can spend a few bucks on your 318 or go down the rabbit hole .
This deal depends on your budget and do you want to drive it or ...
If you had to change engines I would go for the 383 .

 

[dfrazz]

What is your ultimate goal for the car? Street only, long cruises, some strip action? And how much do you want to drop on just the engine? Deep pockets can make any engine fast.

 

[Armyvet25]

My favorite is the 383, I like the short deck big block, have had many over the years. A good 383/400 will pound and sound. 440, sure if available and not too $$$ high.

 

[Rebelrouser]

Well you have to swap the transmission as well to go to a big block and at least modify the exhaust system. You can buy a stroker kit for the 318 and get 392 inches for less than $2,500 so you get the same cubic inches, add a set of decent heads or port your old ones and you may be surprised how good it runs. I have built a lot of 360LA strokers to 410 inches and in street trim they made a little over 400HP.

 

[matthon]

It's 1500 motor and tranny.

That's a good deal, imo, complete engine with trans.
Just pull the valve covers and whatever else you can before purchase.

Around these parts, 440s are tough to find, and expensive garbage when you do.

I bought a 383 years ago for cheap, came with new pistons installed, put aluminum heads on it with a tunnel ram and it screams.
Still drive it regularly.

Next 383 was complete minus carb, brought it home, 'purple' cam, RPM intake and 750 carb and woke it up nice.

They're inexpensive enough and can produce 400+hp easily, and more with a little more $ and effort.

Anyone disappointed that my car 'only' has a 383 under the hood can go scratch.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Buy the 383 and then buy a stroker kit when when the 383 doesn't do it for you. Add 3.55 gears, in my opinion are the best all around ratio.

 

[Detective D]

There are no bad Mopar engines.
More cubic inches means more ft. lbs. You can build any Mopar to be more then it was factory. $$ is always the deciding factor.

Personally, I have seen people absolutely beat a 383 with stock internals and they won't die. 318's are actually similar in that regard.
440 is "the biggest" and so it always gets the nod. There is nothing wrong with a screaming 383. Remember, the internet always want you to spend more and get "the best".

Personally, I think you would notice a substantial difference if you leave the rear end alone with normal driving, the ft. lbs from the 383 are going to make first gear a lot more exciting then the 318 can. But that is just apples to apples. You could just as easily drop the $1500 on the current drivetrain and see a lot more smiles per gallon. A proper converter in the 727 to let the 318 wind up for example. A gearset for the rear end so first gear is not as poochy. I am sure you can get a lot of suggestions on how to encourage more righteous burnouts from the current combo.
Decide what you want now though, and spend once. You will never, ever ever even a little, see any money you put into a 318 come back to you if you decide to sell that engine later. Just like the 383 vs 440 consensus, the internet and whatnot see the 318 as lesser then a 340 or 360, as well as abundant and cheap. So you will basically about give it away even if you build it should you decide to go big block later anyway. In other words, don;t expect sale of a 318 to offset some of that $1500 either!
Also, i am surprised at the price of the 383. I got one for my old police car for $600 with a transmission and driveshaft a couple years ago, a 69 engine out of a charger in running condition. I would actually keep looking unless you know for a fact that 383 combo is a drop in. Of course, I live in the rust belt with more engines then people know what to do with as the vehicles have all returned to the earth from salt, so YMMV.

 

[icetech]

A proper converter in the 727 to let the 318 wind up for example. A gearset for the rear end so first gear is not as poochy. I am sure you can get a lot of suggestions on how to encourage more righteous burnouts from the current combo.

Also, i am surprised at the price of the 383. I got one for my old police car for $600 with a transmission and driveshaft a couple years ago, a 69 engine out of a charger in running condition. I would actually keep looking unless you know for a fact that 383 combo is a drop in. Of course, I live in the rust belt with more engines then people know what to do with as the vehicles have all returned to the earth from salt, so YMMV.

I did that with my car, kept the 318 and put on trickflows/howards roller and such with a 3200 TC and 4.30s It's fun but i haven't really beat on it yet.. i have so much money into just my top end though i could have done 3 cheap 440s just wanted to be different

 

[Cranky]

How does the teen run? I went from a 318 to a 383 when I did my first engine swap back in 70. Lots to think about because lots of things are different including under hood wiring, motor mount brackets, throttle bracket and the already mentioned above. How bout a 360? Mount brackets are slightly different but washers/spacers work. Going from a SB to a BB will make your handling a bit different because of the added weight but throwing on a sway bar will make that better if there isn't one on the car now.

 

[icetech]

How does the teen run? I went from a 318 to a 383 when I did my first engine swap back in 70. Lots to think about because lots of things are different including under hood wiring, motor mount brackets, throttle bracket and the already mentioned above. How bout a 360? Mount brackets are slightly different but washers/spacers work. Going from a SB to a BB will make your handling a bit different because of the added weight but throwing on a sway bar will make that better if there isn't one on the car now.

Really good.. it's never gonna be a monster but it will actually spin the 30' et streets which i didn't expect.. i'm gonna get back to work on it in the next few weeks then start having fun. so far no complaints though.

 

[Cranky]

Really good.. it's never gonna be a monster but it will actually spin the 30' et streets which i didn't expect.. i'm gonna get back to work on it in the next few weeks then start having fun. so far no complaints though.

Cool beans. A buddy and I threw a bunch of left over parts at the teen in his 72 Demon and ended up running 13.51 @ 102. The car still had a stock converter so the 60' was terrible but once it hit 3k rpm, it was off to the races until 6200 when it went flat. Took a few changes to get it to that and played with it until the trans started going soft. The stock block and trans had 115k miles on it. Anyways, I was meaning that question for the OP but that's cool.

 

[icetech]

Cool beans. A buddy and I threw a bunch of left over parts at the teen in his 72 Demon and ended up running 13.51 @ 102. The car still had a stock converter so the 60' was terrible but once it hit 3k rpm, it was off to the races until 6200 when it went flat. Took a few changes to get it to that and played with it until the trans started going soft. The stock block and trans had 115k miles on it. Anyways, I was meaning that question for the OP but that's cool.

hahhah i'm sorry.... just started babbling

 

[hdwrench]

jmho- i made this decision when i started my restoration on my 74 barracuda. from the factory it came a 318/2 with a column shift 904 . although my car is super low mileage and ran great i wanted to upgrade to a bb. a good friend helped me out with a 69 hp 383 and a 727 to go with . we bartered on the package, i helped him with some things . i thought of tweeking the 318 or i have a 69 349 that needs a complete redo . but the 383 is a lot closer to install then the small blocks and i always wanted a bb . maybe the small blocks will fit into another project.