To 340 or not to 340: That is the question.

[JedIEG]

So I have 72 Satellite I am restoring with a 318 a/t and my father has offered me his spare 340 to use if I want. The 340 needs a good bit of work (Cylinders bored, heads refreshed and all the fun replacement parts). This would be a great engine but it is a little expensive for me at the moment.
I just want some thoughts:
Should I take the 340? (or should I leave it for an A or E)
Should I go for a 400 (a few are available around me for cheap but also need work)?

Any opinions/perseverance on which engine feels better in the 71-74's?

 

[HT413]

IMHO, that's a big car and it needs a big block. However, changing to a big block will create a lot of additional expenses like exhaust, mounts, trans, distributor, carb and all other bolt ons and accessories, etc. also, what rear do you have in it? A warm 400 in a heavy car will eat the smaller rears.

 

[ma mopar nutz]

Well your question is a loaded one !! What you can do seams to depend on your budget right ?? If it were me I would save the 340 [for a dart swinger:icon_thumleft:] and pick up one of the 400's and build a 512 out of it !! Now granted this would be if money was not an issue but if it is then I have this question for you does the 318 that was in it run?? If it does or did and can be made to run with little cost then I would get all the body, interior, brakes...... get everything done then build your BIG BLOCK !! A BB upgrade is very costly but way funner so my answer to your question would it be my choice to make pull the original 318 hide it away to be restored one day and build a bb for it its a big car gonna need big power !!:imho:

 

[Ron 73]

If you can get a 400 and build it up some, cant beat it but most stock 400 don't have all the HP a lot think they do... The right 340 can be a wicked fast reving engine, thats MHO

 

[idrivemopar]

I love my 340, in my 73 RR. Rebuilt it with 9.5 compression, bigger cam, new pistons, and bored out, and its strong, for such a heavy car, it gets up and moves. Now if you want to make a quarter miler, then you might want something different. Its a great motor for a cruiser car, and should be able to roast the tires with no problem.

 

[Bruzilla]

If the 340 was ready to drop in, I would go with it. If it's gonna cost money, I would go ahead and get a 440 in there and not waste money on a 400. They're great engines, but the 440 is still the top dog engine in the class and there's nothing worse than constantly hearing how great it would be if you had a 440 in there.

 

[HawkRod]

My 73 Road Runner has a 340, 727 and 3.55 8 3/4 sure grip. The engine is at 10.0:1 compression, mild porting in the heads, bigger valves (2.02, 1.76?) and a dual plane aluminum manifold & headers. It runs fantastic, will roast the tires and is a blast to drive.

So, can you make the 340 a strong running engine? Yes, easily. The question is, are you willing to deal with the extra costs to buy another transmission, K member and/or mounts, brackets, etc.? If your funds are limited, then going for the "ultimate" 400 or 440 is going to cost a lot of money.

My suggestion. If you will be happy with a 340 then do it. If not, then wait and save up until you can do the big block. From your original post, it sounds like you WANT the big block but are resigning yourself to running the small block...

 

[JedIEG]

Well the car has NEVER been off the street from what I can tell. The guy i bought it off of said he had it for 20 years (I bought it last August) and the inspection was just running out (also I have no idea how this car ever passed inspection). Mechanically everything is good. The 318 runs fine and the transmission seems ok, if not just being tired. The 400's in question are just very cheap and Im just being opportunistic. As for the drive line, its a 8 1/4 rear and not sure of the gear, however, I am getting a 8 3/4 for free with a 3.23 open. Trans wise I would get a 727 but what i would really like is an A518 which makes me lean more toward a SB.

As for me wanting a big block over the 340 is a bit different than power: The 340 in question was the first engine I ever really looked at as a kid and started me into the hobby wanting to rebuild it some day. So its a little sentimental to stick a car I am having a hard time not throwing in the towel with. (Just found out it needs a frame rail cap)

 

[HawkRod]

So this is getting into some money, but then maybe you get the 340 and put a stroker kit in it. You can easily displace well over 400 cubes and make some serious power.

Your cake and eat it too - it's only money....... :toothy10:

 

[383man]

Myself in a B-body I like a bigblock. You know if you get a 400 you can build it anyway you want. Most swap in the 440 crank for 451 cubes and a stroker crank works real nice. But its your car so you have to do what will make you happy. Ron

 

[charger360]

I run a 360 with some very cheap upgrades in it in my 74 se, I can dust a quick 72 charger rallye 440 with some hop up parts on it as well he runs 3.55 gears and I am on 3.23 gears so the whole big block small block thing is moot to me. if you are smart with your build you don't have to spend a fortune and you could go big or smallblock and still have good power for the street. now if I was building it to race I would go big block just because the extra cubes are free as opposed to a stroker in a smallblock just from a cost perspective but these day's you can build a big cube smallblock that can really rock if you have the cash!

 

[JedIEG]

Honestly, i think you might be closest. I think maybe the best thing to do (and I have been trying to find for a while) is a 360/A518 combo to replace the 318/904.

Thanks for the thought everyone