Recent content by MopaR&D

Dang you got 25 mpg out of a 400 BB? I'm lucky to get that in my 2000 Buick Park Ave with 3800 V6 on a long trip. If I could squeeze 20 mpg out of a 400 I'd be ecstatic.

F-body is another I'd consider, mainly because it's possible to get one with a 4-speed (although rare). I hate the front suspension design though, no aftermarket support for upgrades except for a little bit from Firm Feel which is $$$. Late B-bodies can accept all the same stuff as the earlier...

I still want a late B-body, Cordoba/Charger/Magnum lol. I had an '88 5th Avenue and it's probably my favorite driver I've had. It had plush seats, simple but luxurious interior, great working A/C and heat and the soothing sound and feel of an old-school Mopar V8 burbling through dual exhaust...

If the axle bearings don't have any visible damage or wear just clean them up and regrease. The original tapered-roller style is over-engineered (like the rest of the drivetrain) and rarely fails unless abused or badly neglected.

He's not spending money on porting, he's doing it himself. It's just a quick-and-cheap overhaul. There's a big difference between "hey I have my engine apart to fix some leaks that just happens to have Edelbrock heads, anything I can do for cheap/free before I put it back together to make...

Well he said right there "low compression 360 with stock heads and stockish cam" and he's trying to spend the least amount of money needed so dropping $400+ for an extra 5-10 hp sounds silly to me.

Totally understand your situation, lots of things my Duster "needs" to be optimal but right now I'm just thankful I still have it and can drive it. It sounds like the engine is apart now then, correct? If so go ahead and open up the intake manifold ports to match the heads. You'll get a...

Might have been mentioned already but modern 3-way cats work best and last the longest when the AFR fluctuates between slightly rich and slightly lean during cruise. This is obviously not really possible with carbs. Also not having EGR makes a cat not last as long as it causes more NOx to be...

I'm also a mechanical engineer and learned quite a bit about engine emissions in grad school, especially in natural gas engines that have to deal with water vapor and H2S in the fuel and particulate emissions from diesels. The real solution? Drive less. The real reason we got to this point is...

Shift kit can be a little tricky depending on your experience or comfort level working with intricate parts. It's definitely doable if you've never had a valve body apart but takes some patience and a very clean working environment. The instructions in the TransGo kits are very thorough and...

You're overthinking stuff that doesn't actually matter that much. All aftermarket aluminum heads are closed-chamber with potential to make quench but that doesn't matter if your pistons aren't zero-deck at TDC. Upgrading the heads will also then allow for a much better cam and intake manifold...

It should work fine, a shift kit would help it last longer but not critical. Auxiliary cooler is a good idea too. 318s came from the factory in A-bodies with 904 transmissions and those later lockup 904s have stronger internals than earlier ones. FWIW I have a 1965 904 behind the 400-hp 360...

727s had 2 different size converters, 11" and 12"; smaller is high stall, bigger is low stall. If LS stands for Low Stall it's gonna stall pretty low behind a 318/5.2, like 1700 rpm or less. Which is fine if the engine is stock but if you change the cam it will definitely want a higher stall...

Oof, might be time to pull valve covers then. Although I agree with others, it's rare for a pre-2009 Hemi to have lifters go bad. They tended to have issues with valve seats dropping out, if anything.

People get caught up on "this has a bad effect" but don't consider how it compares to the benefits of the modification, just like with the 340/360 intake on 318 heads. Ok so smaller valves won't be shrouded but then you get way less flow overall with an old set of 273 or 318 heads...