Any one try this ( Mopar 318 Engine - Cheap As Dirt )

273 said

Moper if you put the 318 and 360 you just talked about in 2 identical 4 gear dusters set up for street and strip but geared them proper wouldn't the torque to the ground be about the same since the 318 would have to run a lower gear ?

I understand the frustration from 360 guys cause no matter how you slice it theres no reason to run anything less, knowing that I'm still gonna build a 400+hp 273 for my car :)

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I'm far from a 360 guy...lol. I'm a "maximum return on investment" guy. Be it a 505" or 225".
To answer your hypothetical - It depends on how you define "properly geard", wouldn't it? Using my thought process - like if you were my customer and I'm helping put the package together and assuming a standard A833, not an OD - if you're gearing for racing, it wouldn't matter. Your correct because you'd gear to get a little beyond peak hp at the strip in 4th with whatever tire you're planning to run. That might be 4.10s, or 4.88s or more depending on the expected horsepower peak. But for a street car - you gear for street driving. Daily driver might have 2.76, or up to say 3.55s. Occasional "fun" might be 3.91 or 4.10s. So the idea of maximizing the gear for acceleration is secondary. At that point, the longer stroke is what gets the knod from me. If you're going to tear it down to bare block, you will spend close to the same money to get a core 360 or 5.9L Magnum. as you will to rebuild a 318 short and find, buy, and ready a set of LA heads for it. It's a matter of a few hundred if that. I'd pay $3-400 more for an additional 40 pund feet and bigger torque at 2500 where I'm going to be cruising most of the time.