How realistic is this budget built ? 400hp 318

-
Quoting them.... "we need to establish clarity here; 318s can run."

My quote ......... "318 will run" .... and I have the sticker to prove it :D
 
Quoting them.... "we need to establish clarity here; 318s can run."

My quote ......... "318 will run" .... and I have the sticker to prove it :D
oh trust me...i believe you and i looooovee your 318 builds , just arguing with people and friends that are always telling me at work that a 302 ford is superior all around, and showed them this budget 318 , but i dont know about cylinder pressure ..older mechanics are telling me that a 318 cant take a cam because its gonna kill them and will fall on their face...you and Utg made crazy 318s and all the other combos on fabo too. My apprentice mechanic cards is limiting me!!! Ahahahhaah
 
oh trust me...i believe you and i looooovee your 318 builds , just arguing with people and friends that are always telling me at work that a 302 ford is superior all around, and showed them this budget 318 , but i dont know about cylinder pressure ..older mechanics are telling me that a 318 cant take a cam because its gonna kill them and will fall on their face...you and Utg made crazy 318s and all the other combos on fabo too. My apprentice mechanic cards is limiting me!!! Ahahahhaah
Former member here.... at a local drag strip... taking money from a LS on NOS with a 318 on the juice. 1968 truck 318 with factory forged crank - so yes, stock stroke
VanillaGorilla vs Bad00ss Grudge race - YouTube
 
oh trust me...i believe you and i looooovee your 318 builds , just arguing with people and friends that are always telling me at work that a 302 ford is superior all around, and showed them this budget 318 , but i dont know about cylinder pressure ..older mechanics are telling me that a 318 cant take a cam because its gonna kill them and will fall on their face...you and Utg made crazy 318s and all the other combos on fabo too. My apprentice mechanic cards is limiting me!!! Ahahahhaah
Those "mechanics" are idiots...
 
oh trust me...i believe you and i looooovee your 318 builds , just arguing with people and friends that are always telling me at work that a 302 ford is superior all around, and showed them this budget 318 , but i dont know about cylinder pressure ..older mechanics are telling me that a 318 cant take a cam because its gonna kill them and will fall on their face...you and Utg made crazy 318s and all the other combos on fabo too. My apprentice mechanic cards is limiting me!!! Ahahahhaah
In the future I'll be putting together what I call "a stout" 318. I have the core pieces already. Won't be earth shattering nor will it re-write the history books, but it will just be a stout 318. As for HP, doubt we'll ever know because I have no plans to dyno it. Keeping the details to myself till it's done just for the sake of all the blah blah blah.. LOL
 
oh jeeezzzzz , more specs ? It looks incredibly powerfull !!!
W2's, street legal, races in street form. That power plant has been replaced and he now needs a parachute.... LOL. It's extremely fast now, still grudge racing. I don't know his new combo or ET, only seen the videos.
 
Where's YR ? I remember him saying 500hp was achievable with a 318, generic recipe please. pretty please! lol
 
Where's YR ? I remember him saying 500hp was achievable with a 318, generic recipe please. pretty please! lol
not sure where the block strength cut off would be for a hp number.... 650 with the block half filled? I don't know....
 
A 318 is often overlooked as a performance engine. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that Chrysler marketed it as there work horse 2 barrel V8. Put some hi compression pistons, decent flowing heads, and 340 cam and let those 318 cubes ring! 65'
 
W2's, street legal, races in street form. That power plant has been replaced and he now needs a parachute.... LOL. It's extremely fast now, still grudge racing. I don't know his new combo or ET, only seen the videos.
How can he be that fast without aluminum heads? From China? OOTB? :rofl:
 
oh jeeezzzzz , more specs ? It looks incredibly powerfull !!!
That's not a 318, it is a late 70s X block, aka "race block" if I remember correctly it was 420+ cubes with W2 race heads. That engine was for sale here on FABO a few years back. The X blocks had a 318 casting number, so perfect for grudge racing!!!
 
That's not a 318, it is a late 70s X block, aka "race block" if I remember correctly it was 420+ cubes with W2 race heads. That engine was for sale here on FABO a few years back. The X blocks had a 318 casting number, so perfect for grudge racing!!!
It was a 318, with a forged 3.31 stroke. I was offered the entire engine for 4500 bucks. I know the exact ET it ran. He now has a bigger cube motor but still a small block, which I do not know the details of.... Here is the car now, notice the chute, and still on 26" tires :)

 
Last edited:
It was a 318, with a forged 3.31 stroke. I was offered the entire engine for 4500 bucks. I know the exact ET it ran. He now has a bigger cube motor but still a small block, which I do not know the details of.... Here is the car now, notice the chute, and still on 26" tires :)


Maybe I was thinking about one of his later motors...I do recall something about a 318 and huge nitrous, maybe that was this combination
 
Maybe I was thinking about one of his later motors...I do recall something about a 318 and huge nitrous, maybe that was this combination
the 318 was a 150 shot. I know nothing about the current set up except it's a small block.
 
the 318 was a 150 shot
That's not big, I know like most cars, it evolved quite quickly, nature of the beast. But really, the is no magic to a 318, or 340/360s for that matter. They can all be built to provide good power, the teen is just smaller
 
well;
IMO
400hp from a 318, normally aspirated, won't be cheap, nor will it make a sweet 3400 pound DD. Nor even a decent week-end warrior.
And since we are not in the racer's forum, I gotta say; why in the heck would you even think to build such a combo?
As you know, horsepower is a drop-out term we get by multiplying torque times rpm. So the only ways to increase horsepower are with more torque and/or more rpm. annnnnnd the 318 is quickly torque limited, so that just leaves rpm.
for a street car;
And when you go the rpm route, you quickly trade away bottom-end for top-end. And so in comes;
the hi-stall or clutch, in an effort to find some decent take-off power; and
the rear gears to get the engine up to it's operating rpm; and
the close-ratio trans to keep it on the pipe.
But as a streeter, what you end up with, using 3.55s and an automatic; is a one-gear to 60 mph car, with a sortof rubber-band gas-pedal, that needs to gas up every couple of hours. But hey it goes hi to mid 12s in the quarter, maybe better with a racing suspension.
To be clear;
I am not a 318 hater.

At the 400hp level, it's a logic and budget argument.
As to logic;
It's just that being 13% size limited as compared to a 360, she needs more cam and/or head to make the same power, trading away a lot of bottom end, which is where IDK, say 95% of a streeters life is spent.
As to budget;
by the time you get it built, the only thing still original will be the block, maybe the crank, the timing cover,and maybe the valve-covers. And now with additional costs of; a hi-stall, the rear gears, and the combo wants more than a 3-speed auto, more even than a 3+1. It really wants about 5 gears......... And don't forget, all the support systems, such as fuel, ignition, and especially cooling..... money, money, mo money.
Guys say it costs more money if you have to buy a 5.9 core. IMO, the core cost is the least of your worries.
The 360 falls together at a very favorable street package, right around 330/350 horsepower. It can run the 318 TC and 3.23s and a TF trans and you instantly have a 12 second potential. With the addition of a good alloy head and matching cam, the power can easily run up to 400 very streetable horsepower; and with the right combo, will get similar or better than 318 fuel economy, on the hiway.
I don't get the fascination of comparing a 318LA dinosaur design that started life over 60 years ago, to what is found in the 5.0 Mustang, which is only vaguely related to it's ancestor.
If you wanna be quick, on the street, with a 318, yur gonna have to start with the chassis and powertrain from the bellhouse back. It's quickness will come from Torque-Multiplication and light weight. Then build the engine to work with the gears.
 
A 318 is often overlooked as a performance engine. I think alot of it has to do with the fact that Chrysler marketed it as there work horse 2 barrel V8. Put some hi compression pistons, decent flowing heads, and 340 cam and let those 318 cubes ring! 65'

i think we overlook it because for the same money you can build a 360 and get more power
it just doesnt make sense not too (provided you can find the cores for the same cost)
 
Once again we get the answer to a question never asked. If you want to have a fast V8 you start the best flowing heads you can afford, set it up with good machining, compression that will work with the gas you want to use, and pick the right cam to make it all work. Do you really think .13 inches in diameter or .065 of an inch radially makes any difference between a 318 and 340, with everything else being equal? Every engine has pluses and minuses. If you can't figure out how to make a MOPAR, and I mean ANY MOPAR run fast, you should not be giving advice. With good heads you can even use a smaller cam on a smaller engine to the same effect. 215 cfm intake flow can be had with any run of the mill 360/340 head, Magnum head, or ported 273/318 head. If that will get you 400 hp what is the big deal? 318? 340? 360? Even a 273? It does not matter. I won't get into the Ford or Chevy thing, I'm not interested, although I could.
 
Last edited:
-
Back
Top