Honestly...how good was the 318...mpg / durability / hp

Speaking of timing sets. I never touched the one in my 318. Certain that it was original. I was the 3rd owner in 1980 and I could tell no one had the timing cover off. I kept looking at the ignition timing through the years, to see if it got jumpy from wear. Never did. 225K, ran smooth, idled smooth. Maybe I should have changed the timing set. But, I just didn't like messing with something that worked. I'm guessing it had metal gears and not nylon.
Mopar's "silent timing set" .... LOL :D :D .... If a guy put a steel set in there and still couldn't hear it. Cost saving using nylon if you ask me. The nylon gear sent a lot of really good small block mopars to the scrap yard.