318, 340, 360, 383-bb

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GermzD74

GermzD74

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Hey guys IM currently looking for a new engine for my car, was convinced by a friend of mine who has his own shop that it would be less expensive to just drop in a V8...o well...i wouldnt mind that except for gas but....its worth it!!! hehe

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE ENGINES, IVE FOUND SOME 318'S AND ONE OR TWO 360'S AND 383'S FOR SALE 340 ARE HARD TO FIND...SO WHICH ONE SHOULD I STICK TO IF I WANT A FAST STREET CAR WITH NOT OO MUCH GAS CONSUMPTION AS A 440 HEHE
 
i'm gonna say go with the 360 and im sure most guys on FABO will agree with me. itll be easiest in an A body and will have the most cubic inches of the small block engines
 
In stock form, this is my humble opinion.

318 - Indestructable, peppy in a light car. A dime a dozen. In some places they will give them to you, in others you can pick them up for a couple hundred bucks.

340- Quick winding performance engine. BB slayer. Probably the most expensive of the 3 to build.

360- Slower reving but more torque. Easy to find in yards from trucks.

You can customize any of these engines to do anything you want with them, but bang for the buck you will get the most out of the 360.

If I had money and wanted to race it and regularly pull over 6,000 rpm's I would pick the 340.

If I was broke and wanted a cheap fun street driver I would pick the 318.

If I wanted a mix of both and had moderate fundage, the 360.

And last but not least if I was a really lucky bas**rd I would have all three (check my sig) :wav:
 
GermzD74 said:
Hey guys IM currently looking for a new engine for my car, was convinced by a friend of mine who has his own shop that it would be less expensive to just drop in a V8...o well...i wouldnt mind that except for gas but....its worth it!!! hehe

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE ENGINES, IVE FOUND SOME 318'S AND ONE OR TWO 360'S AND 383'S FOR SALE 340 ARE HARD TO FIND...SO WHICH ONE SHOULD I STICK TO IF I WANT A FAST STREET CAR WITH NOT OO MUCH GAS CONSUMPTION AS A 440 HEHE
Click to expand...

318
A 318 can make for a peppy car with good mileage. I would not try and make a fast car out of one when larger cubes are right there for you. It takes a bit more to get a smaller engine to perform at a larger engines level.
For a basic fun performer, a 318 does well with basic bolt ons and a cam. Add ratio desired to the rear and you can have a 14 second car on the cheap.

360
Basicly the same as above with these differences;
Slightly less mileage. In stock trim, the 360 is about 2 - 4 mpg less dependent on a bunch of factors, but can be close. I had one in a 3800 lbs Dodge Magnum getting 20 mpgs with dual exhaust, 625 Carter AFB and a MSD. Rear ratio was 2.76. Not a off the line monster but good Hwy cruiser. 20 gallon tank took me far.
Ah-hem...to continue.........
The 360 will produce more torque for that get up and go a bit easier than a 318. Also because of the longer stroke, the power comes in a few hundred RPM's earlier. Basic add on's and a 340 cam will produce 300 HP without headers. Add them for another 25 HP easy.
Add some compresion and decent flowing heads and you can go above 350 HP without a problem while retaining a decent mileage count.

383 Now were getting up in cubes. Adding a performance rear end ratio with basic bolt on's to the engine is going to start to cost in fuel even if you keep your foot out of it. This excellent "Hot Rod" engine has the cubes to prove it and leave bruises on the street comp. This engine kicks *** when you start putting the HP parts on top of it. But at the cost of mileage.
To use this engine is a mistake IMO for a good mileage dual purpose machine. The extra weight of the engine trans combo and performance in mileage is something to avoid.
However, if you want to whoop some tail, this is a good starter for a high winding rpm engine.

340
Not a cost effective engine to build for power and mileage with 360's layin around.

If you can score a Magnum headed engine, this would be the way to go. Or a set of Magnum heads to go on top of a earlier engine.

A easy way to score some serious power is to save up for a thick wallet and super charge the engine. It will be good on gas until you push that long pedal. Nothing like bolting on a 50% increase in power.
 
My 72 dart has a 318,and ive thought about geting a 360.But im wondering can you get 300-350 horsepower out of a 318 without getting to crazy.Im thinking especially with a 3.73 rear or 3.54 ? ...wouldnt it take off pretty good?...Thanks
 
I say 360... its funny 15 years ago nobody really wanted a 360. you can make a 318 quick, but lets just compair. say you bolt a 4bbl, headders, a cam ect on a 318 and stick in a set of 3:55s to get it to snap yer neck pretty well. with 14 or small 15 inch tires , you wont like hwy driving this car, neither will your wallet since the rpm means crap mpg. now you bolt the same stuff on a 360. you can make the same snap with a set of 3.23 or even mabey 2.94 gears. take it on the hwy and enjoy it. youll get better gas mileage and the same et with a 360 and a taller gear.
with a 340 you get hp, but it still wouldnt pull in the lower rpm near like a good 360. so it would nead more gear again = more rpm per mph less mpg
A 383 with the same gear, headders carb ect as the 360 will be a bit quicker in a straight line and shuld get close to the same mpg (its only 23 cid different) ooh yeah an about a hunderd lbs on the wrong end for driveability!! = if you dont make chasis mods it drives like crap.
 
chrisII said:
I say 360... its funny 15 years ago nobody really wanted a 360. you can make a 318 quick, but lets just compair. say you bolt a 4bbl, headders, a cam ect on a 318 and stick in a set of 3:55s to get it to snap yer neck pretty well. with 14 or small 15 inch tires , you wont like hwy driving this car, neither will your wallet since the rpm means crap mpg. now you bolt the same stuff on a 360. you can make the same snap with a set of 3.23 or even mabey 2.94 gears. take it on the hwy and enjoy it. youll get better gas mileage and the same et with a 360 and a taller gear.
with a 340 you get hp, but it still wouldnt pull in the lower rpm near like a good 360. so it would nead more gear again = more rpm per mph less mpg
A 383 with the same gear, headders carb ect as the 360 will be a bit quicker in a straight line and shuld get close to the same mpg (its only 23 cid different) ooh yeah an about a hunderd lbs on the wrong end for driveability!! = if you dont make chasis mods it drives like crap.
Click to expand...

So wait a second. So according to the logic as far as mpg, a 440 with some 3.23's will get better mileage than a 318 with 3.55's purely because the rpm's are much lower? I thought bigger CI's usually equates to less mpg's.
 
I have heard some big blocks getting 20+ mpg's with low Numeric axle numbers while for surely a cammed and geared 318 will drink the swill well.
The 440 will travel 14's in the 1/4 with very little aftermarket help with a low numeric gear set. It's just the sheer foce of the engine that will do it.

Example, 440 in a lightened Dart/Duster @ 3,000 or less lbs, vs a 318 cam and geared in full weight. OK, not a fair compare, but it's just a picture of extremes just for the "Example" of it.
 
rumblefish360 said:
I have heard some big blocks getting 20+ mpg's with low Numeric axle numbers while for surely a cammed and geared 318 will drink the swill well.
The 440 will travel 14's in the 1/4 with very little aftermarket help with a low numeric gear set. It's just the sheer foce of the engine that will do it.

Example, 440 in a lightened Dart/Duster @ 3,000 or less lbs, vs a 318 cam and geared in full weight. OK, not a fair compare, but it's just a picture of extremes just for the "Example" of it.
Click to expand...

Oh okay, I see the correlation.
 
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