318, 360, 383, or 440???

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73VAswngr

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For starters - I apologize for not adding any good answers to the forums, only questions. My Swinger is still in the shop :( and all I have are my bi-weekly visits and lots of questions. I will swap out the /6 some day. What is the main difference between the engines? Is the 318 cheaper and easier to find than a 440? Why do people chose one v8 over another???​

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In reference to your pic, are you having the top redone or are you having it painted over?

I will admit, I kind of liked the red with the black top.

I think I'm going to leave the vinyl roof off my car when I restore it, but even so, after seeing your avatar pic several times, I liked the look of your car.

As for the various V8s, I know that I have seen far more 318s out there for sale, and that my local junkyard even has some nice examples in several old Ram pickups, but I know the main reason I am going to eventually upgrade my 318 is because I want my car to be faster, and I bought it with intentions of having either a 440 or a Hemi powered Dart when it was "done".
(I say "done" because no car I own is ever done!)
 
sneke_eyez said:
In reference to your pic, are you having the top redone or are you having it painted over?

I will admit, I kind of liked the red with the black top.

I think I'm going to leave the vinyl roof off my car when I restore it, but even so, after seeing your avatar pic several times, I liked the look of your car.

As for the various V8s, I know that I have seen far more 318s out there for sale, and that my local junkyard even has some nice examples in several old Ram pickups, but I know the main reason I am going to eventually upgrade my 318 is because I want my car to be faster, and I bought it with intentions of having either a 440 or a Hemi powered Dart when it was "done".
(I say "done" because no car I own is ever done!)
Click to expand...

I had a bunch of bubbles under the vinyl where the quarter panels met the roof. The garage quoted me for a little more to replace the vinyl vice turning it into a hard top (weird...must have been misquote?). Have you done all you can to the 318? I don't know a lot about the engines...i assume 440 = a crapload more hp potential?
 
While I have chosen a 318 for my current project, the Dart Sport my name refers to, I would recommend buying the engine that is the biggest version SB or BB that #1 Parts are most readily available for #2 Parts are cheaper for. SB weapon of choice would most likely be a 360, first of all because you will already start with more displacement than it's counterparts, secondly because building it will cost about the same as the 318. BB weapon of choice becomes the 440, again for about the same reasons.
 
I would use the 360 because more and more parts are been made for bolt on HP: Plus over all when you want to goOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO you can with less money . A car like that just has to go fast !
Good luck with the car and the quest
 
Well, first decide on whether you want to go small-block or big-block. A big-block (383, 440) will be crazy fast, but will make the car handle poorly and may be a pain to stuff into the engine bay. Not to mention it will be less practical than a small-block, mostly for economy reasons depending on how you build it. Now, a small-block can be made to push your car almost as fast (especially if you build a stroker, such as a 408), and will probably be more practical and will let your car handle better.

Now, the 318 SB and 383 BB are a bit more "pedestrian" than the 360 SB and 440 BB and have less potential. They both have almost the same stroke (3.31" for the 318 and 3.38" for the 383), but the 383 just has a huge 4.25" bore; this doesn't give you quite as much "room" to work with as the longer-stroke 360 and 440 (3.58" stroke for 360, 3.75" stroke for 440). In a performance street engine, more stroke gives you more torque everywhere in the powerband and lets you run a wilder cam and single-plane intake without having driveability issues.

Personally I'd go with the 360. It has a 4.00" bore, which is the all-around best size for performance, and it has a good 3.58" stroke. With a good set of ported heads, a decent cam, intake, headers, compression (important because stock 360's have very low compression, around 8.0:1), you could easily have over 300 HP, I'd say around 325 for a good street build. You'd also have good torque at all RPM's and your gas mileage would be at least in the high teens if you build it right.
 
thanson_mopar said:
id say that thats an understatment:snakeman:, ihave a mild street 360, street strip cam, ported 360 heads, nice compression ratio and im well over the 400 hp mark, completly streetable
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Is that proven on a dyno or a guess??...
 
thanson_mopar said:
id say that thats an understatment:snakeman:, ihave a mild street 360, street strip cam, ported 360 heads, nice compression ratio and im well over the 400 hp mark, completly streetable
Click to expand...

I'd agree, but I didn't want to be accused of inflating any numbers.
 
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