318 heads on a 360?

-

pettybludart

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2008
Messages
15,311
Reaction score
289
Location
Ontario,Canada
Can you put 318 heads on a 360?I have a 77 360 also a 73 318,I,m wondering if I take the 318 heads and do a home port & polish(over the winter) and put some big valves in them.Are they small chamber?Is it worth it or should I just do the 360 heads?I,m kinda new to Mopar engines(360,s and 318,s)I had all the machine work done in my 340 at a machine shop last year.I,m just asking,to see what guys have done to increase hp on the cheap with their 360,s.Any advise will be appreaciated!Or is this just plain stupid idea?Thanks
 
I guess it really depends on what you plan on doing with the engine, for the most part yes they will work but with the drawback of being limited by the amount of RPM's that you'll be able to turn. The only way that you can run the heads to a higher RPM level is to run a very large duration @ .050 cam.
 
Don't 318's have "shorty" intake ports compared to 340/360 heads? Measure 'em.....I believe some of the mid to late 80's 318's started coming with 360 style heads, but have those giant 76cc chambers. I never understood how people went crazy over those "302" casting heads, and put them on 360's.......because they also have the shorty style intake port. I can't believe running those short ports don't hurt performance. I know about the "302" castings' small combustion chamber size and the fact that it's swirl-port.
 
Yes, you can install the 318 heads on a 360. There really is no benefit though. IMHO home ported and polished 318 heads on a 360 will only "restrict" rpm like BJR pointed out., because the port volume is less.

I have a really nice set of swirl port 308' casting 360 heads in the classifieds...shoot me an offer on them.

They are swirl port, 72cc, and designed with a 360 in mind.
 
A friend sold me a 360 with 318 (302) heads on it. He had built it as a low rpm stump puller and it worked great. Had gobs of Tq. It wouldn't pull over 5,000 rpm though. Those little heads just wouldn't flow well enough. Under 5,000 though it was great.

So, If your just going to drive it around and looking for cheap performance, sure, do it.
If you are racing it and plan on revving the piss out of it, forget it.
 
I think the 318 heads have smaller combustion chambers than the 360 heads . They would offer a cheap compression boost.

Definitely not a good idea for a race engine,but maybe a good truck or heavy car combo
 
If this is a on the cheap project for power, you can get these heads to flow very well down low (Under .500 ) and port match the heads to a 340 window.
While there would be some limitations to RPM abilty, most larger (360 for example) engines with there stock larger port window stop making power by then anyway.

Your focus would be on making mega torque and useing it to your advantage rather than big HP numbers and high winding RPM's.
 
I have new EQ Iron heads that will fit 318-360 Mopar. They have heavy duty casting and come with 62 cc combustion chambers, Pressed hardened seats as in the Dodge R/T heads. Complete new heads with new valves and springs. You will see a definite increase in H.P. and torque.
 
I guess the EQ's only come in Magnum style?......I looked on Ebay and that's all I saw. Man, 62cc chambers are cool.....seem like a decent deal.
 
I guess the EQ's only come in Magnum style?......I looked on Ebay and that's all I saw. Man, 62cc chambers are cool.....seem like a decent deal.

Yes, only Magnum style as I remember it, but Comp Cams RHS cylinder head service has a new head out that covers both. Still waiting on a person to get and flow them as a OOTB head. Then he's on to porting them.
 
Will these EQ heads fit 360LA motors?What vehicle came with these heads?Or are the aftermarket heads?More info on EQ,s please.Thanks
 
i was reading many years ago online that back in the day (70's, 80's?) people would put 318 heads on 360 for the added compression....
 
i was reading many years ago online that back in the day (70's, 80's?) people would put 318 heads on 360 for the added compression....
This is why I was asking,closed chamber with big valves?Or am I flashbacking from Chebby daze?LOL!340Dart,my stroked 340 makes 452hp at 5700!I,d like to know if I could get about 425 hp at 6000rpm out of a 360 with 318 heads?Just want to see if it or anybody has tried.Thanks for responses,keep them coming!
 
Will these EQ heads fit 360LA motors?What vehicle came with these heads?Or are the aftermarket heads?More info on EQ,s please.Thanks

There Magnum heads, they'll fit any "LA" with proper parts there after.
 
Will these EQ heads fit 360LA motors?What vehicle came with these heads?Or are the aftermarket heads?More info on EQ,s please.Thanks

Yep they'll bolt right on but you need to use "oil through" pushrods and make sure your lifters are also the "oil through" type cause the magnum style heads oil the rocker arms through the pushrods. The EQ heads are aftermarket only.

Here's a link to a page on Moparts that describes using Magnum style heads (which the EQ's are) on a LA block

http://www.moparts.org/Tech/Archive/smallblock/7.html
 
scrap the idea. only benefit is 4x4 application where you want torque to pull big mud tires without high rpm spinning the wheels.makes aq hell of a creeper motor with 1.88 1.60 valve combo. intake windows are puny.
 
Yes, only Magnum style as I remember it, but Comp Cams RHS cylinder head service has a new head out that covers both. Still waiting on a person to get and flow them as a OOTB head. Then he's on to porting them.

Yes, according to their website, they offer the "LA-X" and the "MA-X" (orig. LA style and Magnum style). I think I'll call them on Tuesday and see what the cost will be. They'd better be a bit cheaper than Edelbrocks.
 
Thanks for all the responses guys,I was just throwing it out there to see how they would do?Looks like I,ll be doing other searches.
 
I know someone that put stock 318 heads on a stock 360 complete with the 318 exhaust manifolds. The car wouldn't go above 50 MPH. He was trying to pull a fast one and get some free 360 heads. It didn't work.
 
-
Back
Top