It's wrong.
340 J Heads on 318
- Thread starter TheDartSide
- Start date
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It's wrong.
I put over 250,000 miles on a 318 with 2.02" intake valves with no problem on a stock bore engine.
Why don't you try throwing in a set of Rhoades variable duration lifters. They will give you more low end grunt without sacrificing your top end. They bleed down at idle and take out about 15° duration and .025" lift, and you get the full lift and duration by 3500 RPM. They increase low end torque and vacuum. They will work well with your combination. I used them for years and now that's all I use. It's worth trying before you replace your cam. Use part # 2018.
Read the second article on this page to learn how they work.
http://www.rhoadslifters.com/Pages/Articles.html
You can get them from Summit Racing:
http://www.summitracing.com/search?...tOrder=Ascending&keyword=rhoades lifters 2018
I used them on a 318 with a stock 340 cam, stock 340 dual plane intake, Holley 600 vac secondary, and both 2.76 and 3.23 gears with no problems.
I'm considering those on my 360, fairly aggressive cam.
They're great. They give you some bottom end without sacrificing your top end. You get your cake and eat it too... That doesn't happen too often... :cheers:
I put a MP 484/284 cam in my 340 and had trouble getting it to idle at 1100 RPM and 10" vacuum. I put in the Rhoades lifters and I got it idling at 800 with 13" vacuum. It will roast the tires until I decide to stop (3.91 sure grip).
View attachment Barracuda 2.jpg
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
Very interesting. Thank you for this. This just very well help my effective CR, which suffers from my cam.
BTW, will it include the 'legendary Rhodes ticking sound at idle?'
Not sure I like that idea.
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
Good cam.
I am leaning toward the variable Rhodes lifters. Easier to install too.
any opinions on that?
txstang84
Well-Known Member
Yes, but if you put a good exhaust on it including headers, it'll all culminate in a joyous cacophony of horsepower sounds. 
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
Amazing. These Rhoades lifters sound like they are exactly what I need, and easy and cheap to correct my problem.
Why am I only now hearing about these
Why am I only now hearing about these
Amazing. These Rhoades lifters sound like they are exactly what I need, and easy and cheap to correct my problem.
Why am I only now hearing about these
They don't advertise much anymore,still family owned.Run 4 or 5 sets,over the years,they WORK.
What you need is to take the stock torque converter out and get a good one with about 1000 rpm more stall speed than your stock one. Those lifters may help a little but not like a good converter. A 318 with a fair sized cam like yours is never going to have violent acceleration off the line with a stock converter .I'm assuming that your ignition timing and your carb setup is close or that may be part of your issue as well.Amazing. These Rhoades lifters sound like they are exactly what I need, and easy and cheap to correct my problem.
Why am I only now hearing about these
I really don't notice it. the guy that introduced me to them told me that he just doubled up the hood pad insulation on his car to help dampen the noise. If anybody questions it, just tell them that you have an old 273 with a solid lifter cam. They won't know the difference.
I like to run the tighter stock converters and then use rhoades lifters for fuel economy.
Not to mention that converters cost more than the lifters, and are much harder to replace. One of the reasons that I recommended them is to help save him some money on changing all the other parts that he was originally thinking about.
The rhoades lifters also improve fuel economy.
I built a 318 with a stock 340 cam with rhoades lifters and a 2.76 gear and got 17.75 MPG on the highway at 80 MPH.
I am going to try for 20 MPG in the 360 that I'm building for my 66 Valiant wagon.
Abodybomber even testifies that he's run them and they work. It took me three years to finally try them after finding out about them, and now it's all I use for my engines.
Not to mention that rhoades stands behind them. I once had a set where one of them had a pit of porosity on the machined surface right out of the box. I called rhoades and told them about it, and they asked if it was bigger than a pin head, and I said yes. They sent me a new one and didn't even ask for the defective one back. This is where a little air bubble formed when the lifter was cast and was slightly to big to machine out. It wasn't that big at all, but rhoades sent me another one to stand behind their product.
I built a Hemi for my dad back in the 90's and wanted to use rhoades lifters. They don't usually run lifters for the Hemi, but told me to buy a set of Sealed Power Hemi lifters and send them in. Rhoades machined their groove in them for me (at a reasonable cost) and sent them back to me in about a week to week and a half.
Rhoades stands behind their products and I have been very satisfied with dealing with their customer service, which I've only had to do those two times in 25 years of running them.
If he wants to run a higher converter, it's up to him. He could also run both the higher converter and the rhoades lifters and they may make a great combination together.
Also of interest, the Rhoades VMax lifters are the only lifters that are available for the small block Chrysler with EDM or direct oiling to the cam lobes. The VMax lifters are also adjustable as to how much duration and lift they reduce. You simply adjust them using a feeler gauge much like a solid. You have to have an adjustable valve train to run the VMax lifters though. That is the only drawback.
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
So I am so intrigued by these Rhoads lifters, I am about ready to pull the trigger and swap them out.
My next question is this.
Since I have access to aluminum rockers for only $200, should I add that as well? And if so, should I get the adjustable pushrods too?
Thanks
My next question is this.
Since I have access to aluminum rockers for only $200, should I add that as well? And if so, should I get the adjustable pushrods too?
Thanks
I've run them for many years with the stock rockers and pushrods, no need to waste money and make things more complicated - unless you want to.
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
^
Good advice.
So currently my xtreme268 cam is ticking. Sounds like valve lash to me. Will adding these be a similar tick sound?
Good advice.
So currently my xtreme268 cam is ticking. Sounds like valve lash to me. Will adding these be a similar tick sound?
I agree 100% with using the stock rockers in your case. Your combo is very mild. I would just use the standard Rhoads lifters and not the VMax. That will keep it very affordable.
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
Hughes is suggesting I may or may not benefit enough with adding the Rhoads, and suggests a cam plus Rhoads. I was thinking of their aggressive Whiplash 318 cam, with the Rhoads. It would soften the idle a bit more, and have lots of quick lift with short Dur. I think that will be better yet.
He also mentioned I need some sort of adjustability in the valvetrain, which stock has none. thoughts there....
He also mentioned I need some sort of adjustability in the valvetrain, which stock has none. thoughts there....
He's trying to take your money.
I've seen threads about problems with his valvetrain.
I also have had a bad experience with a Hughes cam myself and their way of doing business which I won't to get into to keep this short.
If you like, you may replace your cam with a Hughes. I hear that they run well (we just built an engine with one and haven't installed it in the car yet). I don't think that you need to change your cam as the one you have will work with a set of Rhoades lifters. I would not run Rhoades valvetrain.
Keep in mind that the Hughes cams have over .500" lift and you will need to check piston to valve clearance and also make sure that your heads/valves/springs have enough clearance in the valve train to handle that much lift (with a little extra for comfort). Make sure that the valve spring may not bottom out or you get into coil bind with your springs.
Interesting how he suggests to use his cam AND RHOADES lifters..... (He knows that they will benefit you.)
My best advice would be to keep your current cam and install the rhaodes lifters. Your current cam is just fine. I think that the lifters will make a difference for you and you should just go with those and not throw away unnecessary money.
The best most reliable design is less complicated. They use the acronym K.I.S.S in the industry. It stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. The easier/simpler you make it, the less problems you will have with it. More complicated = more problems.
cudaracer
Well-Known Member
Such awesome advice here.
I wish I found this site before just digging into my 318 top end and not doing it right the first time.
So I am leaning hard toward the Rhoads because they are so easy and cheap to do. I am only concerned about the ticking sound and want to inquire more info or maybe a video to hear it.
Also, final question, do I have to follow standard new cam break in procedure with new lifters only?
I wish I found this site before just digging into my 318 top end and not doing it right the first time.
So I am leaning hard toward the Rhoads because they are so easy and cheap to do. I am only concerned about the ticking sound and want to inquire more info or maybe a video to hear it.
Also, final question, do I have to follow standard new cam break in procedure with new lifters only?
Honesty,it works.
Yup
txstang84
Well-Known Member
here's a video for some rhoads noise...I don't really think it's that big a deal...it would probably be somewhat offset by header noise anyway...like krazy said, certainly no worse than a solid cammed engine. I think it's kind of an acquired taste...and I heard my brother's 340 with that little Lunati solid...sounded good to me...makes me really wish I'd invested the time and money in modifying the heads on my 5.0 years ago to set up for a solid cam.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-sHuGfLSo4"]Rhoads cold.AVI - YouTube[/ame]
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