349 CI on the cheap

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Moparmal said:
By last count there are around 8 in the US, and 1 in Canada.

The first was imported by the Baker Boys from Georgia, an R/T clone -

A guy on Moparts who I know pretty well (OzHemi) is a car importer and he has one (another R/T clone) , and has brought over four others for other customers.

(He also brought over OneBadSuperBIrds right steer Daytona....a car that was in Oz since 1972 and had to be converted to be licenced.)

Another guy named Ron down south somewhere has two Aussie Chargers - and theres another guy in SoCal that has another one.

SO we have-

Baker Boys car - Vit C
OzHemi - Vit C
Unknown - Bondi Beach White
Unknown (SoCal) - Mercury Silver
Ron - Penta Magenta (bit like Panther Pink) and Vit C
Sandy in Canada - Dont know the colour

I believe all are Hemi 6 cars.
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Hey Moparmal,

There is an "A" Charger in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada with a Hemi 6 in it. I can't remember the guy's name that owns it though. I saw it at the Atlantic Nationals in Moncton, New Brunswick last year. It was a darker colour but I can't find the pic I took of it for some reason.

Jack
 
If it's Nova Scotia, it will definitely be Sandy C. I am fairly sure he also has one of the few (or only!) Aussie late-body utes in North America...I know he had either bought one or was looking at one a few years back when he came to Melbourne...

Dean.
 
I just got this email from Campbell Enterprises - Its not their fault I know - The Silvolite is NOT a direct replacement - It has NO valve reliefs.

To say Im p*$$ed would be an understatment -

I wish manufacturers would do some product research before cutting an item -

Mal,
sorry, had brain freeze on that part number for some reason. LC371p40 is being discontinued which is why it doesnt show in the price sheet anymore.

we can get that in a silvolite part number 1278-40 which is the cross over number for that piston,flat top, ,5/64 ring package, 7.8:1 compression, truck/marine piston for $209.95 a set of eight.
Thank you,

Rob
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I believe Mal has and I'm in the process of finishing mine. But I'm doing mine a bit different than originally posted as the pistons are getting harder to find. So I'm using stock pistons and remachining them to fit. I worked out the clearences this past week with different heads. The pistons are very similar to a low compression Hemi in shape of the top. The piston will come out of the block .075 and leave the ring lan .200 down from the top after the machining. I'm going to use a stock cheater cam with 272/274 @ .050 106 and .474/.493 lift. With the amount of overlap in the cam the cylinder pressure should be in the 175 psi range. My compression ratio will be 14.68 with a 57 cc head. It would be in the mid 12.6 range with a 68 cc head, then run a cam with some over lap. This will be with a .022 MP head gasket, this could be reduced even more with a .055 gasket thats available.

I want to have this engine ready hopefully by the end of January 09 to be tested in Febuary 09. I didn't have the time this past year to finish it as work calls before play. I'm also making some changes in the heads that weren't done before.

Also with a .055 head gasket the cylinder pressure should be in the 130 psi range with the 68 cc head at just under 12:1 compression, but this will be dependant on the camshaft used. As centerlines and over lap changes this drastically.
 
I also used a New MP crankshaft as the cost of doing the stock crank and the price of the new one were similar. So I opted for the new crank, but it wasn't without issues. Mainly because I use stock pistons and the skirts below the pin hit the counter weights on the crank about .060. So I machined the counter weights on the crank .150 and this left me with .090 crank to piston clearence. Now I'm using all stock replacement parts nothing hard to find. I also put a .200 valve relief in the top of the pistons for Int. and Exh. clearence. This gives me .065 on the intake and .85 on the exh. valve to piston clearence. But I checked them with thick margin 2.02 and 1.625 valves, so smaller valves will clear even better.
 
To lower the compression a little more for street use,how about this piston?

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=UEM-1278060-8&autoview=sku

Comp height is 1.658. With an .028 head gasket and a 75 cc chamber, compression comes out at 9.73:1. This piston would be .001 above with cutting the deck .030. Find the right head gasket and you have your quench! This piston is a flat top truck piston. No valve notches so lift will be limited,but I bet it will make for a great 400 ft/lb + of torque plus it's light weight being cast. Best of all,it's cheap!
 
3.51"/2= 1.755" + 1.72"= 3.475" + 6.123"= 9.598"

Stock 360 stroke is 3.58, 1/2 of which is 1.79. Puts the piston .033 above deck with no deck cut.

Thats why I started looking for the above piston. But it has no valve reliefs.
 
BJR,thanks. I was having trouble locating the piston you recommended,thus the alternative KB.

I found the sterling piston last night at Campbell Enterprises.
 
I've got a 70 318 I've been saving for a build for years now. It came out of my first car so I'd like to get it built up for something one of these days. Having had a built 318 engine before, I'm aware of the capabilities these engines have. Thanks for the write up.
 
Interesting read but when I built my 360 ten years ago everybody would always say why not a 318? I would always answer: Because the salvage yard charges $150.00 for either one and it costs the same amount of money to rebuild either one, why wouldn't I want to do that?

Ten years later you can still find rebuildable 360's in the local wrecking yard and they are still $150.00. Seems if you are going to spend the money to build one up why not grab a 360 instead. If you already have a 318 lying around fine, sell it and take the money to get a 360 at the salvage yard. $150.00 is not even ten percent of the cost to build one right. Better yet stroke the 360 for even more power.

Better heads, more cubes, why not?

My $.02 worth..........
 
This thread is very interesting reading. Thanks for everyones input.
 
Interesting engine math on this one

Rod ratio: 1.84

Stroke to bore ratio: 91%

Rod angle: 16.99 Degree's

Piston speed @ 6500 rpm: 3878 FPM

My cam quest program shows massive gobs of torque,with a SMALL cam!

Comp 275DEH shows highest average tq at 162ft/lb, peak 415ft/lb and 398 h.p. Several other small cams show higher peak #s. This is with a pocket ported 360 head and big 2.02 intake valves,9.6:1 compression using an .040 over piston with 1.658 ch. Magnum heads will boost compression around 10:1.

BJR,at what point (how much lift can i use) will I run into piston/valve clearance problems using an LC371P piston with no valve reliefs? Got lucky and found a set! Looks like they have a slightly dished top. The pistons have a recessed head of .040” deep X 3.000” dia.

I have also come up with some possible pistons for this engine combo

Silvolite 1278. Think this one was mentioned already..

Badger P287

AE Clevite 2241930

What can you tell us about these pistons?

My approach will be a bit different from yours. Im looking to build as much low end tq as possible using a pump gas cr and cam. I want a stump puller for my heavy M body!
 
The lift will be determined by how much cam duration @ .050 and the centerline of the cam. So this I can't exactly tell you, as theres too many variables.

As for a stump puller, in your program put a set of 302 heads on your build with the small 1.78 intake valve and a 1.60 exh. valve with 210 cfm's and 120 cc's of port volume on the intake side and see what it shows. You might be very suprised at what it does.

I haven't checked out any of those pistons and instead just remachined the factory pistons now to work, this way the need to look for a special CH is gone. I just buy a good set of stock forged and machine them to the height that I need.
 
BJR Racing said:
The lift will be determined by how much cam duration @ .050 and the centerline of the cam. So this I can't exactly tell you, as theres too many variables.

As for a stump puller, in your program put a set of 302 heads on your build with the small 1.78 intake valve and a 1.60 exh. valve with 210 cfm's and 120 cc's of port volume on the intake side and see what it shows. You might be very suprised at what it does.

I haven't checked out any of those pistons and instead just remachined the factory pistons now to work, this way the need to look for a special CH is gone. I just buy a good set of stock forged and machine them to the height that I need.
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Hi Bobby! Thanks for the phone call! Sorry I had to cut you short...it was just investment crap. Apparently I'm down "only" 20% instead of the 50% I was a while ago. Markets are showing life after all...

Im trying to cheat a little by finding the right compression height and just cutting the deck. Deal with crank/skirt interference after I have the right piston..

Nice for you to have that vonage program. Apparently it's available only in the states?? Probably got to do with our CRTC branch closing the market to them.

What engine program are you using? I have camquest and DD dyno 2000. Ya it's a bit old...
 
No problem, I'll call you another day just let me know when it will be a better time.
As for programs I use Dynomation and Performance trends both are the Pro Tools versions with utilities. They are very accurate for engine performance and chassis setup's.
 
Here is some shots of a 344 CI engine with std bore setup which makes 344 CI instead of 349 but the idea is the same.

344 CI Engine 001.jpg


344 CI Engine 004.jpg


344 CI Engine 005.jpg
 
hi bobby
im really interested on doing this and while reading this i figured out why my engine runs like crap i only ported the intakes i want to find a set of 302 heads and have you work on them installing bigger exhaust valves and some port work question i have is will i have to get headers in order for it to work right or will my 70 hp manifolds be ok? also im running a M1 intake and a elderbrock 650 thunder series carb not sure on the bottom end it was previously redone before i got it but it does have .40 over pistons with valve reliefs i also want to change the cam in this aswell this is a street car would like it to have a rumpity,rump sound and still be dependable as i drive it back and forth to work
 
ef8340,
Hedders are always a help over the manifolds and will make most any combo work better.

What size engine are you talking about here? I need to know this before a cam can be spec'd. And is it a stock stroke or a stroker crank been added?
 
whoops im sorry its a 318 stock stroke 0.40 and has valve reliefs on the pistons as for the headers i can switch over too them but i was really kinda wanting to stick with the manifolds seeing as how i already have them and the exaust is all new i'll want to change the motor over to a 349 but kinda tight on funds right now but seeing how i'll need to fix my heads for my current prob i was thinking i'd be a step further im gonna look in some wrecking yards and look for the 302 cast heads or would i need a different type of head also a ruff guest of what this would cost [ just for the head work and correct thickness head gaskets ] im also running a 904 with stock converter and 323 gears
thanks terry
 
Terry,
302 heads are out there and sould be in most junk yards, and will work the best on a 318 but if a 349 engine is what your after then the 360 1.88/1.60 valve heads will work better and they are out there since 1967, so it's kind of take your pick as most all the castings have the same ports. IMHO I would go for a set of 915 J heads with 1.88/1.60 valve to start with. Hope this helps.
 
The crank is a factory unit, and the rest of the internals is factory stock. Just remachined. The crank is the 3.58 stroke 318 mains unit from mopar perf. nothing special.

Just looks special.
 
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