383 or 318

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300Ronin

300Ronin

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Hello Folks,
I have a choice to put in a 383 or 318 in to my 71 Duster. (currently has slant 6) Which engine would you do if those were your only choice, and why? Im looking for advice, i have access to either. Cost is relatively the same, at least where i am. Obviously big block will /may have more of a "fitment" issue compared to the small block? Anyways, what are your thoughts?
 
The 383, you won't have to do much to it in order to make it a real street sleeper. You could run the stock heads and a mild cam and dual exhaust and fun time
 
What is it you want from the Duster ???? Performance? Gas mileage? Will it ever be raced or hot rodded? What type of exhaust, headers?? Do you want power steering and brakes ? Really need more info on the purpose and use of the car.... because a 318/904 fits much nicer and plays better with the /6 suspension than a 383/727, especially with power steering or if you want headers.
 
318willrun said:
What is it you want from the Duster ???? Performance? Gas mileage? Will it ever be raced or hot rodded? What type of exhaust, headers?? Do you want power steering and brakes ? Really need more info on the purpose and use of the car.... because a 318/904 fits much nicer and plays better with the /6 suspension than a 383/727, especially with power steering or if you want headers.
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Hi Tim! Love your YouTube channel!
Lets see, where to start.. Yes, i want performance, (bolt on if possible) Not really looking to send out the blocks to enlarge cylinders, basic honing /resurfacing if needed. Street cam, for sure, maybe bolt on heads if the budget allows. Dont care about gas mileage, otherwise id keep the slant. I want to take it to the strip but cruise it on the street. I plan on putting a narrowed 8.8 rear end or 8 3/4. disc brakes in front /rear. I want it to be a driver on the street but fun on the strip. If its possible to do power steering with a 383, then ill go that route. Manual steering is fine as well, not a deal breaker i guess?
 
300Ronin said:
Hi Tim! Love your YouTube channel!
Lets see, where to start.. Yes, i want performance, (bolt on if possible) Not really looking to send out the blocks to enlarge cylinders, basic honing /resurfacing if needed. Street cam, for sure, maybe bolt on heads if the budget allows. Dont care about gas mileage, otherwise id keep the slant. I want to take it to the strip but cruise it on the street. I plan on putting a narrowed 8.8 rear end or 8 3/4. disc brakes in front /rear. I want it to be a driver on the street but fun on the strip. If its possible to do power steering with a 383, then ill go that route. Manual steering is fine as well, not a deal breaker i guess?
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Thanks for the kind words :) Then I'd go 383 and just deal with the few things that come up. A slant six Duster that's been swapped with a 383 will be worth more than a 318 swap.
 
Chances are that the 383 will need to be bored. I, myself would rather have the block bored over any aftermarket cylinder head. A good cylinder head with all of the good stuff done to them will be useless if you don't have good ring seal.
 
300Ronin said:
Hi Tim! Love your YouTube channel!
Lets see, where to start.. Yes, i want performance, (bolt on if possible) Not really looking to send out the blocks to enlarge cylinders, basic honing /resurfacing if needed. Street cam, for sure, maybe bolt on heads if the budget allows. Dont care about gas mileage, otherwise id keep the slant. I want to take it to the strip but cruise it on the street. I plan on putting a narrowed 8.8 rear end or 8 3/4. disc brakes in front /rear. I want it to be a driver on the street but fun on the strip. If its possible to do power steering with a 383, then ill go that route. Manual steering is fine as well, not a deal breaker i guess?
Click to expand...
383 will respond great to just bolt-on's and and a cam, I have manual steering with my 413 and it's not bad at all just use aluminum parts where you can.
 
Small block all the way put a 4brl intake 650 carb.good set of headers dual exhaust and 3.91's in a 8 3/4 and you'll smoke that 383 :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
 
My vote is a 383. Save some money for the $800+/- price tag for proper headers. Yes it will add weight to the front so keep a lookout for 1.03 torsion bars. When you have it apart gusset the LCAs, torque boxes, sub frame connectors and such. (I personally just got the chassis stiffening kit from USCartool.) You can do the chassis stiffening post install. Its gonna be fun either way. Really you can do all that stuff later except for the headers and maybe the manual box, of course there might be an issue with the steering column (I dunno) but not an 'end of the world' situation.

Of course you could horse trade your way maybe to a hot 340/360? dunno....just a guy ova hea.

$0.02

Lookin forward to the thrash (cue heavy metal music)
 
clementine said:
My vote is a 383. Save some money for the $800+/- price tag for proper headers. Yes it will add weight to the front so keep a lookout for 1.03 torsion bars. When you have it apart gusset the LCAs, torque boxes, sub frame connectors and such. (I personally just got the chassis stiffening kit from USCartool.) You can do the chassis stiffening post install. Its gonna be fun either way. Really you can do all that stuff later except for the headers and maybe the manual box, of course there might be an issue with the steering column (I dunno) but not an 'end of the world' situation.

Of course you could horse trade your way maybe to a hot 340/360? dunno....just a guy ova hea.

$0.02

Lookin forward to the thrash (cue heavy metal music)
Click to expand...
I Hear metal riffs while driving Mopars..... lol
 
383 all the way!

If your long block is in good shape all you’ll need to do is figure out the compression ratio and from there, you can look at cams that will work with the compression ratio.

I did a 400 in a Duster. Pretty good for an emissions year pig with 7.8-1 ratio. Give it some gear and it’ll go nice.
 
Pretty simple. If performance is more important than economy, then cubic inches wins. Every time.
 
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