Cam. Now you need to go through 150 threads to figure out which one is the best. 
Chop, Chop!!!!!! Here's a link. Cams for 318's
Chop, Chop!!!!!! Here's a link. Cams for 318's
Add hotter cam or Add hotter head ?
- Thread starter 318willrun
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We should be asking YOU this question. Lol
Maybe heads if you up the compression and run high octane fuel. 6 of one half a half dozen of the other.
thesiren74
Well-Known Member
No quench, no compression with stock open chamber heads. You could put closed chamber heads that flow better but still low compression and a stock cam that's barely opening the valves.
Best bang for buck, cam. I was very impressed with the video that a cam was slipped in a 360 magnum and gained 60 hp, all else the same
Cam. Now you need to go through 150 threads to figure out which one is the best.
Chop, Chop!!!!!! Cams for 318's
One of the things I question myself is .... when I did the cam swap only, it was back in the day. Cams are "smarter" so to speak? Maybe now, the cam would produce more of a result ?? But heads have come along way also.
True! But a 360 magnum has a much better head to start with, so the cam will produce more results vs a stock 318.
Closed chamber heads will only raise compression a half point. If you are building a performance engine you will need pistons any way. Ones that make compression and a big cam to make it all work. Oh and headers, and a converter and rear gears. 318 is just adding to a stock engine. Even closed chamber big port heads won't help make a stock cam work. They are pretty anemic.
Let the cam grinder pick one out for you. (and not Comp)
yes, that would be huge!!! But, in my personal experience, I didn't use the "best heads" either. In fact, they were cast heads. I don't know what my experience would have been with, per say, a new set of eddy RPM's....
AJ/FormS
68 Formua-S fastback clone 367/A833/GVod/3.55s
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answer, the most average horsepower.
>The stock cam is 240/248/112/.420lift and has 20* of overlap. But without a tuned exhaust/headers the overlap period will do nothing for the engine.
but
>In at 110, that short period cam has a loooong compression stroke of 130 freaking degrees. and; That short period cam has a Powerstroke of 122*, and
And '72 is the last year of hi-compression.
>Back in the day, stock 2bbl, 72 318 A-bodies trapped just short of 80mph, it didn't much matter what gear was in there, 80 was it. ..... because it was at the top of Second gear; a shift slowed you down, and 3.23s were long-ago outta steam. The 4bbl will get you there just a lil quicker, but maybe not, cuz you'll just run outta rpm a lil sooner. If you shift, you could be slower. If you don't shift, your average power will fall off.
>If the 3.23s have to stay, and if your 318 is one of those higher compression ones;
then I'll go with small solid-lifter fast-rate-of-lift cam, but realize that the logs will kill the overlap, which is at least 50% of the power increase . And
the late-closing intake valve angle of a bigger cam, will kill the bottom end by virtue of failing to trap, even as modest an amount of A/F charge that the stock cam did. The bottom end can quickly feel less like a 318 and more like a slanty. aaaaaaaaand
now you need a higher stall convertor.
>For these reasons, and I know you didn't ask, I recommend a high stall before anything else. And a SureGrip rear gear that traps you at the right rpm.
I didn't vote, because you did't provide a third option, namely stall and gears.
Torque converter. 3500 stall. You will be surprised what that will do. Then put a cam and springs in it . Then save up for a set of aluminum street heads.
Like I mentioned before. If you are only doing heads or only doing cam, I think the cam will do you the most good. If you are thinking about adding the other later you might as well keep what you have and build a engine with a purpose. Like me and my 70 318, It has dual exhaust and a Pertronix. I have a LD4B and a AVS2 to put on but I haven't yet. I also have some 68 340 manifolds and will replace the exhaust. Half of it is till the original single split and made into duals. Get the intake off I am staring at the cam and the 50,000 mile old original timing chain might need replaced. Hell, I might as well pull it and build it with the Speedmaster heads I have stored in the basement. Or better yet, get a 360 Magnum. Where does it end? There is no good answer!
since nobody is sticking to cam vs head requirement
318 300 shot wins hands down
before anybody says it wont live
my buddy did it added so much hp all we did was laugh hub caps and all
bottles and bottles
75k miles on the car
318 300 shot wins hands down
before anybody says it wont live
my buddy did it added so much hp all we did was laugh hub caps and all
bottles and bottles
75k miles on the car
Get far more out of a camshaft change to a point, before any head change.
Low compression builds can still make decent power.
Correct cam selection play a lot.
Correct cam selection play a lot.
well.... 318 cam would be .399 lift ....
It depends on your long term plans. With a stock engine you can only move up one notch to a slightly hotter cam. If you add heads / raise compression later the cam may not be enough and get wasted….depends how far you want to go. Heads won’t be a waste but may not add a ton of power on their own (like any component) I’d do nothing until you can add compression.
Yes, we are having a ... REALLY .... HARD TIME ... and I mean REALLY tough time selecting one of two options ..... I thought I drew up the parameters really straight forward and easy to understand.
Define one notch up in cams size.
I’ll call BS on this one!
Depends on the grind of the lobes and many other factors.
Not needed but would result in better results.
Ya read my post again. It isn't easy. You have enough cars, like racing, and have a following, you need to build something with a purpose. A component at a time can work but it needs to be planned out ahead very carefully. I get it and so do you.Yes, we are having a ... REALLY .... HARD TIME ... and I mean REALLY tough time selecting one of two options ..... I thought I drew up the parameters really straight forward and easy to understand.
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or This
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