Advice needed for "warming up" my 318

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MoparVT

MoparVT

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Just bought a nice "Driver" (72 Swinger,318/904) lots-O-plans for the car,but am starting from the bottom up.... so....in the meantime.....

The 318 has been freshly rebuilt(72 block) (stock parts w/.030 overbore)and already has headers on it.

I would like to do the old head,cam,intake,carb,maybe elec. ign.

I figured I'd save myslef alot of hassel and just ask here......I'm sure this has been done thousands of times by folks on here.
So what I am asking for is:
What is the best combo,that gets the most HP (for the money) w/simple "bolt ons" . The car needs to have "daily driver" ability,and not have too radical of a cam (power brakes).(though I love that lopey sound!!)

Any input will be greatly appreciated!

I look forward to the responses....should be interesting!!
 
For a 318, I have been very happy with the later 302" casting heads from the TBI motors and a nice dual pattern High torque cam from Lunati, Moved my 3/4 ton Powerwagon around like it had a 360 in it.

Dan
 
milled 360 heads, comp .480 cam, performer rpm intake, headers, good converter and 3.91s. My best was 13.68 on 30.5" (TALL) tires. It was daily driven at that point, not much for highway driving with the 3.91s, but has seen about 20,000miles in its current state.
 
Are you willing to change the gear ratio and if so, to what limit?

At what RPM range are you driving this car in? (This helps set up cam specs, gives me a feel/limit/perameter.)

Are you willing to get a new stall converter for the tranny?

Please, answer these questions so I can get a feel of how far I can go rather than just blindly recomending a set up that won't work with Hwy. gears.

No bustin Goody's balls on this, but his set up will have you going slower than your stock 2bbl engine you have now if your not changin other parts. Converter and gear ratio.

Also, not for nothin, your stock compresion ratio sucks and goodys cam will make matters worse if it's in a stock engine. It'll just bleed off any compresion you have now until about 2800 RPM when the cam wakes up and turns on.
 
I'm in your same situation and I'm looking to do the same things to my 318. My plan is a pair of late 80's #302 heads, a used Edelbrock Performer intake, Lunati Voodoo 256/262 cam, rebuilt ThermoQuad carb, 360 passcar exhaust manifolds, and a Pypes 2.5" Race Pro exhaust system. Should be plenty torquey at all across the rev range and get me great gas mileage (at least highway) from the stock 2.76 gears.
 
Well,I will be swapping in an 8 3/4 rear w/either a 3.23 or 3.55 gear (I'm trying to get the 3.55) for now,untill I decide what to do about the tranny(I want to eventually run an O/D w/3.91's) I still want the capability of running this car down the highway.

But for now,it will be the STOCK 904 (also freshly rebuilt/stock) w/3.23 or 3.55gears

Keep on mind,I am NOT drag racing this car,I will be Driving it!!

Yes,I'd like it to lay a little rubber,but also cruise at a decent RPM at 70mph

I'd like to get about 350 h.p out of it.....is that possible w/the forementioned parts,and keep it civilized for driving?


Thanks foor all the replies!!
 
You might need a little more for 350 HP. What I mentioned IMO would be good for 300 HP at most. With more compression and some ported J heads (from a 360 or 340) along with a somewhat hotter cam and an RPM intake, you'd definitely get there. However, personally I think it to be more cost-effective to just jump to a 360 once you reach that point.
 
I have a stock bottom end in my 73 318, .030 over. I run Hooker headers, Comp Xe268 cam, Holley 4150 vacuum secondary carb (600 cfm), mopar distributor, stock heads, edelbrock performer intake, through 2.5" piping and flowmasters. I am running a 904 with a Trans Go shift kit and an 8 1/4 with 3.21s. With 26.5" tires, it turns 2700 @ 65 mph in a 73 Duster and gets 16-18 mpg on the hwy with ease. It is very streetable, idles with a very small lope, although fairly smooth and still runs very high 14s to low 15s, which is fairly quick for a small inch motored cruiser.

I plan to swap in a 2200-2400 stall converter soon, which will help et even more. It is a very good running motor and has 7K since its rebuild last year. I drive it long distances to shows and cruises. It probably makes 285-300 hp and will rev to 5700 rpm. More compression would make even more power.

-Justin
 
I did the same thing MOPARJ did in a '74 Duster, with a 79, 318, which has a half point less advertised compresion and used a Crane cam with very similar specs. I had a 4160 converted to a 4150 on top @ 600 cfm's, but the carb developed an issue. Just to save on down time, I swaped on a Carter 625. My intake is the forerunner to the performer, the LD4B.

I ran a 15.14 @ 89 mph. This is with the carb untuned or distributor set up. Just droped in and ruff timed.
My tires are stock sized. Otherwise, we have basicly the same car set up.

I can tune the carb and distrib for the car to run into the 14's easy. Like MOPARJ, I also want to get a higher stall and upgrade to wider tires. I'm sure it'll need it.
 
Hey all! Just thought I would throw in my current 318 setup.

-1974 Plymouth Scamp
-318 with Stock, factory internals including cam
-Stock exhaust manifold with 2 in. duals (no crossover)
-Flowmaster 40 Series knockoffs
-Eddy Streetmaster 318 intake
-Eddy 1405 600 CFM carb
-TF904 with stock converter
-B-body 8 3/4 with 3.23 gears and mini-spool
-25 inch tall tires (P235/60R14)

I have been driving it to work, about 60 miles a day, for about a month now and it cruises on the highway at 3000 RPMs with the flow of traffic, (about 70, I don't know for sure, speedo is ALL WRONG) I aint' gonna win no races with this thing but its more than enough to break the tires loose and kick it sideways for some fun.
Surprisingly quick off the line and will pull fairly hard if you floor it from 3000 on the highway.

I had the 3.23 gears in the car before I removed the stock intake and 2 barrel carb. (stock gears were 2.76 BTW) I can definatly say the gear change provided more of a performance gain than the intake and carb swap did. So in my experiance a gear change was a better / cheaper upgrade than the carb and intake swap. But keep in mind I did not change the stock cam either.


I have plans for a single blow-though turbo in the near future. At least I think that is what I am going to deside on. :toothy10:
 
Just found the info for the cam and lifter kit I bought for my Powerwagon 318. I give it high recommendation as an excellent performing mild cam. The '302 heads and this cam made a my 318 a mini torque motor.
http://www.lunaticams.com/Product.aspx?id=2341

It took me a while to find the link again, Holley still owned Lunati when I bought my cam, so the website had changed between then and now.

Dan
 
That cam is a little smaller than the one in my Duster. Not by much though.
 
magnumduster said:
Just found the info for the cam and lifter kit I bought for my Powerwagon 318. I give it high recommendation as an excellent performing mild cam. The '302 heads and this cam made a my 318 a mini torque motor.
http://www.lunaticams.com/Product.aspx?id=2341

It took me a while to find the link again, Holley still owned Lunati when I bought my cam, so the website had changed between then and now.

Dan
Click to expand...

That's the one I want to put in my 318 Duster. How does it rev with that setup? I want to have a really broad powerband, not just a torque slug.
 
Reving up quick is help in a major way through rear gear ratio and proper valve springs. The cam itself is not the issue.
 
I think a cam a little larger might be better. The Lunati 60402, or the Comp XE262 would be my first two choices. You'll have to replace the valve springs in either case. But they will both work well with power brakes and low convertors.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Reving up quick is help in a major way through rear gear ratio and proper valve springs. The cam itself is not the issue.
Click to expand...

By rev I meant how well the power continues into the upper RPM's. I just really hated how my 318 before would completely fall on its face at 3500 RPM (of course I think something was wrong with it). I was thinking about going with the 262/268 but I've heard that the #302 heads (in stock form) don't flow much past .450" lift. I also want to stick with my stock 2.76 rear gears because I don't feel like swapping the rear end and if I did, I'd have to go with an 8-1/4" rear and upgrade to BBP.
 
MOP, the heads dont have to flow well over 450. The higher duration means they are in the area they flow best in for longer. That's all. Plus, with rocker ratio being short on factory stamped, and pushrod angles, you lose .030-.040" off your lift figure from the get go.
 
The heads may flow well to .450, so the lift should stay in and around that lift. Going to .500 and better is a waste. If lift goes to .480, your still OK and not killing yourself with the extra .030 lift.

Duratiopn is the main item to watch and will dictate the power band. More duration, more power, but the operating band moves up as well. Staying with the 2.76 gears will limit your performance. So keep the cam smallish. Otherwise, you'll be waiting until the cam comes in to make power.

On what MoPar wrote, IF my cam doesn't lift the advertised rate at the valve, minus poor rocker ratios, lash if it applies and of course taking into consideration Hyd. lifters I'm gonna be pissed!!!!
 
I forgot about the rocker ratios and such. I was just wondering about the lift because I know the 262/268 cam has .475" advertised lift. It also has a power range of 1400-5800 RPM which I don't know how well would go with my stock gearing and converter (which has a stall around 2200 RPM).
 
lol.. measure it at the lobe first, then at the valve (indicator on the retainer), with a solid lifter in place. If you have roller rockers you will be closer to advertised as ratios on stamped steel are closer to 1.45 rather than 1.5... plus stamped flex. My guess is after taking out for the lash you'll fine around .010"-.025" lost thru the pushrod angle. The bigger the lift, the more you lose.
 
moper, with that in mind, I won't be pissed off. If the cam is what it is suposed to be, and the rocker is dead on, like a good rocker should be, then it'll be close enuff that I won't be needing Tums and a return box. LOL!
 
Coolioid. Will do! Wonder how fast I'll be able to take this thing out on the Eastern Plains...:snakeman:
 
MoparVT said:
Just bought a nice "Driver" (72 Swinger,318/904) lots-O-plans for the car,but am starting from the bottom up.... so....in the meantime.....

The 318 has been freshly rebuilt(72 block) (stock parts w/.030 overbore)and already has headers on it.

I would like to do the old head,cam,intake,carb,maybe elec. ign.

I figured I'd save myslef alot of hassel and just ask here......I'm sure this has been done thousands of times by folks on here.
So what I am asking for is:
What is the best combo,that gets the most HP (for the money) w/simple "bolt ons" . The car needs to have "daily driver" ability,and not have too radical of a cam (power brakes).(though I love that lopey sound!!)

Any input will be greatly appreciated!

I look forward to the responses....should be interesting!!
Click to expand...


I would just add a 4 bbl to the motor with the Mopar Performance electronic ignition. Go with a Edelbrock Performer intake and a Edelbrock 600 cfm carb.
You already have the headers, so this combo should run real well. Here is a pic of a 318 I had with pretty much the same set-up, except I had 340 manifolds. Little sucker ran really well. Daily drove it to.

If you really want to throw some money out there for HP, start with a 360.
.02

Picture 328.jpg
 
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