ANOTHER small block question(318)

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justthatguy

justthatguy

Josh(69 Valiant)
Joined
Jul 6, 2012
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Location
Danville, VA
So, I think I'm just going to stay with the slant in my Valiant for right now and work on a 318 on the side since those are pretty cheap here. What do you guys think a 318 with 340 heads, intake, and this cam

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cca-20-243-4/overview/make/dodge


would make, hp and torque wise? My logic for choosing the 318 is 1) they're common, and 2) a hell of a lot cheaper than local 360s. I already have most of the parts laying around. I'm not looking for a super high output special deal here, just something to have fun with. I think it's better to get my feet wet with engine building with something cheap and common rather than with a $500 engine core. Also, any recommendations for books on SBM engine building? I have a couple chilton manuals, but I hardly believe that's enough of a reference to build a V8.

I do have a repair manual for the / 6 though.

Thanks all,

Josh
 
Oh, and I also need suggestions for a cheap 4 barrel. I think I can find a quadrajet locally pretty cheap, but suggestions are welcome.
 
The main thing with 318 is you need like KB's piston zero decked and mill the heads to 68cc to get 9.1:1CR with a 0.040" gasket with a 262 or 268 cam should get you 300-350hp depending on carb,intake and exhaust.
 
What he's sayin, about is that if you just slap 340/ 360 heads on a 318 with factory pistons, it'll lower the heck out of the compression ratio.
 
justthatguy said:
Oh, and I also need suggestions for a cheap 4 barrel. I think I can find a quadrajet locally pretty cheap, but suggestions are welcome.
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i would steer clear of the quadrajunk
get you a holley 600 -650 or an eddy 1406 to go with 273's suggested work

the reason i suggest them is because they are dime a dozen and easy to tune
there are a million 318 build threads here if you do a search
 
Hmm, I think pistons are doable. Thanks all. 273's post placed an estimate way above mine.


EDIT: Are there a cheaper alternative to the KB pistons? I'd have paid more for a set of those than I would for the engine itself.
 
73AbodEE said:
i would steer clear of the quadrajunk
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I don't know why

Ran one "back then" for quite awhile on a 340. They are good carburetors if you get one which doesn't leak out the core plugs, and I've found that not as many leaked as the "hype" had it.
 
I just looked at your cam choice that a lot of cam I wouldn't go over 274
 
Don't run quadrajunk. They are horrible on fuel and are for the most part untunable. Find a 600 Holley and you will be golden. 318's get a bad rap but I've made them scream with good compression and some flowing heads. Good luck
 
I'm looking at the Summit 272 cam. Only $60, so that looks good. The cheapest I found the 1.810 KB pistons was $335 for the pistons and the rings, which isn't bad, but I'm still looking for cheaper. I can probably also find a 600 Holley for not a lot, I'll have to ask around. All those 4 barrels my dad had lying around, and he sold them when I actually need one.
 
gtmopar said:
Don't run quadrajunk. They are horrible on fuel and are for the most part untunable.
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Bullsh*t, It's well documented that quadrajets are awesome if you take the time to read the instructions and tune them right... Infact they are one of the most tunable carbs ever. I get 18MPG on my 450HP magnum on the freeway with one. 3 speed 3.73 gears. Pushes me back in the seat when I want secondaries and purrs like fuel injection when I cruise. $70 including rebuild well spent. My QJ Sells it's self.
 
I have one on my chivlet daily driver 305. It bogs down and is hard to start in cold weather, but I really don't think they're THAT bad.
 
I have an eddy 600 that I just rebuilt with electric choke that I'm thinking about pulling and putting a Holley. I may let it go if you are interested. Pm me if interested.
 
:thumblef::thumblef:
gtmopar said:
I have an eddy 600 that I just rebuilt with electric choke that I'm thinking about pulling and putting a Holley. I may let it go if you are interested. Pm me if interested.
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these 2 are good books:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/How-Hot-Small-Block-Mopar-Engines/dp/1557884056/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356671330&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+hot+rod+small+block+mopar"]How to Hot Rod Small-Block Mopar Engines: Larry Shepard: 0075478004058: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Rebuild-Small-Block-Mopar-William-Burt/dp/1613250584/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356671405&sr=8-2&keywords=how+to+rebuild+small+block+mopar"]How to Rebuild the Small-Block Mopar: William Burt: 9781613250587: Amazon.com: Books[/ame]
 
justthatguy said:
I have one on my chivlet daily driver 305. It bogs down and is hard to start in cold weather, but I really don't think they're THAT bad.
Click to expand...

I can assure you that they are NOT. They began to show up on (mostly) GM stuff around 65?6? and were used up until EFI was used. They were used on literally every V8 that GM produced, so Caddy, Olds, Blueuck, Chiv, GMC, etc etc etc, and between the several brands and large model exposure, and the long run in years, these were installed and operated for zillions of miles on millions and millions of cars and trucks.

The one(s) I ran on my 340 ran very very well. Part of the reason I ran these is that I could "get cores" because back then TQs were having warpage and leakage problems with the main bodies, and I could not get many cores.
 
That's one of the reasons I'm looking for one. Everyone here had GM in the 60s and 70s. The Mopars were few and far between, and that's why parts are so damn expensive here.
 
There was a holley 600 in the for sale section a couple of days ago for 25.00, it looked complelte.
 
hey now, have to respectfully disagree with the use of the Quadrajet. I have a 318 with 360 heads. It has a factory 360 intake AND the Q-jet that came on it (from a 85 (IIRC) dodge van. Yeah you got to open them up to change jetting etc. but parts are easy to come by. I get really decent mpg with it. Just takes some knowledge to tune them. I used magnum pistons (cast) to get some more compression. I think I paid $30 for the carb and intake and went through the carb with a kit from Cliff's High Performance. Cliff wrote a book on the Q jet that really takes the mystery out of them. Mine's 800 cfm and it works fine on the little 318. Remember, mopar did use them on 360's in the eighties.
 
Also look into the MoPar "Engines" book. Purchase one for the "LA" engines.
Before we discuss cams, what gears are you wanting to run?
 
That is. Wide enough gap in ratio to recommend two different cams.
I Lso forgot to ask what is the intended purpose of the car? (Driving style, cruiser, hot rod, street stripper)
 
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