Help on 318 purchase - Newbie mechanic questions.

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Kmrumedy

Kmrumedy

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New car hobbiest looking for an inexpensive motor that I can tear apart and rebuild with a kit as a fun project to learn about motors. Never torn down and built up a motor before. I have books I have been reading but would prefer hands on experience. So I thought I would just buy a cheap engine and use the books as I learn. If I screw it up then I wouldn't lose too much money.

I found a 318 near me asking price is $200. It came from an old Dart but does not list the year. Ad says it is functional but needs to be reconditioned.

Here is picture of engine and block casting number. Not sure what the number means or the date? (I tried looking it up. Says LA family. What does that mean? Couldn't find year.)

Is this an ok buy for $200 just as a learning project?

What would a reconditioning kit cost for a 318? What would it include?

Sorry for basic questions. Just learning as I go....( any good threads you would recommend would be greatly appreciated. Love to learn).

EDIT - I should probably be clear that this is for pure learning experience ONLY.

Just want to tear it down learn what everything is called, how all the parts of the jigsaw puzzle work together, get a basic gasket, ring, and bearing kit to install, piece it back together and sell it for what I paid or donate it to a local school program.

No plans to put this in a car.

I have three very nice engines and want to understand them better by working on donner engine.





 
That is a great starter project. A re-con kit cost is dependent on parts needed. Some kits are just gaskets, rings and bearings. Others include Pistons & which piston you want can cost more than others.

Check out Mancini racing and Summit racing for basic kits.
But before you purchase one, you'll need to know a few more things about he block and crank. Let the machinist tell you if you need an overbore and/or the crank to be cut.

With those known sizes, you can order a kit and know what you need and know what you don't need.
 
Have a big open area and a table to lay parts out on with tons of cardboard to put it down on so it can soak up liquids.
Once you take apart the engine, give the machinist the block and ask him to clean it real good in and out, the. To check out the cylinder condition. If it needs an overbore, he'll tell you how much he went to clean it up.

It's would be good to drop off the crank at the same time.

Re-con connecting rods can cost more than new rods. Just an FYI.
Stock replacement pistons can be from Badger. There's several companies.
High performance Pistons can be Keith Blacks. They get a bit pricey and are overkill for a simple rebuild but really help in a high performance mill.


Once you make a plan, stick with it. Changing directions can be costly. Make a plan and stick with it!
Once you have all the rotating parts, balance it!
 
rumblefish360 said:
Have a big open area and a table to lay parts out on with tons of cardboard to put it down on so it can soak up liquids.
Once you take apart the engine, give the machinist the block and ask him to clean it real good in and out, the. To check out the cylinder condition. If it needs an overbore, he'll tell you how much he went to clean it up.

It's would be good to drop off the crank at the same time.

Re-con connecting rods can cost more than new rods. Just an FYI.
Stock replacement pistons can be from Badger. There's several companies.
High performance Pistons can be Keith Blacks. They get a bit pricey and are overkill for a simple rebuild but really help in a high performance mill.


Once you make a plan, stick with it. Changing directions can be costly. Make a plan and stick with it!
Once you have all the rotating parts, balance it!
Click to expand...

Thank you!
 
1970-dart said:
I dont know much about casting numbers but found this online

http://www.stockmopar.com/mopar-engine-casting-numbers.html

I would say that 400.00-500.00 would be realistic idea for a basic ( semi to complete)rebuild kit but recommend researching a good machine shop to check all the tolerances and they can prob get you the rebuild kit as well.
Click to expand...

That casting number list shows his 318 to be a "race engine"? Never heard of a 318 race engine. Anyway, I think you have a good and fun learning project going, a $200 investment and some low cost rebuild parts seem to be a wise move. Now you need to find a car to put the finished motor in!
 
Kmrumedy said:
Is this an ok buy for $200 just as a learning project?
Click to expand...


I would say so. What intake is that? That could be worth half of the asking price alone.

TQ core, that's worth 30-50 bucks, depending on which one it is. Viscous fan, that's worth at least 50 bucks used. Chrome valve covers are certainly worth a little bit.

So yes, I can see 200 bucks there.
 
I should probably mention that this is for pure learning experience ONLY.

Just want to tear it down learn what everything is called, how all the parts of the jigsaw puzzle work together, get a basic gasket, ring, and bearing kit to install, piece it back together and sell it for what I paid or donate it to a local school program.

No plans to put this in a car.

I have three very nice engines and want to understand them better by working on donner engine.
 
Normally, I would say no to a 200 dollar LA 318. But if it comes as pictured, it might be ok. I was going to say maybe look around for a 5.2 Magnum, that way you'd have the Magnum heads and roller engine right off the bat.
 
Kmrumedy said:
I should probably mention that this is for pure learning experience ONLY.

Just want to tear it down learn what everything is called, how all the parts of the jigsaw puzzle work together, get a basic gasket, ring, and bearing kit to install, piece it back together and sell it for what I paid or donate it to a local school program.

No plans to put this in a car.

I have three very nice engines and want to understand them better by working on donner engine.
Click to expand...


that's a cool idea but still make sure you go through the machine shops steps. because if the cylinders/crank/rods or anything else is out of whack and you do a basic rebuild on it and sell it the new owner could have problems.

or if you donate it and it gets put in a project the same problems could arise
 
Kmrumedy said:
Thanks. That helps. Just a plain 318 unless x is found near oil pickup tube or 4 bolt mains.
Click to expand...

Doing a little research the 318 engine with an x block seems to be a real rarity. Saw on one site where they claimed only 3 or 4 had been produced and were never put in factory cars. I never did see anybody claim they had one.
 
Casting numbers can fool you.

Rebuild it for use! Not as an experiment! The. Use it to see if you did it right and drive the socks out of it. Once you get a good few years use out of it and log 15K a year in driving it without problems, then you can say "I did it right!"
 
Looking at the motor, its topped with a thermoquad and has a viscous fan, along with what looks like a nice aluminum intake. I'd feel pretty good dropping $200 on it.

Rebuilding the carb will set you back fifty bucks for the kit. A complete fel-pro gasket kit is about $70 on Ebay. Also on Ebay, I found a master rebuild kit for about $350, which contains a gasket set, along with pistons, a cam kit, freeze plugs, a timing kit, and all the bearings.

Personally, I'd go with the master kit, it gets you all you need in one shot. I tend to use Ebay for this stuff because it ends up cheaper than a parts store, sometimes. just make sure to go to a parts store and get a price first, ask if they have any fees that they add in and use that price as a guide.

The 318s a good motor, If you've got a car it will work in, build it for use. Good luck, and ask if you've got questions.
 
Here is what I would do if I were a novice and had never built one. Keep in mind, this is just a simple suggestion. Your results may vary. lol

I would buy no parts for it yet. Take it home TIME IT UP FIRST and tear it down. Don't lose or misplace any parts. Of course, you will destroy gaskets, that's no big deal. I say time it up so that you can get familiar with that process. Do it several times.

Then, reassemble it. Tear it back down. Reassemble it again. Get familiar with it. Take note of how the connecting rods are installed. Make sure they go back facing the same direction and on the same bank.

The only "specialty" tools I think you will need other than hand tools will be a harmonic balancer puller/installer and a piston ring compressor. Other than those two items, everything else is a regular hand tool. Don't cheap out with the cheapest chinkesium you can find, either. You want to use it more than once.

If you really want to get familiar with it, get a torque wrench and torque it all back to spec when reassembling. This will give you a great feel for torque values. Again, gaskets are not necessary, you are simply familiarizing yourself with disassembly and reassembly.

Get some zip lock bags and bag and tag all bolts. Use a magic marker and write right on the bags. The first time you disassemble, CLEAN all of the bolts and nuts and all the major engine parts as much as possible. This way when you reassemble, it will not be so dirty and you'll have some of the cleaning process already done.

That's my two cents. I am sure opinions will vary. They always do.
 
^^^^^What Rusty said!! Now, I would pay $200 for that motor! Too bad you wern't in my neck of the woods,'I would give you an engine to play with for as long as you wanted, I've scrapped a bunch just to get them out of my way!! Can you say road trip??
 
RustyRatRod said:
Here is what I would do if I were a novice and had never built one. Keep in mind, this is just a simple suggestion. Your results may vary. lol

I would buy no parts for it yet. Take it home TIME IT UP FIRST and tear it down. Don't lose or misplace any parts. Of course, you will destroy gaskets, that's no big deal. I say time it up so that you can get familiar with that process. Do it several times.

Then, reassemble it. Tear it back down. Reassemble it again. Get familiar with it. Take note of how the connecting rods are installed. Make sure they go back facing the same direction and on the same bank.

The only "specialty" tools I think you will need other than hand tools will be a harmonic balancer puller/installer and a piston ring compressor. Other than those two items, everything else is a regular hand tool. Don't cheap out with the cheapest chinkesium you can find, either. You want to use it more than once.

If you really want to get familiar with it, get a torque wrench and torque it all back to spec when reassembling. This will give you a great feel for torque values. Again, gaskets are not necessary, you are simply familiarizing yourself with disassembly and reassembly.

Get some zip lock bags and bag and tag all bolts. Use a magic marker and write right on the bags. The first time you disassemble, CLEAN all of the bolts and nuts and all the major engine parts as much as possible. This way when you reassemble, it will not be so dirty and you'll have some of the cleaning process already done.

That's my two cents. I am sure opinions will vary. They always do.
Click to expand...

Ok.....I like you! :thumblef:

This is a great suggestion for me.

Then once I am comfortable with it I think I will take ArizonaKid's suggestion and get the master kit and see if I can make Rumblefish proud!

Thanks so much guys.

Great ideas.

Eh.....is there anything that can kill me doing this? Any loss of finger or pain thingies I have to worry about? Stubbing a toe? Getting a splinter........:pale:
 
cosgig said:
^^^^^What Rusty said!! Now, I would pay $200 for that motor! Too bad you wern't in my neck of the woods,'I would give you an engine to play with for as long as you wanted, I've scrapped a bunch just to get them out of my way!! Can you say road trip??
Click to expand...

Thanks Geof. You were already very generous with helping me out with the broken turn signal lever. Posted a good guy thread as you are truly kind.

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=250919
 
ArizonaKid said:
Looking at the motor, its topped with a thermoquad and has a viscous fan, along with what looks like a nice aluminum intake. I'd feel pretty good dropping $200 on it.

Rebuilding the carb will set you back fifty bucks for the kit. A complete fel-pro gasket kit is about $70 on Ebay. Also on Ebay, I found a master rebuild kit for about $350, which contains a gasket set, along with pistons, a cam kit, freeze plugs, a timing kit, and all the bearings.

Personally, I'd go with the master kit, it gets you all you need in one shot. I tend to use Ebay for this stuff because it ends up cheaper than a parts store, sometimes. just make sure to go to a parts store and get a price first, ask if they have any fees that they add in and use that price as a guide.

The 318s a good motor, If you've got a car it will work in, build it for use. Good luck, and ask if you've got questions.
Click to expand...

Thanks on the Master kit. That seems a reasonable price. I will be asking questions. Thanks.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Casting numbers can fool you.

Rebuild it for use! Not as an experiment! The. Use it to see if you did it right and drive the socks out of it. Once you get a good few years use out of it and log 15K a year in driving it without problems, then you can say "I did it right!"
Click to expand...

Have to build my confidence before the motor! Lol!

If you guys help me out then I will give it a shot.
 
Inspect it first. It may not need pistons or boring. If it was maintained well, the bores could be in good enough shape to simply re-ring.
 
Kmrumedy said:
Eh.....is there anything that can kill me doing this? Any loss of finger or pain thingies I have to worry about? QUOTE]

The first thing that comes to mind is how well the engine is attached to the stand.
There are devils hidden in those small details. Good luck
Click to expand...
 
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