How much should I pay for a 340

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6dart9

6dart9

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I have a friend who has a 73 340 Engine Complete in his Garage. He currently has 2 B bodies and 2 E bodies and all have or are getting Hemis so he said he would sell me the 340. He got it from a previous car he had. It definatley has a good amount of miles on it. I have not opened it up completely but I wanted to get an idea of how much you guys think it may be worth.

I know he pulled it in the 80's and it has been in his garage since then. He pulled it because he wanted to put a 70 340 in the car to match the year of the car.

Any idea on a price would be great.
 
Regular, (not AAR or TA) 340 longblock in rebuildable condition regularly sell for under $1,000 here in So. Cal. A "complete" engine with correct date parts and accessories could sell for much more if it was the vintage you need. But... I have been into Mopar Muscle cars for 25 years (since before they were high-buck, super-stars). Every car or part I bought over the years has appreciated better than the Dow! If you need and plan to keep the engine the price will seem insignificant in years to come.
 
yea it is a regular he said it isn't worth as much as previous year 340s. I currently have a 318 but would like to build this 340 if possible. As the 318 is a little rough.
 
a 73 will have lower compression and a cast crank i believe.. i wouldn't pay much more then maybe $500 for it..
 
Hi!

Seems to me that $1000 is lots of bucks for a 340. I understand people wanting correct engines etc when they are doing a resto. Is that why you want it? If not consider this. I picked up a complete and running carb to pan 4 bbl 360 with 64 000 miles on it for $350. If what your after is more power then you'll be dollars and sence ahead with a 360. Leave the 340 for the resto crowd unless you can get it dirt cheap. The 360 will give you just as much h.p and more torque than the 340. Parts are plentiful.

And dont tell me your concerned about cast cranks. Mopar cast crank can be trusted to about 500 h.p, or more depending on use.
 
And i also think it's where your located i've found 3 340's in the last 2 years,All of them needed building if they could be, prices were 1000-1500 which i had to pass on, but you got to admit a 340 is a screamer, will run a lot faster than a 360 with less money,if you can get one for the right price,J.M.O.
 
mr.318 said:
And i also think it's where your located i've found 3 340's in the last 2 years,All of them needed building if they could be, prices were 1000-1500 which i had to pass on, but you got to admit a 340 is a screamer, will run a lot faster than a 360 with less money,if you can get one for the right price,J.M.O.
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a 340 is a screamer but will not run faster for less money, it will cost the same to build them, a 360 will put out more torque and about the same horsepower. 360 is the way to go unless you want numbers matching

and like mentioned earlier a complete 360 can be had for less than half the price of a complete 340
 
thanson_mopar said:
a 340 is a screamer but will not run faster for less money, it will cost the same to build them, a 360 will put out more torque and about the same horsepower. 360 is the way to go unless you want numbers matching

and like mentioned earlier a complete 360 can be had for less than half the price of a complete 340
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i agree.. a 340 is a screamer but a 360 is less out of pocket money right off the bat. after that the machine work and parts are pretty much the same.. and a 360 will scream.. an extra 20 cubes. that 340 runs better then a 360 stuff is old school way of thinking.. back in the day the 360 got a bad wrap because of lower compression and no pistions avalible unless they were custom made.. now there is a ton of stuff out there for a 360.. save the money and go 360.
 
abodyjoe said:
i agree.. a 340 is a screamer but a 360 is less out of pocket money right off the bat. after that the machine work and parts are pretty much the same.. and a 360 will scream.. an extra 20 cubes. that 340 runs better then a 360 stuff is old school way of thinking.. back in the day the 360 got a bad wrap because of lower compression and no pistions avalible unless they were custom made.. now there is a ton of stuff out there for a 360.. save the money and go 360.
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well said
 
It's a little pricy for a '73, it has lower compression, cast crank, and likely small valves.
I was trying to sell a '69 with "X" heads for a friend, before Xmas, it was complete, but disassemble, due to a spun bearing, all that was misiing was the starter and alternator.
He would have let it go for $800. with new parts still in un-opened boxes.

I've seen them regularly for under $1k.
360 is the way to go, there is no substitute for CI.

Most inquiries were for the heads.
 
Ok great well maybe I will go with the 360 then if I can find one. I only was going for the 340 because he had it no reason for correct motor or anything. just want to get rid of the 318. I will look around for a 360 if anyone has a good spot to look or know of someone selling please let me know.
 
the 340 is fine if you can get it cheap.. just don't him talk yo uinto overpaying because its a 340..


where are you located? 360 should be pretty easy to come by.
 
Im in So Cal I will look around to see what I can find i will also be at Mopars at the Strip in Vegas so I would imagine there may be some stuff there too.
 
Build the 340, everybody and their brother has a 360. Like you say the buildup costs the same. However, I like the fact the 340 is internally balanced. Besides I like the look on those Camaro guys faces when they ask if it's a 318.
 
jimbo said:
Build the 340, everybody and their brother has a 360. Like you say the buildup costs the same. However, I like the fact the 340 is internally balanced. Besides I like the look on those Camaro guys faces when they ask if it's a 318.
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I like the way you think. 340's also have better RPM potential due to the small mains compared to the 360s. 360s are the "350's" of mopar, cheap easy build, but either the 340 or 360 is great! I just like the 340s potential and stigma.
 
jimbo said:
Build the 340, everybody and their brother has a 360. Like you say the buildup costs the same. However, I like the fact the 340 is internally balanced. Besides I like the look on those Camaro guys faces when they ask if it's a 318.
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Mid 72 and 73 340s are externally balanced just like the 360. Plus I doubt a Camaro guy would know the difference between a 340 a 360 or a 440.

Dont forget the 340 is going to want a little more gear, and more converter.
 
71duster06 said:
I like the way you think. 340's also have better RPM potential due to the small mains compared to the 360s. 360s are the "350's" of mopar, cheap easy build, but either the 340 or 360 is great! I just like the 340s potential and stigma.
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yes the 340 has a shorter stroke so it will "rev" a little more but a 360 built the same isnt far behind as far as revs are concerned, besides you get more torque from the 360 with the longer stroke wich is always better for street. As far as building a 360 is cheap and easy compared to a 340 i would have to say that besides the longer stroke, larger bearings, oil pan and being externaly balanced, the 340 and 360 will be nearly identical in building. I guess some people just want a "340" wich is fine and i have respect for, if the 340 could be had cheap enough, and i mean cheap as in the same price as you would normaly get for a 360 , then id say go for it but otherwise 360 is the way to go.

Either way, its a mopar, and its still better than a 350 chebby or a 302 blue oval, just personal choice i guess
good luck, if your looking for a complete 360 builder, almost every decent sized junkyard has them laying all over for a dime a dozen, chrysler build alot of them
 
jimbo said:
Build the 340, everybody and their brother has a 360. Like you say the buildup costs the same. However, I like the fact the 340 is internally balanced. Besides I like the look on those Camaro guys faces when they ask if it's a 318.
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There may very well be more 360's than 340's due to the price of 340's. Yes buildup costs is close to the same but purchasing cost is nowhere close to the same. I can pick up good rebuildable 360's most anytime for $250 or less. You won't touch a bare 340 block for that. Internally balancing is good but the 340 mentioned is a 73 so it's not internally balanced. 360's can be internally balanced too.

Purist chevy guys don't know anything but chevy's usually so it wouldn't matter is you had a 340 or 360. Heck tell them it's a 273 then look at their expression.

When I built bought my car it came with a 360. At that time I was an old school thinker and thought the 340 would be better. Well I couldn't find one for under $1000 and it needed totally rebuilt so I just rebuilt the 360 instead. It's runs fantastic!! I remember a friends 69 Dart 340 way back just out of high school and I'm sure mine has a definite torque advantage. It still pulls strong past 6500 if I choose also.
 
looking to completely rebuild the engine unless you just got to have a 340, check out Blueprint engines. They have a 408 stroker starting @ $3,600

I'm thinking about this over repairing my 340. I LIKE having a 340, but what I have spent on it I could have put one hell of a crate motor in it and not had the problems I've had
 
Thanks for everyone responses and opinions. I will see him this weekend and see how much i can get it for. Is there anything I should look out for? He told me to come by and tear it apart if i want to buy it to see what it is worth. Obviously cracks and stuff would be bad but i am wondering if there are any usual signs on these motors that may be a red flag to buying it.
 
Yea good idea too bad im going with him to Mopars at the Strip
 
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