I'm Torn

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stumblinhorse said:
I have been researching this a lot for my engine. You have to decide what you want to do and what your budget is. You can take your 318 to a 390, you doing the work for about $4500 with decent parts. That keeps the originality under the hood but gives you a lot more go pedal. You would be more if you drop off your 318 at a shop, you would be $5500. For $5k you can buy a warrantied 408 fully dressed from Blueprint. That would be just under 400hp. If you do that you need to plan a little more $$ for brackets etc to fit the 360. So you are probably at $5500 with that option after picking up the incidentals for a 360 with magnum heads.
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That's also a good option, I've seen Blueprint's Long block 408 stroker for $4,250 I believe? can top it off with and eddy air gap and holley 750 Double pumper
 
SharpDart71 said:
That's also a good option, I've seen Blueprint's Long block 408 stroker for $4,250 I believe? can top it off with and eddy air gap and holley 750 Double pumper
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That $4250 Blueprint has Magnum heads. So unless you have an eddy air gap that has Magnum holes you are not going to be able to use it.
 
I guess technically matching numbers would be worth more but we are talking a 71 318 dart here. It’s not making it worth thousands more here.

If it were me. I wouldn’t even bother with a 340. Even if you get one dirt cheap sell that ***** to some resto guy for a nice profit and use the money to build a 360. If you want to make it original paint the 360 blue. :)
 
Many options. Start a spreadsheet and list the costs of each one and see where it all falls $$$-wise. As stated above, the forgotten incidentals like brackets, etc. begin to add up. Good luck, most of all, have fun.
 
magnumswaps.com will give you a list of accessory items
 
General Disarray said:
Many options. Start a spreadsheet and list the costs of each one and see where it all falls $$$-wise. As stated above, the forgotten incidentals like brackets, etc. begin to add up. Good luck, most of all, have fun.
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Add torque strap, headers, transmission, differential & axles, and tires. It really doesn't matter if it can make 400 ft-lbs of torque if you can't make use of it. Again, unless its just about bragging rights... but even then, you don't want to break things.
 
Mattax said:
Add torque strap, headers, transmission, differential & axles, and tires. It really doesn't matter if it can make 400 ft-lbs of torque if you can't make use of it. Again, unless its just about bragging rights... but even then, you don't want to break things.
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Well, with 400lbft, you're gonna need lotsa tires!.

Heh heh, I just got my torque strap from Schumacher in the mail last week.
 
just tell them your .40 over 360 is a stroker 340
Get a magnum- or a pristine 360 whichever is easier
sell the 340 to someone who needs one and will pay up
same heads as LA 360's as far as flow goes
 
I'd hop up the 318 and drive it until you decide if that enough power for you.

Mild cam, dual plane intake, 1405 Edelbrock carb, headers if you choose. Maybe a new timing set... Drive it for a season and have some fun.

Then decide if you want more...a good 318 will really surprise you.
 
Sharp
Listen to Krooser- he's been around the block several times
Collector cars - the ones that were worth the most at first sale are usually the ones worth them most now 318 Darts just do not qualify unless it's something really special
so if you are going to build something rebuild your 318 or get a late 360 - the one with 308 heads or a magnum 5.9 A F.I .5.9 makes one sweet ride you can get the OD trans
 
My friend Tracy has a '70 Dart with a 318...and has a very nice fresh 340 waiiting to replace it. He's having so much fun with the original motor he can't bear to park it for the engine swap.
 
he gets 20 cu in more with the 340 BFD and some better breathing if the heads are done to match the bore size
but wait 2.02 valves have to be done right or you loose torque- not good with an AT and Tall gears
people tend to overcam 340's
and 273's and 318's are really easy to overcam
longer stroke of the 360 gives more leverage at the same cylinder pressure and I'd rather have 40 cu in than 20 I can really feel 40 more ft lbs of torque
 
Wyrmrider said:
he gets 20 cu in more with the 340 BFD and some better breathing if the heads are done to match the bore size
but wait 2.02 valves have to be done right or you loose torque- not good with an AT and Tall gears
people tend to overcam 340's
and 273's and 318's are really easy to overcam
longer stroke of the 360 gives more leverage at the same cylinder pressure and I'd rather have 40 cu in than 20 I can really feel 40 more ft lbs of torque
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His 340 has X heads... a custom ground Erson cam per his engine builders specs. The builder is a Mopar friendly guy.... seems to know his stuff but I think he has too much cam... more than my kid's B-mod dirt car with a Jones cam!
 
I like my aluminum headed 367, but honestly, it has way more everything than the 68 Barracuda chassis can handle, especially bottom end. I often wonder what an aluminum headed 318 could do with a 224 or so cam,and 185 to 195 psi. Oh wait now I remember; It's too expensive to build an 11/1 teener
But a 10.5 practically falls together.... but that would probably require a solid lifter cam to keep the bottom-end alive.Yeah I could totally see that working.

Then again, a 340@10.8 with a 224 hydro cam could do same but have a lil more bottom end and run less gear, perfect for a fat-tired streeter.

Then again 318s have been bored out to 4.04........
 
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Krooser said:
I'd hop up the 318 and drive it until you decide if that enough power for you.

Mild cam, dual plane intake, 1405 Edelbrock carb, headers if you choose. Maybe a new timing set... Drive it for a season and have some fun.

Then decide if you want more...a good 318 will really surprise you.
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Advise on where to get the parts? open to options.
 
If your 318 is in good running condition....

Camshafts... lots of shelf cams out there. I'd fill out the cam form @ jonescams.com. Or call Bullet... UDHarold was a legend in the cam biz and many of his grinds went to Bullet after he passed. Then there's Charles @ Camcraftcams.com. ... another wise choice. Howard's can grind one, too. Hughes did a regrind for me that worked well.

You can go ultra low dollar and get a Jegs or Elgin cam. Remember there are some cam cores that better quality than others.

I'd keep the stock rockers just clean up what you have and replace what's worn.

Recurve your dizzy to be all in at 2500 rpms. I like Ford TFI coils (inexpensive) and I think one would work with your Mopar box. Not sure if you'd need a resistor.

Edelbrock intake and carb... usually spot on right out of the box. Holley's and their clones are great but need more tuning to get them right. On a mild deal you take the Edelbrock out of the box and bolt it on...done.

For this deal I'd use a good Cloyes or SA timing set. Headers are cool but are a pita to install and you won't gain much with a mild performance low buck deal. Keeping your stock exhaust makes this a very simple, and cheap, re-do.

Wyrmrider can tell you there were likely hundreds of thousands of backyard builds like this done by budding hot rodders for 50 years. Still are some going on. But the "might as well" movement moved everything from the $1,000 budget to the $5,000 budget build and way beyond. With the easy availability of "new" tech and instant gratification many of us are shamed into way overthinking and overspending even the simplist build.

You can do what you want... nothing wrong with that. But the "smile factor" will be plenty high if you put a lowly 318 together that just flat out runs great.
 
Krooser said:
If your 318 is in good running condition....

Camshafts... lots of shelf cams out there. I'd fill out the cam form @ jonescams.com. Or call Bullet... UDHarold was a legend in the cam biz and many of his grinds went to Bullet after he passed. Then there's Charles @ Camcraftcams.com. ... another wise choice. Howard's can grind one, too. Hughes did a regrind for me that worked well.

You can go ultra low dollar and get a Jegs or Elgin cam. Remember there are some cam cores that better quality than others.

I'd keep the stock rockers just clean up what you have and replace what's worn.

Recurve your dizzy to be all in at 2500 rpms. I like Ford TFI coils (inexpensive) and I think one would work with your Mopar box. Not sure if you'd need a resistor.

Edelbrock intake and carb... usually spot on right out of the box. Holley's and their clones are great but need more tuning to get them right. On a mild deal you take the Edelbrock out of the box and bolt it on...done.

For this deal I'd use a good Cloyes or SA timing set. Headers are cool but are a pita to install and you won't gain much with a mild performance low buck deal. Keeping your stock exhaust makes this a very simple, and cheap, re-do.

Wyrmrider can tell you there were likely hundreds of thousands of backyard builds like this done by budding hot rodders for 50 years. Still are some going on. But the "might as well" movement moved everything from the $1,000 budget to the $5,000 budget build and way beyond. With the easy availability of "new" tech and instant gratification many of us are shamed into way overthinking and overspending even the simplist build.

You can do what you want... nothing wrong with that. But the "smile factor" will be plenty high if you put a lowly 318 together that just flat out runs great.
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Thanks!!
 
Unfortunately Harold never got to do any hyd mopar cams (nor did Isky and therefore Erson...) IDK what Erson has now bit SIG just sold ground in Detroit cams during the Super Center days. I'm still unhappy about the new guys loosing the patterns for the 1.75 big block rockers...
Bullet has some .904 grinds but they are not Ultradyne
Jones cam with the .305 lobe lift should work great in a 318 or 360 street build IDK if he has others but that one has Max area (well almost it's not pushing the envelope into unreliability) and you get his advice which can be priceless
 
Wyrmrider said:
Unfortunately Harold never got to do any hyd mopar cams (nor did Isky and therefore Erson...) IDK what Erson has now bit SIG just sold ground in Detroit cams during the Super Center days. I'm still unhappy about the new guys loosing the patterns for the 1.75 big block rockers...
Bullet has some .904 grinds but they are not Ultradyne
Jones cam with the .305 lobe lift should work great in a 318 or 360 street build IDK if he has others but that one has Max area (well almost it's not pushing the envelope into unreliability) and you get his advice which can be priceless
Click to expand...
Howard's has a pretty good selection of hydraulic .903 lifter grinds... might be one or two that will work.























































































































































































































































 
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