Making power out of the 318

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carmart1975 said:
Its a teen thing like if you have a big cam it mens its fast I guess
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Sounds like the neighbor boy, just a tad older than you. Has a rusty Dodge camper van. Said it has a 383. Nope, a SBM and more than likely a teen. Then he says it has an RV cam because of the exhaust rumble. I could not resist then. That is because the muffler is rusted mostly off.
His older cousin is full of manure and makes it sound good, so he listens to him. There is about 10 of them and first thing they do is remove the mufflers at the direction of the leader of the pack, the older cousin.
 
And at that most "RV cams" I've experienced idle Just about like a stocker would, no lope
 
carmart1975 said:
so i recently got and 1973 small block 318 i am very new to mopar and was wondering what to do to the 318 i have every thing but the pistons the guy that i got it off of droped one and cracked it, i also have 360 heads that i would like to put on i am thinking about putting kb 167 pistons (0.40 over) in it, stock crank, stock rods and a rad cam with a lot of lope because i am a stupid kid, and stock 360 heads and then some kind of single plane intake and then a 750 double pumper i am really on a tight budget. is all of this possible or unrealistic.
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Not if you want a well rounded package, the 360 heads are fine have the bowl opened up and a good valve job. A good dual plane intake and 600 cfm carb.
 
I say "no" to the 360 heads without a lot of shaving. Their chambers are huge, which will lower the compression ratio, costing power.
 
volaredon said:
I say "no" to the 360 heads without a lot of shaving. Their chambers are huge, which will lower the compression ratio, costing power.
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He's willing to use pistons to bring cr up to work with the cam.
 
Mild 318 build up thread…….and only 12 pages?
Place is slipping.

Maybe add some 302 head discussion into the mix……get another 10-12 pages out of it.
 
Well I happen to have 2 sets of 302 heads, one of which is fresh from the machine shop, and I will be putting them on one of my 318s whether the rest of the band here "likes it or not" because I have them and I don't have anything else. And no $$$ for anything else.
Not a fan of speed master heads anyway myself, as I try not to use china parts when possible.
Plus all the talk about having to spend the money for them and then having to send them thru a machine shop anyway, like I would if I had any old set of heads ....
Like the last set of EQ heads I bought. Supposed to be ready to run out of the box.
Within 6 miles those "ready to run" heads stuck a valve and it kissed the piston. 6 miles. And they had to have a valve job.
I'll take my chances with the 302s... In my case I have 163 heads on my engine, (original for the 78 motor they're on) it ain't gonna be any worse than it is now...
 
junkyardhero said:
eschew the single plane for a dual, the smaller cubes need all the help they can get in the down low and torque department. go less wild with the cam and try and stay around .475-ish and 260~275-ish duration. i think those pistons are fine for a mellow build and with the right headgasket you can probably get the compression to a decent number.

the heads are likely the most limiting factor, but will probably be fine for a mild build.

i wouldn't run a 750 DP with that kind of combo. i'm not saying it can't be done, or that it wouldn't be fun... but i think there are many other better choices.

a huge consideration is stall and gears. what do you have there currently? are you planning to upgrade those areas as well? those are a huge influence on overall performance.
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For what its worth, Delta ground me a hydraulic 208/214 about .440 lift on 11.5 lsa. Its in a 9:1 318 with a 360 4bbl intake and 800 Rochester. It pulls well, starts good and sounds like an oem 340 cam at idle. all used parts except for rings bearings some junkyard fresh 318 heads. I'm guessing less that 1500 bucks and it pulls my power-wagon down the freeway at 80 sweat less. Spending a couple extra grand on gears and goodies isn't going to get ya that much more speed. If your goal is blazing the tires with 3 series gears don't go beyond 210@ .050. Good luck.
 
Siksty7 Dart 270 said:
I rebuilt my first engine last year and wanted it to be the least costly possible. I just wanted a reliable street rumbler engine. I went with a 318 magnum (same things apply to a 360 magnum except engine balancing which impacts flexplate/torque converter and harmonic balancer) I had my block and heads machined and went .030 over. Here's the rest of what I did and found success in spunky little engine that feels like A LOT more power over the slant 6 it replaced in my 67 Dart : You can send the original cam out to Oregon Cam Grinding and have a new profile ground for under $300 including shipping back and forth. They have many hydraulic roller profiles available. I did the #1280 on a 110 lobe sep (212/[email protected] .485/.506). While in there get some stock replacement lifters (or don't worry about it and just put the old ones back in the same holes for good measure). Replace the head gaskets with the .028 set from Mr. Gasket for a tick more compression. This will give you experience in measuring and ordering new longer pushrods since the cam base circle is reduced by grinding and the heads are slightly closer to the deck. I splurged on a set of nice Trend pushrods. Get a Hughes 1199 valve spring kit and install some new valve stem seals while you're in there. I dressed mine out in LA engine front dress and a 360 car oil pan, taking cues from Magnumswap.com. I used an Edelbrock 7577 intake and a 1405 carb. I sourced a complete stock and electronic ignition with curved distributor on FABO from @halifaxhops. I bought some 2nd hand hedman headers. Without any machining you can do all of this for less than $2700.00 and that's if you buy it all new. I bought my carb, intake, headers, timing cover, pulleys here on FABO and saved some money. You will be surprised how costs of the little parts and gaskets add up quickly. I think you would be totally shocked at the power increase and the rewarding feeling of doing these simple " hot rodding" upgrades.
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And I bet it will melt tires on command.
 
RustyRatRod said:
And no matter how much you preach it to some of these guys, they'll never believe it. They all just "gotta have" 400 plus HP.
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it's wild right? i mean, i like HP just as much as the next guy but you absolutely don't need 400 for a nice cruiser.

new hemi 5.7's don't even have 400hp and they absolutly haul balls. in heavier vehicles no less!

i put "i gotta have 400hp" up there with the whole "i want a cam that sounds good" in the category of indoctrinated nonsense from magazine articles, tv shows and forum blather.
 
junkyardhero said:
it's wild right? i mean, i like HP just as much as the next guy but you absolutely don't need 400 for a nice cruiser.

new hemi 5.7's don't even have 400hp and they absolutly haul balls. in heavier vehicles no less!

i put "i gotta have 400hp" up there with the whole "i want a cam that sounds good" in the category of indoctrinated nonsense from magazine articles, tv shows and forum blather.
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I believe we're on the same page. But then, I'm happy with a slant 6 that's probably under 200HP.
 
PRH said:
Mild 318 build up thread…….and only 12 pages?
Place is slipping.

Maybe add some 302 head discussion into the mix……get another 10-12 pages out of it.
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They ran anyone who would debate and argue with them proper off a while ago...:) they need a 340/360 and even a B / RB sub forum but it would just get trolled so...
 
Dartswinger70 said:
They ran anyone who would debate and argue with them proper off a while ago...:) they need a 340/360 and even a B / RB sub forum but it would just get trolled so...
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Last night DV, Andy Wood and Charles Servidono had a live episode.About jalf way through they discusses Charlie's porting on the 318 heads for Mission Impossible. Heavily modified for sure, but they think those heads with a cam to run up to 8000RPM could produce 500HP. So the guys on here that say a teen is a toilet engine and that you have to have a 340 or 360 are full of road apples.
Now with milder port work and cam you should be able toeasily build 1HP/cube, which would run real well.
 
Dale Davies said:
Last night DV, Andy Wood and Charles Servidono had a live episode.About jalf way through they discusses Charlie's porting on the 318 heads for Mission Impossible. Heavily modified for sure, but they think those heads with a cam to run up to 8000RPM could produce 500HP. So the guys on here that say a teen is a toilet engine and that you have to have a 340 or 360 are full of road apples.
Now with milder port work and cam you should be able toeasily build 1HP/cube, which would run real well.
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Vizard will kick the bucket before its done... you'll never see it. But keep bragging it up its second hand regurgitated bullshit on your part.
 
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Dartswinger70 said:
They haven't proved a damned thing yet I wouldn't start beating my chest if I were you...its been over a year and its still all talk with Andy Wood and Vizard.
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I was patiently waiting for a link to a dyno test. I think I'll go take a nap instead. :rofl:
 
Yeah I don't mean to be an a hole but that Vizard build I'll believe it when I see it it isn't any basis for anything except how to get in way too deep financially with a 318 (alot of machine work) . I mean I do't believe anyone is saying you cant do what Vizard is proposing and make power but what most people are saying with a 340/360 is its a good starting point in terms of money spent. Is the same guy who wont ante up for a 340 going to pursue the Vizard / Servedio recipe for a 318? Last I knew Servedio wasn't even using the original LA heads that came with that engine he was flowing everything from J heads to magnum 302s etc. Ill be honest I quit watching its been over a year I think...but that gets us back on topic people say 318 and it never is.. save for maybe the block LOL! the extensive mods they are doing add up that UTG/ Vizard build has to be the most ridiculously expensive approach to a small block Mopar build I've ever seen and for what? to prove 318 guys wont be able to afford to do it...this is what happens when Chevy guys start trying to build a Mopar :lol:
 
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Dartswinger70 said:
Yeah I don't mean to be an a hole but that Vizard build I'll believe it when I see it it isn't any basis for anything except how to get in way too deep financially with a 318 (alot of machine work) . I mean I do't believe anyone is saying you cant do what Vizard is proposing and make power but what most people are saying with a 340/360 is its a good starting point in terms of money spent. Is the same guy who wont ante up for a 340 going to pursue the Vizard / Servedio recipe for a 318? Last I knew Servedio wasn't even using the original LA heads that came with that engine he was flowing everything from J heads to magnum 302s etc. Ill be honest I quit watching its been over a year I think...but that gets us back on topic people say 318 and it never is.. save for maybe the block LOL! the extensive mods they are doing add up that UTG/ Vizard build has to be the most ridiculously expensive approach to a small block Mopar build I've ever seen and for what? to prove 318 guys wont be able to afford to do it...this is what happens when Chevy guys start trying to build a Mopar :lol:
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You mentioned that the 318 would need lots of machine work, what extra machine work would it need over the 340/360's? None. As most guys on here do their own porting. As far as getting 1 horsepower per cubic inch isn't difficult even for the 318.
 
Dan the man said:
You mentioned that the 318 would need lots of machine work, what extra machine work would it need over the 340/360's? None. As most guys on here do their own porting. As far as getting 1 horsepower per cubic inch isn't difficult even for the 318.
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Take your time and please, explain to me why you would even consider dumping money into machining/building a LA 318 for performance...and I dont care if you go to that Motor Trend article and copy and paste the whole thing ...Ill wait... :popcorn:
 
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