i nicknamed my 67 barracuda and my sons 69 barracuda both H.D. for Hundred dollars. almost nothing cheap about them. its like everything is at minimum $100 or more. good thing is your in the right place. 340 is a good engine to build, however lots of guys are now looking for those blocks to do restorations with. starting in 1969 and continuing from there the 69 on up block will have the vin partial stamped into the pan rail. With those its best to try to reunite the 340 engine with the car it came out of if at all possible. unless the car it came from was wrecked and junked. the casting date will be sand cast into the block, along with engine size.
i am building a 408 stroker out of a 1978 360 truck block. only things i used from the original engine was the block and mains. some hardware, and the timing cover. i will make a conservative 450hp on pump gas with 9.5-1 static compression. i could get more but then it wouldent be streetable and i'd have to beat it with a whip just to get it out of the garage. LOL.
whats the prices he is asking for the heads, complete engine, bare block etc? not sure of what years, but there are some years, and casting numbers of 318s that have thick enough walls that they can be safely bored out to a 340 bore. Hughes racing engines has made 340s out of 318s. as i said, only some years and castings of 318 are capable of supporting a 4" bore
a 318 and 340 both have a 3.31" stroke crank. a 360 uses a 3.58" stroke crank. my 408 is using a 4.0" stroke crank. another option is building a 318 since people will give them away for free, and dropping in a stroker crank and pistons making it a 390. select one set of those heads you mentioned to top it off. if you decide on a 318 to 390 stroker build, or a 360 to 408 stroker build i believe they went to roller cammed blocks in 1989. that would make a great foundation for an old skool rodent killer. if you cant find a roller cammed block, theres companies that make roller lifters for the older blocks. i would reccommend staying away from a flat tappet cam unless you want to run an oil additive in ther crankcase every oil change called ZDDP. this additive is not in the newer oils on the market since all new stuff uses roller cams, and without it a flat tappet cam will get ruined in no time at all.
i am sure others will chime in with thoughts and ideas as well. please however since your coming from the chevy side, dont rattle can your engine compartment black. mopar guys usually leave them body color the way mother intended.
wishing you all the best, and welcome to the mopar world. this is the best site for info on the net.
