Some 340 Love

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I wonder if any power would have been added if they got the rocker shafts relocated correctly, instead of using the band aid beehives?

Great article and shows clearly why so many brand Xers got their butts kicked.
 
Not every rocker has to be relocated. Yes some need it but not all. I have put adjustable rockers on many motors and only 1 have I had to relocate. Should a couple others have been relocated yes, but I could live with them being off a bit. Kim
 
[1] If you are going to claim the 340 was king [ & it was! ], at least get the pics correct. 340 came with an AVS carb, not AFB.
[2] There is a muuuuuuuch better HP comparison of the production SB engines, results published in PHR, Feb 1969. Stock engines were pulled from production cars & dynoed to see if they produced the adv HP. Only one did, the 340 & actually made 20 hp more, 295.
All the others made less hp. Adv hp, actual hp:
Olds W-31 325, 280
Pontiac HO 325, 255
Chebby 300, 240
Ferd 351 290, 210

If anybody wants a copy [ single page ], PM an email address.
 
One thing worth mentioning is Mopar made 2 versions of the 340 which had 2 HP ratings. I'm no expert in GM or Ford, but I know that Chevy was notorious for 3 or more power ranges for the same engine.

For example, a 396 chevy (pre-72) came in 206hp, 260, 265hp, 300hp, 325hp, 350hp, 360hp, 375hp, 425hp
 
There is no doubt that the 340 could hold its own against any other small block out there. And manhandle most of them! But the other great thing was how it responded to small hot rod upgrades like cams, headers ,converters and gears .
 
One other thing that is worth mentioning, which i'd hope we all know, is that HP and TQ doesn't soley win races. HAving a chassis that works, in a light car, with enough HP and TQ wins races.

That being said, Mopar had the chassis and lightweight thing licked.
 
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Nice article, but it repeats the incorrect assertion that automatic 340 cars didn't have the Prestolite dual point distributors. Mine does, and the tag matches the number in the parts manual for '68 automatic cars.
 
Magazines often get something wrong. I just get annoyed when there is a bunch of them and readers take it as gospel.
 
Roger Huntington's American Supercars book also bears out the superiority of the 340.
He relied on magazine road tests, plus his own private testing, where he was able to estimate the actual hp.
68 B'çuda 340, A3, 3.23, 14.9 @ 95. Adv/est HP: 275/290
67 Camaro 350, M4, 3.55, 15.8 @ 89. Adv/est HP: 295/230
67 Mustang 390, A3, 3.25, 15.5 @ 91. Adv/est HP:335/250
70 Ply Cuda 340, A3, 3.54, 15.0 @ 95, Adv/est hP: 275/290

Amen.
 
this just in , at vegas div double header race , justin jerome and mike cotten won stock elim . both have 1973 340 dusters,
 
oldkimmer said:
Not every rocker has to be relocated. Yes some need it but not all. I have put adjustable rockers on many motors and only 1 have I had to relocate. Should a couple others have been relocated yes, but I could live with them being off a bit. Kim
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That's true.....I was more wondering if they even checked it. I bet not. Heck, I'm sure millions of small blocks ran 100,000 miles or more needing it, so it wasn't too important.....at least for stock engines.
 
S'cuder said:
Nice article, but it repeats the incorrect assertion that automatic 340 cars didn't have the Prestolite dual point distributors. Mine does, and the tag matches the number in the parts manual for '68 automatic cars.
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Yeah, you're right. I had a late '67 built 340 out of an automatic '68 Dart GTS that had a dual point in it, too. Still got it, too. :)
 
S'cuder said:
Nice article, but it repeats the incorrect assertion that automatic 340 cars didn't have the Prestolite dual point distributors. Mine does, and the tag matches the number in the parts manual for '68 automatic cars.
Click to expand...
If it'd been a Chevy article, they'd got it right. lol
 
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