Stock 318 bolt on performance modifications

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jarvitron said:
Second dual exhaust, don't waste the money on the "340 manifolds", they're worth 3-4 horsepower tops, see here http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/engine/mopp_0307_mopar_crate_engine_exhaust/photo_17.html, expensive to ship, preposterously dear for what they are and there's better places to put money. If you are OK with cheap headers get cheap headers and a summojegsalocalmufflershopomatic dual exhaust, or have a muffler shop build some downtubes from your stock manifolds (delete the EGR flapper wheel nonsense with some jbweld and bolts or all thread and washers or whatever level of ghettoness you are comfortable with) piped to a dual system.

As a dude who is putting a 4bbl into a car that originally had a 2bbl, I can tell you this. It's not as "put them there 600 four burrel on and whoop she go" as it sounds in a forum thread or article. You're gonna be pulling the distributor and the intake manifold, which is a beast to do yourself without a crane or a young, vital backbone, strong and wide. As well as disconnecting all the sensors and hoses that go along with that process. Then, once you get the sucker back into place, you will realize that all of your linkages are now worthless. Your throttle cable doesn't reach right, the kickdown linkage isn't in the right place. So you need to get a stocker 4bbl setup or a Lokar kit (which is pretty cheap and pretty nice, TBH, I had a lot of haterade before it showed up in the mail, it feels nice and strong), and switch out to that.

Wow....Where do I start ?
While you are entitled to your opinion,and that of a magazine.
I rely on real world experience,and to say that a HiPo 340 manifold is only
3-4 hp over a 318 log is hogwash. If that's the case I have a set of HiPo 318 manifolds for you,cheap !!!!


Funny,never had to get a crane to take off a manifold. :-k

And to say that the 318 linkage (as a whole)is worthless is another false claim.
From the firewall down,all stays the same. Get a 4bbl throttle bracket/kickdown rod and your rolling. Simple.

And lastly.....It's called a heat riser, and has nothing to do with ECU.
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Johnny Dart said:
And to say that the 318 linkage (as a whole)is worthless is another false claim.
From the firewall down,all stays the same. Get a 4bbl throttle bracket/kickdown rod and your rolling. Simple.
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Or bust out the welder and readjust the rod you have. Been done plenty of times. I did that a few times and even changed the cable bracket to make it taller. Easy fixes.

I'd put a performer 318/360 on the OP's deal with a decent 4 bbl, ede or holley.
 
OldmanRick said:
zhandfull, i'm glad you liked Johnny Dart's engine combo. It's a good clean build and is what you asked for. Economical bolt on's with no internals.
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Exactly....Bolt ons. That's what the guy asked for.
The priciest parts would obviously be the HiPo manifolds.
I was fortunate to have a set collecting dust,so I figured why not ?
If you want, substitute them for a set of headers.
 
Johnny D; You need to requote that post! YIkes! LOL.....

Yes, bolt on's, no cam.

IMO, Since it'll be a budget build, I'd look for a Edelbrock Performer or Weiand Action Plus intake with a AFB though I really like a AVS style carb. Open air cleaner and a MSD or equal system with a vacuum advance distributor, if you do not have that all ready.

Exhaust? Duals off the manifolds is fine. 2-1/2 inch pipe into a set of Thrush or what ever mufflers you like.

The best part of this is you can most parts from the 4-sale ad section here at good prices.

Down the road, if a cam is possible, dial us up! :)
 
zhandfull said:
I actually like the EFI ideal, but have no ideal whats out there. Are people using a factory set up and controller? Any threads with a how to install?
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theres a member on here who will give you everything you need for 425.00 factory style...i didn't say what factory ,but i bet it works real good..
 
for a bolt-ons stocker the old Edelbrock Streetmaster 318 intake as it has a tiny plenum and the smallest runners you can get and run a small Eddy 500cfm carb with fit the bill perfectly



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zhandfull said:
Very cool engine! I can see this engine under a flat 70-71 Dart hood getting fresh air from the factory dual scoops. The twin turbo set may be in my future someday. Even though you have a very budget build. I'm hoping to just win the lottery and buy Maddart's twin turbo Dart when he's finished building it and gets all the bugs out.
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It fit under my flat '74 duster hood no problem. I was surprised when I started looking for turbo components how cost effective it could be. If you're not shooting for 600+hp it can be had pretty cheap. If you wanted I've got my old up pipes I could sell to you pretty cheap. The T3 flanges have been removed (put them on my new headers). I'd actually sell you all of the piping to get it from heads to under the car (manifolds, up pipes, down pipes). All you would need is your choice of T3 turbo, filters, and cold side.
 
Since you have the engine out, or will I would replace the timing chain and as many 40 year old gaskets and seals as possible. Beyond that, let your budget be your guide. If it were me, and I had about $1000 to play with I'd do the following...

Edelbrock Performer intake
Edelbrock 1406 or Holley 1850 carb
Comp XE260 "K kit" (comes with springs and timing set)
Fel-Pro complete gasket set
New freeze plugs
Engine Paint

Dual 2 1/4 exhaust from manifolds or basic 1 5/8 headers(optional). Headers can be added later.

The intake and possibly the carb can easily be had used to save some cash. Should be a great improvement over stock, get good mileage, and have great street manners.
 
Johnny Dart said:
jarvitron said:
Second dual exhaust, don't waste the money on the "340 manifolds",
Click to expand...
Wow....Where do I start ?
While you are entitled to your opinion,and that of a magazine.
I rely on real world experience,and to say that a HiPo 340 manifold is only
3-4 hp over a 318 log is hogwash. If that's the case I have a set of HiPo 318 manifolds for you,cheap !!!!
Click to expand...

Precisely. Cheap. Cheap as in free. Free is a great price, more on that later.

I use that article largely because there's so much hyperbole and so few numbers about exhaust system performance except at the very high end of the spectrum, there are very few "we bolted up five things to this exact motor and here is what we got" articles out there. I have yet to find an article that is similarly controlled that claims amazing 75-100 horsepower gains for exhaust headers. I see "bolt on 150 horsepower" articles which usually involve cylinder heads, intakes, carbs, cams, headers, and the whole shebang, but very little gets said about exhaust other than it is mysterious, bigger is always better except when it isn't, something about "backpressure" and then a voodoo hex. But here's my reasoning, which is separate from that article but informed by some possibly wildly understated assumptions those numbers give us.

340 Manifolds around these parts in "as removed from car" condition go for as much as a set of new ceramic coated full length headers ~$300. Not TTIs or SanDougersons or anything but a coated set of speedbump draggers. I will admit maybe there's a VAST gap between a 318 and 340 manifold's flow at the cruisin'-the-strip-end of the spectrum, wouldn't there also be a similarly sized bump from a set of headers? Why not go with that, if it's cheap, bolt on performance you're looking for versus period correctness. But I would bet my eye tooth on the right side (the _pretty_ side) that for a no-cam-swap (which, honestly, if you have a motor out of a car on a stand, I consider a "bolt on" item, unless you're not even gonna do the timing belt in which case I don't really know what to say other than "do the timing belt while you got it out dummy") engine from a 1975!! !!! !! car, the difference between using the free stock manifolds connected to a dual 2 1/4" exhaust run to the back of the car and a TTI small tube header to dual 2 1/4" exhaust run to the back of the car is going to be both _under_ 25 horsepower and _over_ $500. But both will be significantly more than the motor put out through the single exhaust.

In this scenario dual exhausts to 318 manifolds only cost about $300-400 (a spitball price for the cost of a local shop to hook up a dual exhaust for you or a jegs kit shipped and installed and downpipes fabbed. Dual exhausts anything else costs that same $300-400 plus whatever you want to pay the header. For me, doubling the cost better net me a TON more horsepower, and I just don't believe the hype about a 44 year old exhaust casting. If you're gonna buy an exhaust system, and are gonna change from the stock manifolds, it doesn't make a ton of sense NOT to just go to headers which offer a LOT of cheap, pre-pop options in the "after the crossmember" system instead of springing for expensive original 340 manifolds and repro 340 downpipes.

This is a little tl;dr, but that's the upshot. I think if you're gonna BUY an exhaust manifold in the name of performance, you should just get headers and be done with it. If you wanna cruse the burger shot and make good burbly V8 noises, get a muffler shop to hook up a dual exhaust with a crossover pipe and get back to your life. If you want a "period correct 340 style 318 kinda sorta throwback" whatever then buy them there 340 manifolds. They're totally fine, I just don't think they're worth the scratch when headers _start_ cheaper, and once they hit price parity with the 340 mani, they even have a nice pretty coating on them.
 
Johnny Dart said:
Exactly....Bolt ons. That's what the guy asked for.
The priciest parts would obviously be the HiPo manifolds.
I was fortunate to have a set collecting dust,so I figured why not ?
If you want, substitute them for a set of headers.
Click to expand...

Word, that's a tidy motor for sure. I only hope I can clean mine up half as nice.
 
C130 Chief said:
Since you have the engine out, or will I would replace the timing chain and as many 40 year old gaskets and seals as possible. Beyond that, let your budget be your guide. If it were me, and I had about $1000 to play with I'd do the following...

Edelbrock Performer intake
Edelbrock 1406 or Holley 1850 carb
Comp XE260 "K kit" (comes with springs and timing set)
Fel-Pro complete gasket set
New freeze plugs
Engine Paint

Dual 2 1/4 exhaust from manifolds or basic 1 5/8 headers(optional). Headers can be added later.

The intake and possibly the carb can easily be had used to save some cash. Should be a great improvement over stock, get good mileage, and have great street manners.
Click to expand...

That is some good advice. I went ahead and replaced front and rear main seals. I also replaced the timing chain and I'm glad I did. The plastic sprocket had all kinds of cracks and was starting to loose teeth and the chain was real loose. I also had a few freeze plugs that were seeping so those will get replaced along with a fresh paint job. Performance mods are going to have to wait for now.

The engine had one spark plug extender on the number 7 cylinder. Not sure what that is about, maybe there was a problem fowling that plug. I'm going to remove it and re install plug with out it.

Bottom end should be good for the foreseeable future now. If I change intake or need a valve job that work can easily be done with the engine in the car later.

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, I'm banking them for letter upgrades. :D
 
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