Edelbrock Heads for 318

No need to notch bores with 2.02's on a 318. With stock 318 pistons and aluminum heads compression will be an issue. Will it run OK? sure. Will a compression boost wake it up? Oh yeah! Consider a set of KB167 pistons for a nice compression boost. What ever happened to MP's el cheapo 9.0:1 cast flat tops? Bottom line, and probably why Edelbrock discourages the swap is lack of compression in a 318.

Aluminum heads due to their greater themrmal conductivity will "pull" a bit of energy out of the chamber. The easy fix for this is more energy through a compression increase. Aluminum heads also run a bit cooler so compression can be raised to slightly higher levels than iron heads. 10:1 on pump gas is reasonable with aluminum heads and 11:1 isnt out of the question depending on cam selection. No, you wont get 11:1 with stock 318 pistons, dont even try. All else being equal, aluminum head engines like about a full point more compression. Given your proposed combo a set of 302's or Magnums would probably provide better bang for the buck.