Exactly how Mopar wanted it. Had everything on the 340 been available on the 318, it would have been too close a match. The 340 had to stay on top of the small blocks.
I don't know Rusty. I somewhat disagree. There is a HUGE gap between the 340 and 318. you take the Chev SB series over the years. Christ they had "a version" for just about every single HP LOL
I cannot even name "em all" anymore. Plus, the 340 was never produced in huge numbers comparitively