building a mild Daily driver 318
I know this is a dumb question but how long will the stock 7 1/4 rear end hold up
and what is the best bang for my buck with rear ends. doesnt have to be mopar just something thatll hold up with 300ish hp and requires little custom work to fit in
Best bet is an 8 1/4 from another A body. The 7 1/4 is weak as glass and you'll destroy it if you actually plan on hot rodding the V8 at all. Some have had luck with them but I would just search for an 8 1/4. If you get an A body 8 1/4 it'll bolt right in, will have a good selection of gear ratios, and Jeep Cherokee disk brakes are a bolt on. You can also get the 8 1/4 with the bigger 5x4.5 bolt pattern. It's a no brainer! The 8 1/4 in my Dart has lived through a couple hundred thousand miles behind a 225, a year behind a 318, and 9 months behind a 340, it doesn't make any noise either. I'm not exactly easy on it but I sure don't baby it!
Also, there are no dumb questions when starting out! Better to ask than to blow something up and be stranded on the side of the road.
Now as for the 318.. I don't know exactly how much power mine was making but it was a good running engine and I daily drove it in the summer. I started with a complete low mile '68 engine and didn't go nuts with it. It got new rings and bearings, a new timing chain (Go double roller or true roller, the stock chain is no bueno..), new oil pump, etc. I used a Comp 268H cam and Comp 901-16 springs. Edelbrock Performer intake and a 600 CFM Edelbrock 1405 carb. Hooker headers and a 3" exhaust with electric cutouts, an H pipe, and Flowmaster 40's dumped before the axle. It also had a 1/2" carb spacer. It wasn't a quarter mile shredding beast but it was a huge step up from the slant!
I think your goal is very obtainable. 318's are great little reliable engines and with a few bolt ons they run just fine. Just be conservative with your cam choice because you don't have a ton of compression to work with. There's lots of good info in this thread and lots of knowledgeable people on the forum. Keep an eye out on the for sale forums here too, you never know what deals you'll come across. I've got under a grand in my 318 and it outran my friend's 350. :burnout:
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