1970 Dodge Dart 318 upgrades
Several have said this and I have a 318 in my Coronet and am currently building one for a Duster. I have spent hours with the Performance Trends program on the 318 and have come to a few conclusions based on how I drive and what I want out of the motor. The first thing is how do you plan on driving this? My Coronet is a cruiser with high gears for the road. My opinion today is similar to a previous post.... step 1 is get the compression up to what the stock first years of the LA 318 were, around 9.2:1. If this is a cruiser and you never take it above 3000-4000 RPM (and then only on a rare occasion) I don't think the cam is worth the effort. You won't get much (if any) out of it in the less than 3000 RPM range with a cam. You WILL get a LOT more out of it down low with compression. My next 318 (will likely pull the Coronets engine someday) the first thing will be a 390 stroker kit. That is the only way to really make much difference in the <3000 RPM range on the 318.