Comp cams xe268h for 318

If you can bear up to another long post.....just some brain-storming here.

Which heads are you planning to use? The reason I ask is your mention of higher compression pistons. That appeals more and more to me as possibly the lowest cost improvement as you:

• Can keep that cam and still achieve much improved low RPM torque. The engine low end RPM range is going to shift down and that is a better match for a stock TC, low rear gears, and smaller breathing heads. You get to keep the larger cam in case you ever switch to milled 360 heads.... food for thought there.
• Example: If you are still using the 675 type 318 heads, I'd look at the KB399 pistons and that cam. DCR ends up in the 7.5-7.7 range with the least expensive head gaskets (Felpro 8553PT). That is getting pretty good and a far cry above the low 6 range where things are heading now.
• It may be good enough that you can run fine with the stock TC and save that cost and effort, and will work much better with the present rear gear.
• The unhappy cost is the balance issue. But wait.... there may be an easy solution. The KB399 pistons weigh 40 grams less than stock 318 pistons (552 grams vs 592 grams for stock ones). However, there are some cheap piston pins that will bring up the total piston + pin weight back to the stock 318 levels of 753 grams. These cheap pins are stock 2 bbl 273 pins, which weigh a massive 220 grams. (I bet someone here has some they'll give away.) Take those and drill them out a bit on the inside to get to 200 grams even, and there you are, right where it needs to be. The drilling can be done on a drill press as the inside ID is not critical; you just need to not nick the surfaces when holding them.
• If you do the above, then let me know so we can work in more detail on weights. I have just taken a quick run through this info and would like to double-check. If you have the bottom end apart, and can borrow a precision gram scale, that would help to settle the final question I have.
• Here is some actual measured 318 piston weight data for background info: 273 & 318 Connecting rod weights

Of course, if the bores are too worn, and you don't have the money to re-bore it, then I guess just throw it together and run it. That is something we just don't have info on at this point, unless you posted it before. IMHO, it would be a waste to buy new pistons and not have them properly fit; the increased compression just would not happen.

Switching topics: Higher compression with will be better for fuel mileage than the present setup but still not great with the present cam. Considering fuel mileage, if you change cams, to something 2-3 steps smaller I bet you are going to more than pay for the cam change in < 5000 miles of driving. For example, if you go from 13 mpg to 15 mpg (and I think it would improve at least that much), then you save over $150 in 5000 miles. The price of a Lunati Voodoo 701 cam from Summit is $137, shipped. However, DCR will only go from 6 something like 6.1 up to 6.4, so not nearly as great an improvement for low RPM range operation as with the piston change.