318 head porting for the average joe

Torqueflite said
My point wasn't about dyno or ET times for the sake of racing or performance. Dyno and ET don't mean racing; they are scientific, mathematical methods to measure what part combinations/tuning do to an engine/car. I don't have a dyno, so when I make changes to components or tuning and want to more accurately gauge results, I have a stretch of road out in the boonies marked off at 60 ft., 1/8 mile, and 1/4 mile, etc. to give me different ETs. Atmospheric and road conditions will obviously impact that ET some, but it's a far better gauge than seat of the pants speculation and cheaper than paying for hundreds of dyno runs. When strangers on a public forum make claims about how changing parts leads to gains, if they don't have some form of scientific measurement as baselines of comparison, even if crude like my marked off road, it is conjecture/opinion. I examine and research it as such in an attempt to back it up with articles/publications/threads that in fact include scientific measurements before I jump on board. Just as I have not supplied scientific data to back up my claim that the OP's 360 combo on a 318 will harm it more than benefit it (I've never done such a swap because the scientific evidence I have found says it's a bad idea), I would expect others to look for articles about building 318s and about putting 360 parts on a 318 before trusting my advice.

Actually you are wrong on a few points. And I seriously hesitate to give my opinion because I don't like to get involved with this never ending debate with people who have not done something. First the OP wanted to swap 302, the last 3 casting numbers, heads he had done and setting on the shelf. Sorry, MOPAROFFICIAL for adding to the clutter of a nice informative thread. 302 heads are late 318 heads with a smaller combustion chamber, similar to early 273 heads. Without porting and chamber relieving, they flow the same as the original heads volaredon had on his low mileage Fury. The only thing he would be gaining is a slightly higher compression ratio. I'm not sure I would do the swap, all things considered. Once I'd get into it, lots of things would change. 360 heads on a 318 is a standard performance upgrade. If you do it right it is a big performance upgrade. I did more than I can remember, and even swapped them onto the 273 in my 64 Barracuda. A whole level higher in performance. Need numbers, not getting them from me, I was poor, no money for a Dyno and it was my daily driver. Same thing as swapping 351 Windsor heads on 289's and 302's. Same thing as swapping fuely heads on a SBC. Want to run on the street in the middle of nowhere, I'd give you a run, and beat most guys, and surprise the rest. It is the package and quality of the machine work. I didn't research it, I had friends that raced Stock Class and Super Stock Class, back when you could not touch the stock head castings. We got parts and just tried things constantly. Engines, heads, transmissions, rears, brakes, suspensions, what a blast!