Basic 318 Mods

My first posting in this thread addressed Dan's carb/intake question. But, let me say the very first thing I'd do to the 318. THE first:

1. Check to make sure the heat riser flap is opening in the exhaust manifold. More than once I've seen these freeze (rust) shut. Bad gas mileage and very poor performance is the results as well as burnt valves/seats if run too much like this.
2. And number 2 is to make sure the valves are sealing. I say this till I'm blue but I will say this again: Add all the 4 bbls and cams you want to an engine, but if the valves are leaky all over the place and the a few cylinders are around 90-100 psi, it's a waste of time. Good sealing heads is where it starts in my book.