Making power out of the 318

I really like your thinking I was planning on buying a new transmission not a used one and it would be a built trans anyway so maybe I could find one with the lower gears
998/999 have a lower 1st gear. and if you can rebuild an engine you can do a trans.

but I will most likely be switching over to a eight and three-quarter rear end later down the road after this one shreds
it will be sooner than you think! bank on that.

What if I use stock 318 heads and do a diy port job on them? Because I have those sitting in my garage. They’re the ones that came with the motor, but he also gave me those 360 heads. But if I was to stick with any of the heads, have to get completely redone because they have gunk and stuff like that so I would have to get new valves and all that stuff anyway but I just don’t know how much this machine work is going to cost I’m very new to the stuff. My dad hasn’t done this kind of stuff and 30+ years also
i'd probably go with the 360 heads in that they're likely to have larger valves and flow better than whatever 318 heads you have. unless the 318 heads are minty and don't need work. but, yes, port away. (more on heads later)

machine work has become very expensive. finding a competent machine shop these days is also difficult.

I like the idea of a magnum 360 in fact my dad‘s friend suggested that, but I just could not find any in my area let alone within 200 miles and I got a really good deal on this 318 so I would like to use it and most likely I’ll yank it and either stroke it later down the road or put a 360 in
where are you in CA? there are TONS of magnums in the yards and on c'list, etc.

okay, all that aside, here's what i would suggest. rebuild the bottom end with good slugs and aim for 9.5:1 compression. then, spend your money on heads. you *could* go magnum, that's probably the cheapest bang for the buck, but will require custom pushrods and hustling up all the bits and bobs. maybe you score a deal on some big valve 360 heads that don't need a billion dollars worth of work or somebody is unloading a set that got breathed on because they upgraded to something else. used alum. edelbrock heads show up in the classifieds here from time to time.

legit, you're probably going to spend 1/3 of your budget on heads.

so you've got 500 in pistons, 300 in rings & bearings, 200 in gaskets. then tack on 500 for cam, lifters, timing chain, pushrods. throw around another let's say 300 in misc argle-bargle of oil pump and pick up, maybe the correct oil pan, fuel pump, etc.

so you're 1800 into the bottom end, another 1K uptown, and you've got 200 to figure out: intake, carb, spark, ticky-tacky stuff like valve covers, air cleaner, oil filter adapter, thermostat and housing, pulleys, etc, etc, etc.

if you're working within such a tight budget, remember that everything is a compromise. decide where that compromise is going to happen.

also, keep in mind that besides the transmission you'll likely need to upgrade the cooling system at a minimum, figure out motor mounts, exhaust, minor electrical, as well as brakes and suspension