10 sec. 318?

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Map63Vette

Map63Vette

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So I'm looking at a project car that I would like to turn into a street legal drag car, and I was initially leaning toward a new hemi swap so I could make some good power with low weight, but the more I look the more I think I may be getting in over my pocketbook... The car I'm looking at now already has a 318 in it, and I know you can pretty much make anything go fast with enough time and money, so I was wondering what would it take to get a 67 Dart into the 10's with a 318 and a 4 speed? The hemi swap is looking to be around $6000+ if I'm lucky, but if I can take the 318 and make it do the same thing for less I would consider that as being a good second option.
 
Make sure the frame's tied up, suspension is set on kill, take all the extra weight you can out of it, then it's motor time. I'm no genius here but I do know that ten's is no easy task especially with a 318. I'd say the absolute limit for pump gas compression, some kind of worked aluminum head, forged internals, good intake and cam, some kind of HP douable pumper carb and maybe even a 175hp helper. . . just sayin, sprayin is easy.
 
Are you actually racing the car, or do you want something to cruise around town in? I'd think you'd have to do some considerable work to your 318 and your car to get it into that time range. Probably over that $6,000 mark you have pointed out....
 
please start with a 360...318s are cool, but it wouldnt be too street friendly...a 360 or even a 360 to 408 stroker can be built for the high cost of a 10 sec 318 engine...i think a stroker motor is the way to go...
 
Yeah, I figured it was going to be pretty difficult to do, more just curious since it would be nice to not have to mess with changing mounts and everything to get a new engine in and making sure it cleared everything. Ideally it would be a car I could drive to the strip and back since I don't have a trailer. Plus it's a lot more fun if you can show the car off around town and driving up to shows =P. I wouldn't necessarily call it a daily driver, but I would probably find every excuse I could to drive it. I was pretty set on the new hemi, but if I could do something to the 318 for the same price it would really probably be a lot easier since I could just pull the engine, mess with it, and put it right back in.
 
The work needed to get a 318 into the 10s will be far beyond the work needed for a 360 swap.

Getting a 318 into the 10s without power adders (nos, super charging, turbo) is serious business and serious money.
 
If you are ever going to take it down a track your going to need to make sure you have all the required saftey equiptment. You are going to need very steep gears and a very well set up suspension. I would say if your going to stay with the 318 block you might want to consider stroking it otherwise plan on turning some serious RPM. Just my .02 but you would enjoy driving it on the street alot more as a 12 second car.
 
318 is a good engine, easiest way would be to make her rev to the moon and force feed her some air.
 
Haha, looks like I'm pretty much out of luck one way or the other. If I'm going to do an engine swap I'm really leaning toward the new hemi for the lighter weight (so I can actually turn a corner with it in town) and still get plenty of power. I know I can probably build a 360 or something cheaper all day long, but I do kind of like the "different factor" of having a new hemi in an old car. Plus the fuel injection would be a nice bonus for something to drive around town. I would love to toss a blower on anything I do in the long run, but I would definately have to wait on it since there's no way I'll have the money any time soon. On the plus side the 318 is supposedly in good driving order aside for needing a power wash, so I can have some fun with it in the meantime.
 
Keep the 318 as a backup. Build something else.

416 stroker b-b-bang for buck baby.
 
DustingBlimps said:
Keep the 318 as a backup. Build something else.

416 stroker b-b-bang for buck baby.
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Yeah, we actually have a 94 Dakota with a little V6 in it that could use some help. I had thought about donating it to the truck, but didn't know how much work it would be to convert to the V8 and my brother isn't the most patient, so giving up the fuel injection would be an issue and I'm not sure how well the auto trans in it would work without the engine computer (don't know that it's stand alone or not).

I'd consider a 440 build again, but I hate to drop 700 pounds on the front end without some serious suspension upgrades. I'd go with an aluminum block 528 if I had the money and make it a real hemi =P.
 
The 318 can be built into a 10 second engine, but the cost and effort is hefty on the back end. Streetabilty/manors etc.... You'd have to gear it preety high and stall it really high, then lighten the car up a whole lot.

The V6 to 318 swap is preety easy. But, IIRC, there is a issue with the tranny. It will bolt up, but I think the issue is with the converter and the crank depth or something like that, I forget. I also want to go this route later with my V6 Dakota.

I love the idea of a F.I. HEMI swap into a older car. You have hit the head n the nail real good IMO with fuel injection/drivabily and ease of use with programner aids, it just keeps getting better and better.

Once you bolt on a hair dryer, you'll be barfing out 550 HP with a cam change and headers alone. There is a forced induction section here. SCDE stops in. They do turbos themselfs, which is another great route to think about.
 
No offense but you will spend more than 1/2 your $6K to get the car safe for the 10s, nevermind the engine... especially with a stick. There's no reason to keep the 318 for that plan.
 
the only way to get a 318 in the 10's for under 6,000, you will have to mount it to a go-cart.lol nah, go with a 360
 
340plot said:
the only way to get a 318 in the 10's for under 6,000, you will have to mount it to a go-cart.lol nah, go with a 360
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Lol, that is actually a little familiar to me, because for my senior year in my undergrad I did the FSAE project. Basically it's a mini F-1/Indy car. It's a hoot if you ever get to drive one, but I think I like straight lines more. I did see elsewhere on the forum where Mopar Magazine did an entire off the part shelf build of a 318 into a 400 horse engine with no mods, just basic machining, and then tossed a 100 shot of nitrous to it which would be pretty dang fun, but I think it would be way easier to start with a big horse motor so I have more room to grow.
 
stroked 340 said:
10's..not with a 6k budget..
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I agree...sorry, but 10’s are not going to happen with a $6000 budget...and the new hemi won’t even get close to the 10’s without a LOT of help, but the new hemi would give you the “wow” factor of having something different.
 
moper said:
No offense but you will spend more than 1/2 your $6K to get the car safe for the 10s, nevermind the engine
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Moper is absolutely right on this one,i have close to 3k in my cars suspension getting it to hook up on the track...
 
Yeah, I was more looking at the $6000 on engine alone. I know that I'm going to be pouring money into it for other stuff in the long haul... I just got the car today and it's going to kill me if I don't at least make it worthy of driving up to a parking lot car show, so I need to track down all the little trim bits and stuff that I really want. The main issue now is just getting the interior put back together. The dash is in good shape, but it needs carpet, seats, and a headliner pretty bad. I'm also thinking I may accept low 11's, the only reason I'm even shooting that low is because I have a buddy with a early 90's Fox body Mustang that I think ran low 12's or high 11's last time I saw it and I've got to beat that =P. Just waiting to call him up someday and meet him at the track, he doesn't know I have the car yet, so I figured it would be pretty fun to surprise him.
 
I wouldn' waste your time on a 318..get yourself a 360 and start with more cubes right off the bat..my stock stroke 360 runs 11's and cost way less the $6k to build..
 
If it's a "work in progress", I'd put a cam and headers on the 'teen and concentrate on the rest of the car. Chassis, tires, brakes, fuel system, rear, gearing, tranny, weight loss... Then worry about the engine. You can get a season or two of experience and debugging with an easy, no maintenance engine. Then build something stronger when the foundation's good. To build a safe 10.50s car from a basic stock non-performacne vehicle will cost upwards to $20K doing a lot of the work yourself, and assuming it needs no body work. A 12.90s A body costs about $6K starting with the same vehicle and with the same assumptions.
 
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