Best bolt ons for a small block

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Dan the man

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I'm hoping to check out a car after Thanksgiving. Supposedly it has a recent rebuilt 318, it has a 2 barrel carburetor and dual exhaust. If it's what I'm told it is it would be awesome, what would be easy bolt on modifications? I plan on keeping it simple for now.
 
What year 318 and what car? I slapped a stock 340 intake, carb, exhaust manifolds, MP electronic ignition 3:23 gears and dual exhaust on a 70 Dart 318 and it really sounded good and helped.
 
Dan the man said:
What would be a good ratio? Is a Holley street warrior carburetor a good choice? I think it's a 625cfm
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i believe i run a 3.23 in my duster
it has enough up and go and it still allows me to cruise in the highway, 75 MPH at 2800 RPM

that gear is just a ballpark, you can go taller and get off the line faster, but it will lower your top speed ( by that i mean, you might run 70 at 2800 RPM if you go with 3.55s)

i have no experience with the street warrior, but i run a 800 holley (well, a holley style) on my 408 and i really like it

i think carburators are open to personal preference
 
66340SEDAN said:
What year 318 and what car? I slapped a stock 340 intake, carb, exhaust manifolds, MP electronic ignition 3:23 gears and dual exhaust on a 70 Dart 318 and it really sounded good and helped.
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1972 scamp, as far as I know it's the original engine
 
Dan the man said:
I'm hoping to check out a car after Thanksgiving. Supposedly it has a recent rebuilt 318, it has a 2 barrel carburetor and dual exhaust. If it's what I'm told it is it would be awesome, what would be easy bolt on modifications? I plan on keeping it simple for now.
Click to expand...
Depending on how the 318 was rebuilt, as in what pistons and heads as well as the camshaft used or even what type of dual exhaust it has, even if it was dead stock, IMO, the best engine parts to bolt on are;

1; 4bbl. intake, carb & air cleaner….
This is largely your choice in what your bolting on.
Be it a OEM iron intake and TQ or a Holley or Edelbrock RPM intake and carb, this combo is a nice addition for power and mileage if you take the time to tune it well.

2; Headers into a 2-1/2 exhaust
The standard headers (which I really dislike) and a Summit or Jegs exhaust kit is a hard combo to beat for up to 450 hp. It also works great with dead stock engines.

3; Upgraded ignition; in the following order…
Easy - MP a chrome box or a excellent knock off like the Revenator, FBO, etc… or a MSD or equivalent which lays off nice on cruise with the multi spark which translates to better mileage. Open the plug gap to .50-.55.

IMO, it’s super hard to beat the OE distributor once recurved for your car. An aftermarket unit IMO should be similar to the OEM in style and components.

For the street or the moderate strip use, this is a great combo that doesn’t break the bank and performs awesome.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Depending on how the 318 was rebuilt, as in what pistons and heads as well as the camshaft used or even what type of dual exhaust it has, even if it was dead stock, IMO, the best engine parts to bolt on are;

1; 4bbl. intake, carb & air cleaner….
This is largely your choice in what your bolting on.
Be it a OEM iron intake and TQ or a Holley or Edelbrock RPM intake and carb, this combo is a nice addition for power and mileage if you take the time to tune it well.

2; Headers into a 2-1/2 exhaust
The standard headers (which I really dislike) and a Summit or Jegs exhaust kit is a hard combo to beat for up to 450 hp. It also works great with dead stock engines.

3; Upgraded ignition; in the following order…
Easy - MP a chrome box or a excellent knock off like the Revenator, FBO, etc… or a MSD or equivalent which lays off nice on cruise with the multi spark which translates to better mileage. Open the plug gap to .50-.55.

IMO, it’s super hard to beat the OE distributor once recurved for your car. An aftermarket unit IMO should be similar to the OEM in style and components.

For the street or the moderate strip use, this is a great combo that doesn’t break the bank and performs awesome.
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I'm thinking that it was rebuilt to factory stock,
 
Its really hard to say. Can you find out anything about the rebuild?

My advice is, if you get the car is learn about it, drive it, and decide where you want to go with it.
 
dano said:
Its really hard to say. Can you find out anything about the rebuild?

My advice is, if you get the car is learn about it, drive it, and decide where you want to go with it.
Click to expand...
I'm going to ask questions about the rebuild and find out what was done to it. Like you said, I'm going to drive it awhile and see what performance improvements I want to do
 
1.) Put a decent curve in the distributor, with initial timing around 10-15*BTDC- see what the engine likes. All in around 3500 seems like the rule of thumb, stock cam may like a little less.
Good wires and brass contacts on the cap and rotor.
2.) Ignition module, like Rumblefish said.
3.) Intake and carb. Eddy Performer and carb flavor of your choice- 600-650 cfm is all you'll need and still leaves room for future mods. Factory 4 bbl. setups work nicely, too.
And one other that some here may not like because it's not "racey" - a stock 360 2bbl. manifold and carb. People give them away. It uses a larger 2 bbl, and 383/400 2bbls bolt right on for an additional cfm boost. All factory linkages and choke, no piecing stuff together. One of the best 'teeners I ever had ran this combo, a buddy even ran it on his dirt tracker years back...
4.) Exhaust is last, since you already have duals- but depending on size and whether it was run off headers or the stock manifolds, there could be some room for improvement...
5?) Possibly rocker arms (and most likely pushrods), if you can find a set of 1.6s for a decent price. It will give your existing cam a bit more lift without having to replace it.
Anything else (cam, etc.) would go beyond your basic bolt on request and necessitate breaking the engine open, which I assume you want to avoid for now.
 
@badlilred79

img_20210718_194208670-jpg.jpg
 
Weiand 8022 stealth intake. It's a copy of the unobtainable edelbrock LD4B intake. Has the smaller 318 runners. Plus an Edelbrock 600 4 barrel carb. Stock fuel pump and stock 5/16 fuel lines will be fine for upgrades. Those size lines and fuel pump are the same on a 340.
 
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On my '71 318, I started with electronic ignition (Mopar Performance kit from ManciniRacing), then added 2 1/4" dual exhaust (factory manifolds & FlowMaster 40s), then added an Edelbrock 1406 on top of an LD4B intake manifold (with Lokar "kickdown" and throttle cables). The car has the factory installed A904 automatic transmission & 741 case 8 3/4" rear-end with 3.23:1 sure-grip.
 
I like doing all the changes at once including the cam.
BAMM!!!

After the engine mods, a converter and gear ratio change are the bomb! Get some bigger and stickier tires!
 
4bbl intake. Aftermarket alum if you can afford it. Edel 650 AVS2 carb, it has annular boosters. Use the Holley as a doorstop...
 
Dan the man said:
I plan on keeping it simple for now.
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If it’s still running points, swap in a performance curved electronic ignition. Find the ideal timing vs. just setting by the book. Ensure the existing 2-barrel is dialed in, meaning a/f ratio is where it should be, not too lean, and that the accelerator pump shot is properly adjusted. Then swap in a 3.55 gear (at a minimum or a 3.91) And if the trans is in good condition install a Trango TF1 or TF2 shift kit in it. Install better or best flowing mufflers depending on what’s currently on it. Dynomax are a good choice.
 
Bewy said:
4bbl intake. Aftermarket alum if you can afford it. Edel 650 AVS2 carb, it has annular boosters. Use the Holley as a doorstop...
Click to expand...
(LIKE!)
@Dan the man
Keep your eyes out in the for sale ad section and eBay, FB Market place etc… you’ll find an intake inexpensively. The Edelbrock Performer is an equal to the factory iron intake. I like the Carter carb vote. Jet it, set it, forget it. Your done. On low level HP builds, it’ll make the same power as the Holley. It has plenty of cfm @ 650.
 
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