Boingk's Budget 318 Build

[boingk]

Hey all, I saw all the interest around budget builda with a bit of poke and thought I'd add mine to the list.

Its a 1975 318 block pulled from a police interceptor, allegedly. It was in poor condition when I got it with rusted sump and covers. I also found it was seized, so up on the stand she went for a teardown.

The block wasnt too bad inside, with reasonable bores and acceptable wear. The crank was good to reuse with a mild polish and the rods as well. The heads were crusty but can easily be refurbished and are undamaged.

The biggest issue was the seizure, caused by the rings locked to the bores. Most came out after a soaking with diesel but one took a full on assault with a 4ft cast iron riggers wrench. Needless to say the bites will need to go oversize to be reused, with me settling on +.030" for pistons.

More as it happens.

 

[omahamoparguy]

probably the last of the good 318's. Make sure you have a trustworthy machine shop. Preferably one that has experience with small block mopars.

 

[m880]

Find a set of 302 head castings,best none Magnum 318 heads.
Ryan at shady Dell was impressed at their low lift flow when ported. 1.88" intake valves and stock exh.valve.

 

[boingk]

Thanks gents, and unfortunately there will be Zero fancy parts on this old girl... down here in Australia we have much fewer options to choose from, with even bone stock run of the mill stiff starting to fetch decent dollars. I was luck to pick this block up for $250.

The plan is to throw some Sealed Power flat tops in her with new rings and bearings, and perhaps new lifters and camshaft depending on how the stocker is. I have a few cams lying around but some are probably a bit too much on the pointy end for this build.

The most exotic work will be to the heads themselves, with some mild amateur porting and perhaps a bit of decking to keep compression reasonable.

Overall I am trying to get her done complete from carb to sump for under $1200 (Australian dollarydoos).

 

[Abodybomber]

A good read,mate....
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/posts/1971194938/

 

[318willrun]

I'm watching.....

 

[MrJLR]

Subscribed!

Jeff

 

[boingk]

Cheers for the tipoff on 318willrun's build, Abodybomber! Very solid and right up my alley.

My downside dollarwise is the awful exchange rate (1AUD=USD0.76) and scarcity of local parts. I've ended up ordering a complete overhaul kit from Falcon Global on eBay:

Sealed Power flat tops,
Mahle rings,
King bearings,
Sealed power lifters & timing set,
Federal mogul gasket kit.

Total $590 posted. Add in the $250 for the block and we're at $840.

 

[Hosstyle]

She looks a little rusty lol, best of luck on the rebuild!

 

[boingk]

Yeah definitely more than a little rusty haha... valve covers and sump got thrown out they were so bad! Add $160 for those items and we're at $1000 neat.

The overhaul kit turned up today and first thing out I checked the gasket kit (yes its complete and contains *everything*) and the pistons.

The as-cast pistons seem fairly evenly weighted after I threw a few on the scales, I'll check them all before fitment to see how even they are.

Cheers - boingk

 

[boingk]

...but before the parts go in, the heads are getting ported.

This is the intake for the #3 cylinder, you can compare it to the unported one next to it which is a mirror image. I'm only doing very basic stuff like port-matching to the intake I have and removing any protrusions like the bumps you can see on the lower part of the port on the left. It should help this basic, budget rebuild breathe a bit easier.

 

[boingk]

...and the first head is done. The exhaust got more of a clean than an outright porting, with the 'speedbump' smoothed and reprofiled but not fully removed. The intakes have made do with only removing the upper protrusions (bottom of picture).

Stock for contrast:

Mild port match and reprofile:

Middle exhaust:

Outer exhaust:

Like I said, only a very basic job, but this is my first time doing anything to a cylinder head other than springs so I'm being deliberately very cautious.

 

[MrJLR]

Looking good!

Jeff

 

[moparmat2000]

Nice. Gonna do a quickie rebuild on my 318, just to drive the car, and eventually a full on rebuild for a 360 i have when funds become avail. Subscribed

 

[318willrun]

I like it when folks dive into heads ! Smooth the exhaust as close to a glass finish as you can.....

 

[68AusCUDA]

Hey boingk, wondered how this build is going?

 

[yellow rose]

OP...your corner radius is too large. You need to pull the corners in. Don't be afraid to blow through the valve cover bolt hole. You will when the radius is correct.

 

[MOPAROFFICIAL]

...and the first head is done. The exhaust got more of a clean than an outright porting, with the 'speedbump' smoothed and reprofiled but not fully removed. The intakes have made do with only removing the upper protrusions (bottom of picture).

Stock for contrast:

Mild port match and reprofile:

Middle exhaust:

Outer exhaust:

Like I said, only a very basic job, but this is my first time doing anything to a cylinder head other than springs so I'm being deliberately very cautious.

FWIW on the exhaust ports.. do not open the port windows up larger than stock, don't gasket match them.

 

[MOPAROFFICIAL]

Opening the intake port windows without doing any guide or bowl work will pretty much be in vain. Granted those are ugly, they aren't the cork or reason they flow what they do in current form.