building a mild Daily driver 318

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bigcasey123

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Hi i am new to this forum and i have a few questions about a 318 build i would like to do.

i would like to build a mild streetable engine around 275-315 hp. When i do this build i would be starting with a 100% stock 318 putting out around 230 hp. so id like to gain around 45-85 hp from the stock set up. I am fairly new to mopar engines so im not sure what i should upgrade first. i have some expirience with chevy 350s but a 318 is fairly different. i figured id start by rebuilding it with new rings bearings ect. but after that im not sure where to start and im not sure what the strong and weak points of the motor are.

I figured id get headers a 4bbl carb with an aluminum intake... the basic stuff. but after that i dont really know what to do next. Maybe a cam or ported heads or new heads??

do you think those basic upgrades and 1 or 2 bigger upgrades will get me to the hp goals i want?

Thanks for the feedback -casey
 
Heads heads and then heads.
 
There are so many ways to go about it that it is very hard to make basic recommendations.

Do a lot of research on here and web searches. There are some magazine builds that attack the mild/moderate 318 builds from different angles.

Basically you will probably want more compression, and upgrade the heads. Either by porting or replacing. Valve size upgrade may not be necessary for the low end of you scale, but may for the high end.

I had a decent running 318 with a cam, headers, change to later model "302" casting heads, 4 barrel intake and carb. Not sure on the HP(Guess: 220 at the wheels) since I never ran it at the strip or dyno and tore it down a while ago because of a crankshaft issue.

I am now rebuilding with higher compression and I am keeping the 302 heads(for now) but upgrading to 1.88 and 1.6 valves. I will put up a build thread when things are closer and will eventually have track times with the new combo ;)
 
Reworking old iron heads will likely come close to the cost of some decent aftermarket castings like RHS.
 
Dartboy52 said:
I am now rebuilding with higher compression and I am keeping the 302 heads(for now) but upgrading to 1.88 and 1.6 valves. I will put up a build thread when things are closer and will eventually have track times with the new combo ;)
Click to expand...

Sounds pretty sweet. id like to know how that build goes
 
i judt looked up the the heads online. it looks like the going price for the X heads is $1300. thats a little steep for me considering that will pretty much double the price of The build. im looking in the 400-650 range
 
If you just want to gain 50 - 80 horse, it's cheap and easy. Simply going to a 4bbl (my recommendation is Weiand Action plus with about a 600 cfm carb), add a cam roughly around a stock 340 (mopar performance sells the retro 340 cam), and dual exhaust (headers a bonus). For heads, I'd just have a valve job done on what you have, and open the bowl area (mildly) under the valve with a dremel. These mods listed would give ya the high side of what your looking for.
 
bigcasey123 said:
i judt looked up the the heads online. it looks like the going price for the X heads is $1300. thats a little steep for me considering that will pretty much double the price of The build. im looking in the 400-650 range
Click to expand...

To get 300 plus HP in a 318 you will need a good head. At least 1.88 valves, but 2.02 would work better. Maybe you should just stick to bolt ons like carb, intake and headers.
 
I might just have the heads ported and a valve job with over sized valves. it would be a happy medium between being a dog and being broke. although that is a ton of machine work and that alone could end up at a little under a grand. i definatly wont get it done for 400-650 range
 
But if your goal is 275 hp start with the recommendations by "318willrun", if you pull the heads get some thin head gaskets to help. Should get you in the ballpark
 
i think ill do that.

intake
carb
headers w/ dual exhaust
cam
and some portting /valve job
and then the thin gaskets

everything seems practical and good for a daily driver. From what little i do know i do feel that this will be in the 275+ ballpark. plus (most importantly) i feel like it will be fun to put it in my dart.
 
Just add horses. headers and duals is a for sure 20, 4bbl should be 20, 340 cam should be 20, mild home porting should be 10, and there is 70 horses ya wanted. :)
 
Stock long block with comp xe262h cam 4bbl and headers is said to make 282 hp add some compression (9:1 or so) add another 10-15 hp, port heads another 15-30 hp.
 
If you get a set of 10.5 compression 318 pistons, then put on a set of 340 or 360 heads, then you will be down to 9.2 because of the larger combustion chambers on the 340/360 heads, then you can get 1.88" or 2.02" intake valves and then go with the 1.60" exhaust valves (stock 318's have 1.70" intake and 1.50" exhaust valves)

If you just throw a set of 340/360 heads on a 318 without changing the pistons, you will be down near 7.5:1 compression.


Look into Mancini Racing refresh kits to start with:

http://www.manciniracing.com/enrebkit.html

***********************************************

Kit A is a basic refresh kit; $200 for cast rings and kit B with moly rings for $205) with:

Sealed Power Rod bearings

-Main bearings

-Gasket Set

-Rings (Cast)


http://www.manciniracing.com/sealedpowerkit.html

*****************************************************

Or Kit C for $400 you get:

-Rod bearings

-Main bearings

-Cam Bearings

-Freeze Plugs

-Melling Oil Pump

-Felpro Gasket Set

- Rings (Moly)

-Pistons (Cast)


http://www.manciniracing.com/sealpowkitc.html


You can choose kits in Sealed Power or Michigan Engine components.

****************************************************

I would also recommend pitching the original 318 timing chain and going with the double roller chain (those single row chains are crap and stretch to easy and can jump time). Here's one that I've run for years and is one step above the stock 340 chain. :

http://www.manciniracing.com/edelbrock4.html
 
I added a (Ancient Edelbrock) LD4B, 600 AFB, Hooker headers into a Jegs 2-1/2 exhaust kit and a Crane Cam 216/228-,454/,480/112. A dead stock 904 trans and 3.21 posh with stock tires. All this on a very low compression 318 (mic'd lower than 8.0-1) and its stock heads.

First run OOTB & on the verge of over heating was a 15.14 @ 89. 18 mpg Hwy.

Considering a 180lbs. driver and a half tank of gas on a listed 3K plus car, it wasn't to bad for bolt on's and a cam. A little more compression would have helped a little. Porting the heads with a larger set of valves would have been great. Also considering the valves are 1.78/1.50 in size, it could afford to breath better through some larger diameter valves.

The next cam size up, would prove to be a nice help in your goals.
If you can do your own heads, an inexpensive route would be used 360 valves (1.88/1.60) and some bowl work/gasket matching. Shaving down the pushrod pinch in then take ports.
That would save a ton of money. Though not as much (potential) HP.
 
If you get the compression,heads,and cam sorted first, it will pull hard, off-the-line,even with a 2bbl and single exhaust.
Heads,compression,and cam. Get these sorted and matched, and you will have a platform to work with.These three are intimately related.
With no compression, and bolt-ons only, you will be band-aiding it with gears and converter, and wondering why the thing is so hard on gas. Then you will end up driving it on weekends only.
If it costs too much,today, delay the start up until the money is there.

It is no fun driving around in a car that has a really soft bottom-end, after throwing a bunch of money at it, and expecting tire smoke.
If you leave the compression in the basement, and over-cam it, all the bolt-ons in the world ( except super charging), won't get it off the line in a hurry.
IMHO most streeters should be thinking of pumping up the torque from idle to 3000, instead of dreaming of horsepower at 5500.To get to the horsepower at 5500, you still have to go through idle to 5499 first! If the torque is sacrificed down low, the getting there will be disappointingly slow.And guess what; 5500 with 2.94s and a 2.45 low makes 60mph. So long before you get to 5500 the performance was lost.
I would be dreaming of 400 ftlbs at 2400, and don't care how much horsepower I don't have.
I realize that's not gonna happen on this budget, but I said "dreaming"
 
I have a daily driver and went with the intake, a 650 Holley, headers, dual exhaust and the xe262 Competition Cam. This is definitely within your budget. "318willrun" and "273" have made good suggestions. The jury is out on the 650 carb, a 600 may have been a better choice. Regardless I'm happy.
 
Thanks for the feedback.
i feel like this goal is definatly in reach

I know this is a dumb question but how long will the stock 7 1/4 rear end hold up

and what is the best bang for my buck with rear ends. doesnt have to be mopar just something thatll hold up with 300ish hp and requires little custom work to fit in
 
bigcasey123 said:
I know this is a dumb question but how long will the stock 7 1/4 rear end hold up

and what is the best bang for my buck with rear ends. doesnt have to be mopar just something thatll hold up with 300ish hp and requires little custom work to fit in
Click to expand...

Best bet is an 8 1/4 from another A body. The 7 1/4 is weak as glass and you'll destroy it if you actually plan on hot rodding the V8 at all. Some have had luck with them but I would just search for an 8 1/4. If you get an A body 8 1/4 it'll bolt right in, will have a good selection of gear ratios, and Jeep Cherokee disk brakes are a bolt on. You can also get the 8 1/4 with the bigger 5x4.5 bolt pattern. It's a no brainer! The 8 1/4 in my Dart has lived through a couple hundred thousand miles behind a 225, a year behind a 318, and 9 months behind a 340, it doesn't make any noise either. I'm not exactly easy on it but I sure don't baby it!

Also, there are no dumb questions when starting out! Better to ask than to blow something up and be stranded on the side of the road.

Now as for the 318.. I don't know exactly how much power mine was making but it was a good running engine and I daily drove it in the summer. I started with a complete low mile '68 engine and didn't go nuts with it. It got new rings and bearings, a new timing chain (Go double roller or true roller, the stock chain is no bueno..), new oil pump, etc. I used a Comp 268H cam and Comp 901-16 springs. Edelbrock Performer intake and a 600 CFM Edelbrock 1405 carb. Hooker headers and a 3" exhaust with electric cutouts, an H pipe, and Flowmaster 40's dumped before the axle. It also had a 1/2" carb spacer. It wasn't a quarter mile shredding beast but it was a huge step up from the slant!

I think your goal is very obtainable. 318's are great little reliable engines and with a few bolt ons they run just fine. Just be conservative with your cam choice because you don't have a ton of compression to work with. There's lots of good info in this thread and lots of knowledgeable people on the forum. Keep an eye out on the for sale forums here too, you never know what deals you'll come across. I've got under a grand in my 318 and it outran my friend's 350. :burnout:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U48XNnMLgZw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U48XNnMLgZw[/ame]
 
i know the mopar a body rear ends are hard to find
any suggestion on where to find one for a decent price
like $500-$700 probably used
or new but i expect that theyll cost more than that
 
Grant nailed that. An 8-1/4 is the inexpensive unit to use. It is very popular today. It is still in production today. Parts are cheap, over the counter available and newer modern parts can be swapped onto an older unit, like a Duster that a 8-1/4 came stock on.

The nose of the rear is slightly longer. All the tears do this as they go up in size. You will need to shorten the driveshaft. The other thing is you will have to ether get with the rear or source out are the shock mounting plates that go under the spring and the "U" bolts that attach the rear to the springs and shock plates under the springs are 3 inches for the axle tube. The 7-1/4 is 2-1/2 inches. All other axle tubes are 3 inches.

Sure grip units (AKA Posi for the GM guys) or spools and the ring gears are also inexpensive.
Many gear ratios exist for this rear. It's strength is very good.

You can find them here on the forum or old junk yards for approx. 2-250 bucks
 
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