bye slant six, hello 318

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1974duster

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hey guy i plan on swapping out my slant six with a 318 small block and the trans 904 what i need to know is what am i going to need i would like to get it in this summer i have a k member for the swap
 
Having the correct K-member is good although adapter mount kits can be had. Depending on motor mount type you may still need them (dunno).
Throttle cable, kick down linkage, speedo gear, radiater to water pump connections, oil pan type, right angle oil filter adapter, are just some of the hurdles you may need to jump. Depends on where the V8 comes from.
 
I am doing the same thing except all my hot rod buddies are sayign i could be more happy with a six cylinder hopped up instead but I dont know. Good luck with your 318 man : )
 
yeah i am the same way i don't know either but i am going for it if i don't like it i could always go back to six and find other car to put the 318 in
 
Switching out a good slant for a stock 318 really ain't worth it. Less mpg and not much more power, plus it is a bigger pain in the *** to work on.

Cut the head on the 6 about .100 and put at least a 2bbl on it, you will be quite close to a 318, put a cam in it and you can easily be more powerful then a stock 318.

Now swapping the 6 for a 360 could be worth it. Honestly if I was going through all the trouble to swap a V8 it would probably be a big block, or a 340/360 as an absolute minimum.

Just my thoughts.

TopHat
 
tophat said:
Switching out a good slant for a stock 318 really ain't worth it. Less mpg and not much more power, plus it is a bigger pain in the *** to work on.

Cut the head on the 6 about .100 and put at least a 2bbl on it, you will be quite close to a 318, put a cam in it and you can easily be more powerful then a stock 318.

Now swapping the 6 for a 360 could be worth it. Honestly if I was going through all the trouble to swap a V8 it would probably be a big block, or a 340/360 as an absolute minimum.

Just my thoughts.

TopHat
Click to expand...

totally agree!

though there is a bit of a price difference with a big block as aposed to a 360 instalation.

318's arn't worth it. No offence

It depends what you are wanting out of the car. If it is going to be a daily driver, or driven alot, and you are worried about gas ...then stick with the /6. But if you are looking for horse power, then why put in a little 318?

there is no missplacement for displacement!

either stick with a /6,or sell the 318 and get a 360. only a little bit more in value, but can be had for $300. Your going to have to buy extra "stuff" to put in the 318 anyways, why not send a little more on a better engine?..If you are looking for horses.

Phil

Phil
 
you can get a 360 for $300? what kind of shape would it be in?
 
I have bought 2 in the last year that were still in the vehicle, and I could see them running. Granted both were stock...but so would the 318 out of the 1973

One I bough out of a 1978 cordoba
the other out of a 1970 dodge 1 ton

You just have to look. I wouldn't sell them for under $600 cause I'm mean ;)

but any time I have said to myself...hmm, I think I should get another 360 engine...two or three weeks later I will have one for $300. You can buy one in a day for $500...not hard to find. they are everywhere...vans, trucks, cordobas, wagons. Granted that most came with a 318, but most people that are selling those rusted out heaps, just want it gone, so they will take alomost anything


If you look, you can find beater trucks or cars for $500 that run. just buy one and take the engine out. or ask if they want to sell the engine out of it. Thats how I got both of mine. One seller pulled it themself, the other gave me the hole truck for $300.

Phil
 
so you guys are telling my that i had my friend rebuild the 318 for nothing what would i sell the 318 for i have put about 600 in to i have the trans and the k member and i have upper and lower control arms and disc brake form the dart i could sell it all together for 1000 i guess
 
1974duster said:
so you guys are telling my that i had my friend rebuild the 318 for nothing what would i sell the 318 for i have put about 600 in to i have the trans and the k member and i have upper and lower control arms and disc brake form the dart i could sell it all together for 1000 i guess
Click to expand...

All of us are really just saying our opinion on the matter. It just depends on what you want the car for...driver....or power?

if power...then be patient, drive it with the /6 and then sell the 318, and buy parts as you see them for great deals.

if you want a driver, then just keep the 318 and put it in.

nomatter what you do....just sell the engine. don't sell the discs and K member

I forget what the tranny is out of...but sell it if it isn't an A body cause you'l have to shorten the drive shaft otherwise...Forgive me if this has already been talked about. soo many posts, I start to get coss eyed

Phil
 
I attatched the link above.

PS you might want to change the Torsion bars. you can use the /6 ones if you really want to. Did T bars come with the K member?
 
i'm swapping in a 318 into my car sometime.. its fuel injected 318 magnum and 46rh tranny from a 1992 dakota.. leaving the /6 in til i do some work on the transmission and 318.. torque converter, shift kit, and camshaft..


and a 225 cubic inch engine is pretty much 120 hp less than a 318.. if you build up the /6 you can also build up the 318... first thing is decide if you want to use the 318, thats the kicker. if your just wanting something fun to drive that will get decent gas mileage go for the 318, heck you can get good mileage out of a 318.. or go to a 360, more cubes=more power, how far do you want to go is the question

a 300-350 hp everyday driver can be had easy with a 318..

i know slant 6's are good and fun engines,but anyone tells you a slant can be made to outperform a v8 is not exactly stating the truth..

they will say you can mill the head and cam and such, but remember you can do that with a v8 also, yes slants are cool when they are hopped up and they can be made to scream, but so can v8's.. there is no replacement for displacement... you can stroke that 318 to a 390 or stroke a 360 to a 410..so many options..

I'm making a everyday driver, so i'm using the fuel injected 318 and overdrive tranny.. unless i decide i like the slant :).. i still need to put my rearend in and get the front brake kit on before i can drive it much...

but i've pretty much already made up my mind.

just my thought
 
kydart said:
i'm swapping in a 318 into my car sometime.. its fuel injected 318 magnum and 46rh tranny from a 1992 dakota..
Click to expand...

Can't remember but is that 92 318 a throttle body or Multi-port engine. Would like to do the same swap myself sometime.
 
You didn't waste your money working on the 318 - just put it in, you already are into it for 6 bills. hopefully some of that money went towards a cam and some other basic build up items. It may take you more time to find a 360 than you think depending on where you live - just be patient - drop the 318 in - you can swap up for cubes later.
 
Having had a hopped up \6 in my 68 Barracuda for 5 years and 30k miles it is going to take a lot more work on a \6 than a cam and 2bbl to get to the same power level as a 318.

My \6 had the head shaved 0.060 to raise the compression, an Offy 4bbl intake, a 390 cfm 4bbl, 6 into 2 headers, dual exhaust and a Comp 252S cam. It was getting close to a 318 but I would have had to go bigger on the valves and do some porting to match or exceed a 318.

Also, you won't be giving up much in the way of gas mileage either. The setup I described above got better mileage than the stock engine with a 1 bbl. I got 22-23 mpg on the hiway and 19-20 around town. I have 360 now that makes close to 400 HP and it get 17-18 mpg around town and 21-22 on the hiway, this is with the same A833OD tranny and 3.55 gears.

If you have the 318 and tranny go for the swap. But before doing the swap if your car still has 9" drum brakes and a 7.25" rear axle I would upgrade those before thinking about the engine swap.
 
My '64 Valiant still has the Stock Sure Grip 7.25, and the wimpy 9 inch brakes,
from the factory, even though it came with a 273, LOL.

Stopping at speed is not a lotta fun, but,
its sure fun to drive. :)

Lee/caveman

If you have the 318 and tranny go for the swap. But before doing the swap if your car still has 9" drum brakes and a 7.25" rear axle I would upgrade those before thinking about the engine swap.
Click to expand...

dgc333 said:
Having had a hopped up \6 in my 68 Barracuda for 5 years and 30k miles it is going to take a lot more work on a \6 than a cam and 2bbl to get to the same power level as a 318.

My \6 had the head shaved 0.060 to raise the compression, an Offy 4bbl intake, a 390 cfm 4bbl, 6 into 2 headers, dual exhaust and a Comp 252S cam. It was getting close to a 318 but I would have had to go bigger on the valves and do some porting to match or exceed a 318.

Also, you won't be giving up much in the way of gas mileage either. The setup I described above got better mileage than the stock engine with a 1 bbl. I got 22-23 mpg on the hiway and 19-20 around town. I have 360 now that makes close to 400 HP and it get 17-18 mpg around town and 21-22 on the hiway, this is with the same A833OD tranny and 3.55 gears.

If you have the 318 and tranny go for the swap. But before doing the swap if your car still has 9" drum brakes and a 7.25" rear axle I would upgrade those before thinking about the engine swap.
Click to expand...
 
No disrespect to the 318 (had a nice teen in my 70 Dart) but I never understood why anyone would go from a slant to a 318. After all the work necessary why not go for the 360? Same exact swap,more power.:thumbup:
 
The question of a 318 or 360 sometimes comes down to what presents itself.

My 66 got a bored 318 - why ? because it was given to me free, it had already been run for a while and was rebuilt - I checked it out carefully, everything was in spec and so I decided to freshen it up and use it.

My sons car will get another 318 when we pull his motor - why ? We got a perfectly good 318 for free that needs nothing but bearings and rings, we checked all the measurements on it too.

If I was given a 360 under the same circumstances I'd use it, just hasn't happened to me yet, guess I'm lucky or cursed with 318's ! LOL
 
the good thing is i have 8 1/4 rear on the car right now i have trans that went with the 318 :rock: what i want to do before i get the engine is is to rebuild the front end and upgrade the suspension also get the trans rebuild so i don't have to worry about it. i was wondering if a trans cooler would be good idea, i also was think about putting in oil cooler too but i think that would be little over kill but if it help it is good in my book
 
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