Crazy idea for 318

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gipperco

gipperco

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Back in 2004 Mopar Muscle did an article about building a 400 HP 318. I have a notion of doing it. I have a certain goal in mind and it is to be competitive and beat my Dad's 74 Duster that has a 408 in it that ran it's best time of 11:26 last week. I have a 74 Dart Swinger. Mine is a lot lighter than his so I have that advantage. Both of these cars are strip only cars so I don't need to worry about street drivability. It needs to be NA, no juice or turbo; just straight brawn. The article suggests items for making it street-able such as a mild cam and intake. I have no need for that.

My question is does anyone have an idea of what I can do to make this happen for a strip only car? Has anyone out there ever done this or am I dreaming a pipe dream? You maybe asking why not go with a 360 and just out build him. Well, I thought about that too, but this way I can say well Dad, my little 318 just smoked your 408. I told you I could do it. That is way better then out building what he has. His was a crate motor that he bought complete, a plug and play motor if you will. Self gratification and the I told you so factor is what I am looking for here.

Thanks for you time. I look forward to the bee hive of responses that I anticipate from this article.
 
Yes, that is a little crazy... He is allready running 11.20s so to be faster you need to go 10.90 or 11 teens.. with 318 cubic inches, it can be done, but I dont think 400 hp is gonna do it. You will be making less torque as well, with your little motor..also, unless the car is gutted, a 74 swinger, aint so light weight......
 
Starting with the car itself, you'll need to reduce the weight considerably. Shoot for a weight @ or under 2800 and get the car to a 50/50 weight split at worst. More weight on the rear is preferred.

Move the springs (S/S or Cal-Tracs) into the frame for the widest tire possible. The 8-3/4 should house 5.13 gears. The driveshaft should be as light as possible. The K-frame should be lightened as much as possible or replaced with a tube K-frame. Fiberglass components should be used as well as lexan replacing the glass. Gutted interior.
http://www.hotrod.com/howto/113_0310_weight_reduction/viewall.html

On the engine, only a full race machining working over block on every edge will do. Oil pump and passages need mods.
I would look for a 11-1 min. compression ratio. Mopars .590 mechanical cam. A set of very well ported Brodix heads. 1-7/8 headers. An 850 carb up top a single plane intake.
 
Ported W2 heads and a .600+" roller cam spinning high RPM. An 11.00 ET @ 3,000lbs calculates to around 450+ at the wheels including a % for an approximate 10-20% driveline frictional loss. I think your heads need to be able to flow some air, like 275 cfm + and the exhaust needs like 190 cfm +. Flow #s don't win races but OOTB heads don't either. Whoever ports the heads can select a cam for you. High RPM dictates a stout bottom end and oiling system that's up to the task. Don't forget the fuel system too. It can be done with a 318 but it ain't gonna be a budget/practical/everyday build.

Or maybe see if this guy still has this engine for sale.

Chassis wise you need gears (4.30 +). If you have an automatic you will probably need a custom converter matched to your combo. Use a 904 with a low gear set. Caltracs seem to work for stock bodied cars that go into the 8s. Get the weight distribution good too. Car needs to be 3,000 lbs or lighter with a cage and frame connectors and you should be able to get there. '74 darts are pretty heavy though with the 5mph bumpers...

Have fun and let us know how much it costs!
 
Well the car is already set up for strip only. I have put it on the leanest diet possible and it weighs in at 2808# with no fuel. It has full Lexan windows and completely gutted inside. No stock wiring left in the car only new what is necessary wiring. Fuel cell in rear, spring have been moved in and mini tubs for the 10.5 tires on it now. It has narrowed 8-3/4 with 4:30 spool right now. Teched for 10.0 at the track. So the car itself is set up to do this I think. Might need to do some K-Member mods as suggested. And fiberglass hood and deck lid. Already has glass bumpers with light brackets.
 
only thing that out runs cubic inches is rectangular dollars...you are giving up 90 cubic inches .....Good Luck...
 
Here is a pict of the car as it sits now.
 

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A friend of mine did it. All it still needs is door skins then the inside is all sheet metal.
 
here is a before pict
 

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Man you guy's really like those 318's.You are correct-it is doable but i'm going with 70cuda.I have seen a lot of contraptions here in St Louis but I don't remember that car.Many franklins will be used on this endeavor.Good Luck I just hope pop don't drag out more franklins
 
My guess it will take about 460-475 hp and an efficient set up to run 10.90.

Can you do it, sure. Compression, good heads, cam, intake, carb, and a great converter.
 
Well, I am seriously considering this. I was thinking of going with a BB and doing the whole A/FX look thing and I know it would not be year correct but I love that look. But the money that I was going to spend on the 440 and straight axle would be close tot he same I think and it would be way more fun to say, yeah, it's just a small 318. :-D
 
the article from moparmuscle was about getting 400 horse for a street car some of the requirements were that it had to maintain it's street car manners, and no custom work no porting or head work of any kind, this is a full race car so drive-ability is not a concern, and without the restriction on head and other performance work, combined with the weight loss program the car is on, it shouldn't be that hard to achieve the desired goal
 
Mad Dart said:
Yes but at what price? Probably be less expensive to build a stroker and keep the weight in the car.
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I disagree since if your doing a stroker to run this number, your going to use excellent parts, the same ones you would use in a screamin 318. The stroker would cost more due to the stroker crank.

The 318 is just using new pistons, not new pistons and a crank. Everything else that gets upgraded would be the same.

The teen just needs to be set up for high RPM.
 
rumblefish360 said:
I disagree since if your doing a stroker to run this number, your going to use excellent parts, the same ones you would use in a screamin 318. The stroker would cost more due to the stroker crank.

The 318 is just using new pistons, not new pistons and a crank. Everything else that gets upgraded would be the same.

The teen just needs to be set up for high RPM.
Click to expand...

I hear you but it's going to need 12:1 compression and alot of head work to pull it off. The cost of higher octane fuel and getting the heads to flow the numbers to do it will more than likely out weigh the cost of the Crank IMO.

I like the 318, had one in a 71 dart when I was a kid, peppy engine and it would rev to the moon.
 
It's probably obvious that a decently built, basic hot rod big block will be cheaper and easier to build than a 500 horse 318. I'll bet that you could build a low 11 second big block for close to what the top end would cost on the small block.

A lot of people say that you can't do this and you can't do that with a 318. Anything can be made to run hard, it just takes a little thought and a lot of money. As long as you factor in the stuff that is not directly related to making power but will help it live and work as it should then you will be there. There are Super Stock GT cars that run 9 second ETs with '318' engines.

It looks like your car is set up the way it should be for this type of endeavor. The chassis and weight reduction is half the battle. Once you get to the point you're at already the engine just becomes an issue of cost and personal choice.
 
Yes the car IS set up properly for this as I knew that eventually I would want it to go fast. So I did the chassis build right the first time. Don't like to redo something that I could have done the first time. Decisions decisions. Keep the ideas coming they are helping. I really think that if I am going to do this, I want to do it right the first time. I know the benefits of Alcohol as I crew on a blown Alcohol front engine dragster. But I want to stay with gas EVEN if it has to be race gas or the new C9 that VP has out.
 
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