Ford 302 vs 318

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LJS30

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Why is the 318 considered by many a "boat anchor", as one forum member referred to it as, while the Ford 302 is considered a capable little motor for hot rodding? You have a Mustang with a 302 and it's considered hot while anything Mopar with a 318 has a "boat anchor". Maybe I am wrong but it seems like the 318 doesn't seem to get respect.
 
Those folks are uninformed!!!! And have never been introduced to a hot little "Boat anchor" ...
 
SleeperScamp said:
Those folks are uninformed!!!! And have never been introduced to a hot little "Boat anchor" ...
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i agree, there are guys on here running 11's with a 318. thats with nitrous but 302 guys use it too....just watch pinks :violent1: a 360 is often choose as apposed to the 318 you get free cubic inches and it uses almost all the same parts...so why not go that route, it does make sence. There are people out there going the 318 route, they are free to most people, so in that case why not use one
 
If the 318 was given a high compression option in the early 70's, i think hands down it would tromp the 302. It is also much more reliable than its Ford counterpart. Once the mid 70's and 80's rolled around, the 302 was down to the same compression level as the 318 as was making at times less power than the "boat anchor". I think that it needs to be compared with other motors in regards to the same compression and setup. The smog 318 would be my choice any day over the smog 302 and even 351. I would choose it over a 305 or 350 GM. The ol' teen made the same or more power than those motors in the 70's, while retaining anvil like durabilty. I have a lot of respect for the motor, as do milliions of other people. Plus, if setup right, it can be a screamer.Just my $.02.
 
The big thing is the 318 has a 3.91" bore and the 302 Ford has a 4" bore. Most people think the engine needs to have that magic 4" bore to be worth anything. It does make pistons cheaper and it does make the vlaves less shrouded. I for one love the 318 and I am one of the guys in the 11's with a 318 on nitrous. The other day I picked up a free 360 and I have been fighting with myself for 4 days trying to convince myself to build another 318 so i can get in the 10's but other than pride and just that fact it's so fun spanking people with a teen.....I have to build the 360. I can make more power for less money because of the longer stroke and bigger bore on the 360. The 360 will be less radical and be more of an animal off the bottle when driving on the street because of the better torque with the longer stroke. The Ford 302 makes good power and they are S-loads of them out there and parts are cheap. You can throw the chevy 305 in the argument as well. I think it all has to do with how much aftermarket support the engine has more than the design of it.
 
I believe the "boat anchor" name came from the original 318 poly motor and just stuck with the new style LA motor. If someone calls one a "boat anchor" it's just because they don't know any better.


Chuck
 
The 305 Chev motor has the same disrespect for some reason, it's rated about 10hp less than the 350 in the years both were available but is generally frowned upon. As long as you build it right they're all good motors. They've got ricers running in the 7's with the little 4 pots in them.
 
Like I said.....I really believe all the bad reps come from the fact the aftermarket doesn't support those motors the same as they do the 350's, 340's, 360's, 302's and such.
 
The problem as I see it is that whereas the Ford 302 was built for many performance applications (Boss 302, 5.0L) using forged internals, the 318 was never really utilised as a performance engine.
 
LJS30 said:
Why is the 318 considered by many a "boat anchor", as one forum member referred to it as, while the Ford 302 is considered a capable little motor for hot rodding? You have a Mustang with a 302 and it's considered hot while anything Mopar with a 318 has a "boat anchor". Maybe I am wrong but it seems like the 318 doesn't seem to get respect.
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The primary reason was the 318 was never produced by the factory in performance trim where the 302 Ford as well as the 302 chevy motors were.
 
the 318 also was TBI as was the 305 / 350 while the 302 was direct in 1986

Even the stocker came w/ headers............

It also was super super light.................

The 351 is 2 different conversations...............the Windsor and the Cleveland

The Windsor is SUPER SUPER strong.............700 - ish HP all day long while its 302 little brother will split down the middle at those numbers.....literally.

With a large 4.00 bore, nice rod ratio, and proper spacing the 302 / 351 was always a nice combo

Yeah...............the after market fell in love with the 302..................and why not, Ford put it in a light 2 dr rwd that came with a 4 link rear. If a 318 had been in a mid 80's DUster it might have taken off................but instead, the Duster was a 2.2L fwd.

Given that fact, the 318 was never supported by after market because it wasn't supported by the factory and thus the people.

The 5.7 and 6.1 HEMI now has that chance.
 
Had a Duster in the mid 90s Running a 318 Car would go 12.50 all day long (Made over 300 Passes ) Hyd 508 cam Cast j heads (1.88) STOCK PISTONS and NO juice! I know people will say thats B.S But That is a Fact, And yes this was a all steel car with full interior Heres the combo Stock Bottom end (read lots of miles) swap meet headers.508 cam Holley Strip dominator inatke manifold, and a 750 Vac sec Holley, Trans was 904 with a kit and a 5500 Stall ( yes you read right) and 5:13 Gears... reved the Sh.. ut of it but it was VERY reliable combo 300 Passes all we ever broke was one trans (and that was with the 727. it was tired) and one set of gears with 250 plus passes when they broke. this car was purchased as a parts car and we thought it would be fun to see what a pile of parts laying around would do.. no real money spend to speak of, all used junk.We thought if we could get it to run 13s if would be a fun street car with the Mustangs, First ful pass the car went 13;10 We just about fell over laughing, second pass was a 12;70 ish and then it became a passion to see how fast the pile of parts might go(fastest pass was 12;46), every said " wow strong 340 you have " we would laugh and say "No sorry its a 318" We where sitting in the stanging lanes one afternoon awaiting our turn and a guy walks up and we get talking and he tells us this car was his winter Beater a few years earlier, With the same bottom end motor!!! So looong story short DON"T be affraid to buid the 318 at all.
 
The 318 may have gotten the boat anchor rep on account of it being compared to other mopar mills. The 302 was the best F.O.R.D. plant I ever ran and it was dogmeat compared to a healthy 318.

My $0.02 -LY
 
I had a 305 Chev tuned port motor and it ran just like a 5.0 Ford, not a steaming pile at all, very quick for a stocker actually. The early 305's were crap but then just about everything for a while there was, even the 350's were only rated at about 185hp in the mid to late 70's. I don't think there was much of anything from any make in that smog era that had any omph straight out of the box.
 
If you want to talk about GM boat anchors, give the 307 a try. I don't think it would even keep a boat in place.
 
The Ford had a better head, more 5 spd cars, and EFI

The 305 had less to work w/ and had TBI, best 305 was the Vortec

The 318 was a "truck" motor

\Once the aftermarket saw what the average Joe had to work with, they all jumped on the Ford bandwagon....................

We hope the aftermarket helps us now.............
 
Not all the Chev 305's were TBI, the Iroc's and GTA Firebirds were Tuned port, that's an injector for every cylinder, rated at the same hp as the Ford 5.0 and could run with them easily. I had one, my buddy had a Mustang 5.0, you couldn't tell the difference. Not a fan of the 307 for sure.
 
I have always been perplexed by the reputation 318 recieves. I own a 5.0HO in a Mark 7 and must admit it has more punch than my mild 318 in my Dart. However if I can just do a little more with the 318 I feel it can be much better than the stock 5.0HO.
 
It may be a bad rep by default since the 340 had such a strong following. For durability/reliability I think the 318 actually has a very good rep. :thumbup:
 
Rob said:
Not all the Chev 305's were TBI, the Iroc's and GTA Firebirds were Tuned port, that's an injector for every cylinder, rated at the same hp as the Ford 5.0 and could run with them easily. I had one, my buddy had a Mustang 5.0, you couldn't tell the difference. Not a fan of the 307 for sure.
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I don't think the "tune port" cam until years later no?

Ford did it in 86 I believe while GM took till the early 90's............Ford also was doing full hyd roller very early

Ford also had the HD T-5 while GM put the chity T-5 in thiers...........and in 93 Ford went with the WC T-5 w/ hardned input shaft and such and the GT-40 head

In my oppion, Ford was WAY WAY ahead until 1996 with the introduction of the LS1..............

Its taken Dodge till 2003 to release the HEMI and until the Summer of 04 to release the 05 Magnum and 300C w/ HEMI's so they could compete.

Either way..............the old stuff has a very very hard time trying to compete with the new stuff.
 
Mine was a 1990 but I think they started putting the tuned port motors in a couple years earlier, maybe 1988? My wife has a 2000 Stang GT that runs 14 flat right out of the box. That is a really great little engine, 4.6L, 260hp and has traction lock, you boot it and you're gone, no slip, no spin, nothing but go. Now if I could just get her to trade it in on a new Challenger with a hemi :toothy7:
 
ROFL..............I hear ya

The new motors are WAY cool...........

The computers however sux! It's a speed density system and thus far we've not been able to work around it.

The rear end is something I can't describe here..................its a full indep. style w/ shafts and the whole things fits into a cradle.

This means there is no pinion angle, no changing of instant center, no nothing.

You can also forget about subframe connectors..............

HOWEVER.................like I posted in another spot, we can add heads / cam / exhaust and run mid to high 12's w/ a 5.7 or high 11's w/ a 6.1 despite it's flaws..................not too shabby for a 4500 lb car.

But I digress..............

What hurt the 318 was after market and Mopar's unwilliness to give us a rwd, 2 dr. platform to play with.....................instead they went fwd

If they would have given us a 2 dr rwd 318 Daytona w/ roller cam, direct port EFI w/ mass air, it would have been a 3 horse race....................
 
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