my Low dollar 318 hop-up project

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you just dumped a truckload of candy on the ground and asked the ants not to come ! :happy1:
 
oldcarnut said:
you just dumped a truckload of candy on the ground and asked the ants not to come ! :happy1:
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That's classic! ..Nice punch line...I still like the basics,time will provide what you want,you know the basics....
 
'73 cast iron 340 intake. Bought here on FABO, shipped to my front door for 60.00. I chose this one in particular for a couple of reasons and I will list them in order of importance:
1). It Works!!! I've done drag strip test on a mild 340 and mild 360 with the cast Thermoquad intake vs. the LD 340 eddy (one of the best), the Eddy performer intake, and the M1 single plane intake. You give up nothing for flow throughout the rpm in a mildly built small block with the '72 or newer intake. I've personally watched the cast intake get into the 10's in the 1/4 mile.
2.) It's in the budget!!! I usually do not like to spend more than 40 on one of these. I went 60 shipped with this one due to the fact, if you haven't noticed, the carb mount area has been "hogged out" (can be done with a 20 dollar dremel, or a couple of 5 dollar files) and it's really clean. The ONLY reason to "hog out", or "open up" the carb mount area is to make it work better with the square bore carb. If you are going to use the Thermoquad, it is not necessary. This intake is a spread bore intake and loves the Thermoquad carb.
3). Second hand aluminum intakes have greater risk. They can warp and be harder to seal, striped threads, and usually about double the money. Their biggest advantage is weight, the only downfall of the cast intake....

Some square bore carbs may need the adaptor I have pictured to be sure the square bore carb seals (no leaks). 5 dollar item at swap meets, or 20 bucks new. Not sure what carb I'll be using, still scrounging. Hoping not to spend the "5 bucks" on the adaptor.... lol
 

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If any wants to see what the intakes look like before the carb mount was opened, plenty of pictures on the net, including ebay.

- a great place to hunt for one of these is Dodge maxi vans sitting in the weeds. miles won't wear one of these out. Many times you can grab one for 20 bucks! Hunt and the patience will pay off....... shipping is expensive because of weight so the internet is not the best place to look for them... try to stay local.
 
318willrun said:
If any wants to see what the intakes look like before the carb mount was opened, plenty of pictures on the net, including ebay.

- a great place to hunt for one of these is Dodge maxi vans sitting in the weeds. miles won't wear one of these out. Many times you can grab one for 20 bucks! Hunt and the patience will pay off....... shipping is expensive because of weight so the internet is not the best place to look for them... try to stay local.
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We have no problems staying loco.... :glasses7:
 
That looks exactly like the intake and adapter that I took off my 318...

Decent intake huh ?

Could save me some bucks .....!

Jeff
 
MrJLR said:
That looks exactly like the intake and adapter that I took off my 318...

Decent intake huh ?

Could save me some bucks .....!

Jeff
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Oh yes! Yes indeed it is. The OE intake is very good. The earlier square bore intakes, like from a '69 - 340 are also very good but there a square bore intake. MP suggests the TQ intake is better.
 
MrJLR said:
That looks exactly like the intake and adapter that I took off my 318...

Decent intake huh ?

Could save me some bucks .....!

Jeff
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Only knock on this intake is the weight. I know a guy that spun a 318 7200 rpm's every weekend at the strip with a cast intake like this. You can spend more, look prettier, weigh less, but it doesn't mean your car will run better. Period. This intake works, as Rumblefish has acknowledged. And it works best with a Thermoquad. Better be carb savvy if ya run a TQ though.....
 
318willrun said:
Only knock on this intake is the weight. I know a guy that spun a 318 7200 rpm's every weekend at the strip with a cast intake like this. You can spend more, look prettier, weigh less, but it doesn't mean your car will run better. Period. This intake works, as Rumblefish has acknowledged. And it works best with a Thermoquad. Better be carb savvy if ya run a TQ though.....
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Lol,they are simple as far as carbs go imho. The rochester I think is more complex,at least for me. Hardest adjustment on the tq is the secondary air door. A lot of getting in and out of the car,and testing each incremental adjustment,lol
 
318willrun said:
Crackedback - yeah, a 125 hit of juice would do it.... lol. Not going on the bottle, that needs a refill quite often and is expensive. Also, very risky for a newbie :D

72valiant4dr - Heads will be a big part, but I won't make to many friends when I video what I do, but trust me, it will be "newbie friendly" and it will work :D

This project is already started, so I'll be posting some stuff here in a couple of days.
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I love what I see so far, you have me super curious. Can't wait to see what direction you are taking with ignition and heads... and most especially, exhaust.

Having made my self familiar with the limitations of the la318, I have my eyes glued on this one.

#subscribed
 
72Valiant4Door said:
I love what I see so far, you have me super curious. Can't wait to see what direction you are taking with ignition and heads... and most especially, exhaust.

Having made my self familiar with the limitations of the la318, I have my eyes glued on this one.

#subscribed
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I think I mentioned the exhaust will be manifolds and duals. I hope I don't disappoint you because I'm not re-inventing the wheel. I'm not trying to educate the educated. I'm trying to give a template, at my cost, in simple steps on a low budget to the "less experienced" folks. My goals are obtainable, but not easily met on the 499.00 budget I've allowed. Remember, I'm not starting with a car with 3.55's and a 2500 stall converter. It's a stock tranny/converter with what I believe 2.76 gears. Hopefully this will be a guide to some on how to add spunk to a 318 on a super low budget. If so, then my real goal here was met.
 
You can use mine to compare a similar teener only with gears and a little converter... I am thinking you will need some gear to hit your goal, but I will be following your progress. Carry on, carry on
 
..... Take a look at what's pictured here... is it intimidating? If not, your in good shape, as I now head into some meat and potatoes of this project.
 

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Chances are you may already have everything that you see in the pictures above. The sockets are a 15/16 and a 1 1/8 sizes. The valve spring compressor was like a 5 dollar flea market item, and the dremel is 20.00 bucks at Walmart. The screw driver, well, it serves an important part of the next step........ and any vacuum will do, as long as it has the hose... that's right, even your house vacuum cleaner. Not pictured is safety glasses

Machine shops = $$$$$$. Years ago I learned to work with what I had, not only the tools but the motor at hand also..... I will only use the tools above for the next step, and believe me, this is what will make this 318 into my targeted 340 chaser (my targeted 73 stock 340 duster) ....

P.S. --- not counting the cost of simple tools against the budget. These tools can be used an many projects.
 
Find a set of factory 360 heads. Easy bolt on cheap upgrade. I built a 318 with 360 cast iron factory heads and it ran awesome.
 
318willrun said:
..... Take a look at what's pictured here... is it intimidating? If not, your in good shape, as I now head into some meat and potatoes of this project.
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Keep going. ..I have all those tools and my heads are off right now!

Jeff
 
I shot the video today (i'm terrible on video), but work is in the way, so I'll upload as soon as I can, maybe tomorrow. I hope to show how easy it is, and that you can do it

I doubt I will get every detail in the video, but there is enough to get you started in the right direction, and I'll try to explain with pictures after the video is posted on stuff I might have missed.

I will lay a little foot ground, and say that efficiency is worth more than a little in size. Period. A little bigger is better so long as it's just as efficient. This is why we see 3.6 V6 producing 300+ horsepower today, and mid 70's 5.2 V8 around 150 hp.

We have the intake (see above) that will be WAY more cable than the build I'm doing. Next in line is the heads, and I'm hoping to show in the video how to maximize the efficiency of the exhaust valve, while improving the efficiency of the intake. I will take an efficient 1.50 valve any day over an "unefficient" 1.60 valve.
 
This is where I'm headed........ I didn't show the use of the valve spring compressor. Plenty of U-tube for that..... :)
 

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I have some spare valve seals if you need them for your project...
 
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