originally LA 318 4bbl Engine??

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valiant318

valiant318

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I have done some searching on the internet.
The engine i have, it cames out a Le baron coupe 1978.(from california i think)
It's a 318 4 bbl,but i don't know it is original.
Are there number of this type of engines?
Also if its orginally I saw on the net,that it has stock 360 heads .
And what's different with a stock 318

Can somebody help me,I want some spec for myself.
 
Yes, '78 was the first year for an LA318 4bbl. engine. It was available in most models from vans to pickups to Aspens. Nothing particularly high perfomance about them. The head ports were slight bigger than the earlier ones but they're smog heads and the same as the 2bbl. ones so nothing special. The extra HP came from the cam, 4bbl induction, and dual exhaust....same thing you can do to a 2bbl engine.
 
That year probably has a Quadrajet. Carter went out of biz in 1984 I thikn it was and by 1985, all the surply was gone.

Since it doesn't make any sense to get another 318 from a Van or RV, simple bolt on's can get that engine scooting preety good. A high performance build needs to have the pistons replaced for reasonable compresion.

If it is a real 4bbl. engine, the heads are 360 heads with 1.88/1.60 valves and are a very good platform for power.
 
Yes they are, and the port size is nowhere near the 318 size, quite a bit bigger....

The 2bbl cam was like 248/248, and the 4bbl cam was the 252/258 360 cam?? Something like that, been a while since I looked at stock cam specs......

Other than the heads, and intake, it's the same as the 2bbl.
 
cudamark said:
Yes, '78 was the first year for an LA318 4bbl. engine. It was available in most models from vans to pickups to Aspens. Nothing particularly high perfomance about them. The head ports were slight bigger than the earlier ones but they're smog heads and the same as the 2bbl. ones so nothing special. The extra HP came from the cam, 4bbl induction, and dual exhaust....same thing you can do to a 2bbl engine.
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Gee, that 77 Maxivan I just bought with what is definitely a 318 with a Thermo-quad must be a real rare deal then. Sticker under hood says "318-4" Could it be 1 of 1? LOL
 
I thought the first year was '76. But then again, I really don't keep theose tid bits in my head. If it doesn't have a 4bbl. when I get it....it soon will have a 4bbl when I get it home....:toothy10:
 
A38Valiant said:
Gee, that 77 Maxivan I just bought with what is definitely a 318 with a Thermo-quad must be a real rare deal then. Sticker under hood says "318-4" Could it be 1 of 1? LOL
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Give us the first 8 digits of the VIN and we'll see what it came with originally.
Thanks, Mark
 
I remember way back when I was running junk yards alot, i saw some old retried police cars I do believe that they were Dodge Diplomats 1977 or 78's that had 318 4 bbls.i just shook my head at the time but now I wish I would have pick one up. way back then!!!!.
 
AJ71DUSTER said:
I remember way back when I was running junk yards alot, i saw some old retried police cars I do believe that they were Dodge Diplomats 1977 or 78's that had 318 4 bbls.i just shook my head at the time but now I wish I would have pick one up. way back then!!!!.
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Really? I ran dozens of '74-7 police cars through my yard over the years and they were all 440 cars except for the '76 Darts. Maybe we didn't have them here in Ca. Now in the 80's....yeah we had a bunch of 318 Dippy police cars with the 360 top ends in them. We also had 2 '78 model Monaco's (B-body) with 360's. Did your 318's have 360 parts in them too or were they straight 318's all the way? I guess you could order just about any combo you wanted. I understand that there were some slant 6 police cars made too. I suppose if you were on a small island, you didn't need to outrun the bad guy because he really couldn't get far anyway. Might as well save on gas and maintanence costs.
 
what is the averag thorque and hp of these orginally engine´s.
I now know for 90% that i have a originally 318 4 bbl with the 360 cam and heads.
The car in a different city,so can´t give the vin number
 
About 2/3rds as strong as a late 60's 2bbl 210HP truck motor.....................

I have driven/had/parted/swapped a couple of them..... They rev higher, but I think the older 2bbl would outrun it spinning 1000RPM less.

Just my opinion.


Now, change the cam some, give it a mill, maybe some piston, and then you got a cast iron runner.
 
Off the top of my head, I do not remember, BUT, the HP and TQ ratings were taken differently after '72 *I think* it was.

IIRC, the HP rating was 190.
 
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