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Badart

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Can't pass up a free boat anchor 318/904. I just had to load it up. It comes with the K member and A arms and brakes from a 72 Cuda'. Anybody want to tell me what year the block is?
 

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1910...you got one of those earliest 318 castings :D

I think there is a casting on the other side that shows the casting date.

j
 
Thanks guys. The balancer does look thinner compared to one I have in the garage. I will be keeping this 318 for another project.
 
demon seed said:
If the thin crank balancer is any indication, can kind of see it in the picture, it is a steel crank.
Click to expand...

Only 360's were set up for external balance, even cast crank 318's are neutral, so the damper is the same.

The 318 in my EL5 '71 Dart has a cast crank. The numbers matching 318 in it was cast 3/2/71. And the damper looks a lot like the one in the picture. In fact, it is identical to the damper that came with my '68 forged crank 340. The '71 GK6 Dart was missing its drivetrain, so no comparison there.

So, not saying it can't have a steel crank in it, but the balancer isn't a tell tale.
 
The only 318's I have found with steel cranks are early '67 castings (for '68 year) and 318's used in heavy duty trucks prior to '72 or '73, and they are stamped 318-3 on the side of the block.
 
You guys are right on the crank. I am sure it is cast, because the parting line is really narrow on the crank. When I drained the oil there was a milk shake in there. Also while cleaning up the block I noticed that it had popped one of the freeze plugs and there is a huge crack through the lifter valley. It's junk, but the tranny seems fine along with the crank, rods and pistons. Oh well, at least it was free.
 
One more question. I have a 75 W100 pickup, but it has the drivetrain with a 318 from a 70-72. Could this crank be steel? The engine needs rebuilt and I will be replacing it over the winter with the engine from my dart.
 
I agree, I have 2 70 blocks and they are both cast cranks. I think the only steel cranks are dated late 66 and 67 for the 67 and 68 years. Not to worry, that crank is plenty strong enough for almost anything rational!
 
Badart said:
One more question. I have a 75 W100 pickup, but it has the drivetrain with a 318 from a 70-72. Could this crank be steel? The engine needs rebuilt and I will be replacing it over the winter with the engine from my dart.
Click to expand...

If the drivetrain was originally out of a truck, then maybe. But, I would have to say the chances of it being forged are a lot lower than the chances of it being cast.
 
Quick Skinny on boat anchor cranks........
(from exp)
67's were all steel.
68-70 is a maybe.
71-73 most likely not, but possible in HD applications.

If it has a single plane manifold, it has a good chance of being steel.

And the -3 after the 318 simply means that the mold was repaired 3 times, -5 means five times, -14 means it was repaied 14 times..............
 
dodgetkboy78 said:
And the -3 after the 318 simply means that the mold was repaired 3 times, -5 means five times, -14 means it was repaired 14 times..............
Click to expand...

Not to completely derail the thread, but is there any reasoning behind wanting a specific mold number for any of the smallblock engines? (Ie, a "3" instead of a "14")

I've heard of folks saying the "1" cast blocks were thicker/stronger/better...
 
Well, a -1 would be better than a -14, right? Not really, how do we know that it wasn't at the end of the -1 molds life?

Inspection is the only way to tell.

Quick look is at the bottom of the cylinders, if you can see the casting line, and it looks like a crack, or a crevice..... It's not much of a block
 
dodgetkboy78 said:
Well, a -1 would be better than a -14, right? Not really, how do we know that it wasn't at the end of the -1 molds life?

Inspection is the only way to tell.

Quick look is at the bottom of the cylinders, if you can see the casting line, and it looks like a crack, or a crevice..... It's not much of a block
Click to expand...

Pretty much what I thought. How would you know if it was at the beginning or end of a run, and who's to say the repaired mold wasn't better than the original anyway?

Thanks!
 
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