The 340 is the biggest POS V8 Chrysler ever made.

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i hear there is a 340 electric in the works along with a 360 electric.
Should make for some good discussion!
 
During a chat about street racing in the 70's a fairly experienced gentleman from the slightly more mature crowd told me once;
"If you happened to go up against a 340 4 speed Dart (I'm sure he meant a-body), you'd better have a big block... and you better have your **** together... or it wouldn't end well for you!" :)
 
reality is, although the 340 is a good engine, after all my laughing, once you get behind the wheel of a big block A-body the 340 becomes just a memory. A fond memory but just a memory
 
Well yes dollar for dollar a big block a body with the torque is a whole lot of fun !
I had a bb in a 73 duster with 3:91 sure grip when I was 19.It was a handful !
Tire smoldering machine for sure !
Yet my mildly well built 340 4 speed duster would have ate it up !
But dollar for dollar the bb a body wins every time.
 
The 340 and the A body were the perfect match, for sure ! enough power to get down the road safely and fast.
 
fishmens67 said:
reality is, although the 340 is a good engine, after all my laughing, once you get behind the wheel of a big block A-body the 340 becomes just a memory. A fond memory but just a memory
Click to expand...


Sorry, I have to disagree. I have both. a 69 340 dart and a nice 68 383 Dart. They both run very well. but the difference is an Idiot can race a 340 Dart, just step on the pedal and go. but it takes skill to launch and race a 383 dart. My Brother was a service manager at a dodge dealership in 1968, and the 340 was nicknamed the "baby hemi'.
The records speak for themselves, just look at the drag records from 68-70.

26aug 14 GTS is home 015.JPG


064.JPG
 
The differences between brands’ respective V8s pretty much comes down to how much you’ll need to spend to go fast. Any of them can be built to insane levels...and stock, they all kind of sucked by modern standards. 50 years later, it doesn’t look like there’s all that much difference between them. Sure, a 426 Hemi was better than a 455 Buick Stage 2...but how much better? Not that much, honestly.

It’s so tempting to become tribal about this garbage. Of course, we all have a favorite brand/model but that doesn’t require calling everything else “crap.”

66jim said:
No shortage of stupid out there...
Click to expand...

True but stupid is forgivable. Stupid and hateful is pathetic.

Bulldozer said:
I'm sorry, did I offend you?
you didnt like that one? or do you fit that category
Click to expand...

Bulldozer said:
let me guess , you voted for Hillary Clinton. your crayons are melting. don't forget to put your tinfoil hat on. your retaliatory insults show your true colors. based on your screen name , you should go back to lurking dogs.
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Yikes. Welcome to the year 2018.

The only way I can tolerate involunatarily-celibate jackass behavior like this is to remember people who say stuff like this are just trying to get by in a world that feels threatening to them. This is fear, insecurity, impotence and inadequacy on full display.
 
jimmer said:
Well yes dollar for dollar a big block a body with the torque is a whole lot of fun !
I had a bb in a 73 duster with 3:91 sure grip when I was 19.It was a handful !
Tire smoldering machine for sure !
Yet my mildly well built 340 4 speed duster would have ate it up !
But dollar for dollar the bb a body wins every time.
Click to expand...
compare apples to apples, mildy well built 340 --------against a mildly well built 440!
 
Good example is my old '71 340 Cuda, best I could do with a stock-ish motor/chassis was 12.39, sold it and new owner put a quite healthy but nothing outrageous all iron 440 in it and ran 10.90's once he put my old 4200 verter in it.
 
MRGTX said:
The differences between brands’ respective V8s pretty much comes down to how much you’ll need to spend to go fast. Any of them can be built to insane levels...and stock, they all kind of sucked by modern standards. 50 years later, it doesn’t look like there’s all that much difference between them. Sure, a 426 Hemi was better than a 455 Buick Stage 2...but how much better? Not that much, honestly.

It’s so tempting to become tribal about this garbage. Of course, we all have a favorite brand/model but that doesn’t require calling everything else “crap.”



True but stupid is forgivable. Stupid and hateful is pathetic.





Yikes. Welcome to the year 2018.

The only way I can tolerate involunatarily-celibate jackass behavior like this is to remember people who say stuff like this are just trying to get by in a world that feels threatening to them. This is fear, insecurity, impotence and inadequacy on full display.
Click to expand...


Don't fall off your soap box. Seems pretty tall to me.
 
Hot Metal said:
Good example is my old '71 340 Cuda, best I could do with a stock-ish motor/chassis was 12.39, sold it and new owner put a quite healthy but nothing outrageous all iron 440 in it and ran 10.90's once he put my old 4200 verter in it.
Click to expand...

Ya, 100 more of CID will often have that effect on ET's. Love my 340 for sure! But as Dad (A guy that had a big block in every vehicle he bought after about 1960) always said, no replacement for displacement.

Pat
 
Speaking of a hemi and 455 buick stage 2. Back in the late 60's my dad worked @ a chrysler dealer as a line mechanic. He just finished doing a tune up on a 1966 or 67 hemi charger. He went on a road test and came up against the "mighty" buick 455 stage 2. My dad said oh what the heck!! Nailed the throttle and the Buick was just a image on the rear view mirror! Buick didn't stand a chance!! So hemi was/is superior to the 455 stage 2!!
 
"When Muscle Car Review named the 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 as the third-fastest muscle car of all time in a November 1984 issue, the publication received numerous phone calls and letters from angry car enthusiasts crying foul. Nobody could believe that Grandpa’s Buick was higher on the list than the GTO Judge, LS6 Chevelle, and even the fastest Hemi-powered Mopars.

But the numbers didn’t lie. After sifting through decades of road tests from the largest automotive publications, Motor Trend’s recorded 5.5-second zero-to-60 time and 13.4-second quarter-mile placed the Buick behind only the 427 Cobra Roadster and 1966 427 Corvette."

From: How the Buick GS Stage 2 Redefined Muscle Car Performance
 
69_340_GTS said:
"When Muscle Car Review named the 1970 Buick GS Stage 1 as the third-fastest muscle car of all time in a November 1984 issue, the publication received numerous phone calls and letters from angry car enthusiasts crying foul. Nobody could believe that Grandpa’s Buick was higher on the list than the GTO Judge, LS6 Chevelle, and even the fastest Hemi-powered Mopars.

But the numbers didn’t lie. After sifting through decades of road tests from the largest automotive publications, Motor Trend’s recorded 5.5-second zero-to-60 time and 13.4-second quarter-mile placed the Buick behind only the 427 Cobra Roadster and 1966 427 Corvette."

From: How the Buick GS Stage 2 Redefined Muscle Car Performance
Click to expand...


ET is not the way to determine HP. MPH is. The drivers ability, tires, tuning and other factors largely affect ET but not MPH.

Guess I can read the article, but I've seen it before.
 
the 71 340 was probably the best HP small block ever made. Not an LT1. Ford 351 4V Cleveland second. Chevrolet LT1 was defactored for racing. 11:1 compression, big solid cam, pig on the street without gears, give me a break. I'd take a 327 any day.
 
No denying big block A body power but it is not always a good fit.A friend has a 408 in his Dart and gets excessive tire spin on the street and doesn't do well at all. ...it is hard to beat a 340 in an a body as a complete package.
 
MRGTX said:
The differences between brands’ respective V8s pretty much comes down to how much you’ll need to spend to go fast. Any of them can be built to insane levels...and stock, they all kind of sucked by modern standards. 50 years later, it doesn’t look like there’s all that much difference between them. Sure, a 426 Hemi was better than a 455 Buick Stage 2...but how much better? Not that much, honestly.

It’s so tempting to become tribal about this garbage. Of course, we all have a favorite brand/model but that doesn’t require calling everything else “crap.”



True but stupid is forgivable. Stupid and hateful is pathetic.





Yikes. Welcome to the year 2018.

The only way I can tolerate involunatarily-celibate jackass behavior like this is to remember people who say stuff like this are just trying to get by in a world that feels threatening to them. This is fear, insecurity, impotence and inadequacy on full display.
Click to expand...
 
MRGTX said:
The differences between brands’ respective V8s pretty much comes down to how much you’ll need to spend to go fast. Any of them can be built to insane levels...and stock, they all kind of sucked by modern standards. 50 years later, it doesn’t look like there’s all that much difference between them. Sure, a 426 Hemi was better than a 455 Buick Stage 2...but how much better? Not that much, honestly.

It’s so tempting to become tribal about this garbage. Of course, we all have a favorite brand/model but that doesn’t require calling everything else “crap.”



True but stupid is forgivable. Stupid and hateful is pathetic.





Yikes. Welcome to the year 2018.

The only way I can tolerate involunatarily-celibate jackass behavior like this is to remember people who say stuff like this are just trying to get by in a world that feels threatening to them. This is fear, insecurity, impotence and inadequacy on full display.
Click to expand...
 
Jim, your comments have to be added AFTER the quoted post. Look for the word QUOTE in parentheses, then begin your comments there.
 
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