Today, dollar for dollar, is the 318 faster than the 340 ???

would you agree ?

  • yep, the 318 wins if buying and building for under 3k

    Votes: 48 41.7%

  • Nope, the 340 always has and always will beat the 318

    Votes: 57 49.6%

  • Actually, never thought about it like this... Good Point !

    Votes: 10 8.7%
  • Total voters
    115
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Does anyone have a stone stock 340 core and would like to have fun ?? Semi-locally ??? I have a 318 magnum on the engine stand. Complete factory stock. We could actually do this. Document the build, how each dollar was spent. ABSOLUTELY no "my friend gave me eddy heads". All parts must be purchased at fair market value. Gaskets, pistons, rings, bearings, camshaft, etc etc must be bought, not pulled off your shelf to keep it as the "guy who just bought a Dart and needs and engine" would have to do. then dyno them.
 
Is a 69 Yenko COPO camaro faster than a stock 69 with a 427 dropped in it? No but the Yenko is worth about 4X the latter. Its all in the name or production numbers. 340 is a bored out 318 with 360 heads...or 2.02's. Destroke a 360 and bore it .040 over. Add 340 slugs and go to town with only a larger main bearing. Heck add Hamburger bearing spacers and run a 318 poly crank, balance and go. Nothing mystical about a 340 'cept the short production run and higher compression of the early ones.. Everything else is a bolt on factory part. I agree, a 318 dollar per dollar is far and away a better value being the block is about the only difference in a build assuming pistons are going to be replaced anyway.
 
rumblefish360 said:
The budget I speak of is the variable of anyone’s pocket, wallet, purse or bank account. You claim average Joe.

If you don’t mind answering, clearly you do not have to nor do I desire your answer. But answer the following questions. To yourself of course. Post them if you wish.
That’s your cal.

Your age
Your status, single, married, children if any
Own a home
Amount spent on bills monthly
Your yearly income
(average it out or a guesstimate if it is a variable income.)
Amount left over to hot rod what ever

How do you compare to the 18YO @ a min wage job looking to do something similar

How much more expendable income do you have over the 18YO?

Does that kid not deserve help in what he wants to achieve?

Or does he get the help in getting the old “Get a 340, the 318 is worthless, your a jackass if you do anything with it besides throw it away.”
Click to expand...

WoW...That's a mouthful.
I went back and read the original post and didn't see anything mentioned of an 18yr old ?
Like I said, get what you can afford. There's still deals out there if you look. I would rather hold out for a 340, or another displacement we're not talking about. Looking at the pole, the majority agrees.
 
These are 3 pages of Bettes’ book “Engine Airflow”, a must read book if anyone is interested in understanding the internal combustion engine at a higher level. The one quote I was referring to is the one where Bettes points out that horsepower is proportional to bore size. Also notice he slays the sacred cow that torque is the be all, end all, and that it’s horsepower that does the work, not torque. If you don’t agree with that, you could take it up with Harold, but he has passed. His written words still stand as a testimony to his thinking on the topic.

12AC1D0B-BFB5-466D-A227-D162F88A5712.jpeg
5D3A99EC-FC47-44D9-B4E1-010CAA0638A3.jpeg
2B879B8E-AAC6-486D-81D9-D021371776C7.jpeg


EDIT: I have removed out of order. The middle shot should be the last one and the last one should be in the middle.
 
I thought that when someone said the magnum heads outdo 340 heads that it was going to cause a MAJOR SHITSTORM No personal experience but I have read that the mags are slightly better.
 
pishta said:
Is a 69 Yenko COPO camaro faster than a stock 69 with a 427 dropped in it? No but the Yenko is worth about 4X the latter. Its all in the name or production numbers. 340 is a bored out 318 with 360 heads...or 2.02's. Destroke a 360 and bore it .040 over. Add 340 slugs and go to town with only a larger main bearing. Heck add Hamburger bearing spacers and run a 318 poly crank, balance and go. Nothing mystical about a 340 'cept the short production run and higher compression of the early ones.. Everything else is a bolt on factory part. I agree, a 318 dollar per dollar is far and away a better value being the block is about the only difference in a build assuming pistons are going to be replaced anyway.
Click to expand...


There was no “360” head. There were 3 years of production of the 340 before the 360 came out. So the 360 got a detuned 340 head, not the other way around.
 
Found this 340 on craigslist, $500. Honed the cylinders,with new rings. Simple valve job on the heads. Slapped it all together with the same horse trading parts that would go on a teen. Very low budget build. Lets take them to the track.
I'll be your Huckelberry. :)

IMG_20160123_111048144_HDR.jpg
 
Johnny Dart said:
Found this 340 on craigslist, $500. Honed the cylinders,with new rings. Simple valve job on the heads. Slapped it all together with the same horse trading parts that would go on a teen. Very low budget build. Lets take them to the track.
I'll be your Huckelberry. :)

View attachment 1715756950
Click to expand...

Obviously a zero is missing.
(Or Crack!)
 
318willrun said:
Does anyone have a stone stock 340 core and would like to have fun ?? Semi-locally ??? I have a 318 magnum on the engine stand. Complete factory stock. We could actually do this. Document the build, how each dollar was spent. ABSOLUTELY no "my friend gave me eddy heads". All parts must be purchased at fair market value. Gaskets, pistons, rings, bearings, camshaft, etc etc must be bought, not pulled off your shelf to keep it as the "guy who just bought a Dart and needs and engine" would have to do. then dyno them.
Click to expand...
Darn, I just finished the 340 build and never saved a receipt!

Johnny Dart said:
WoW...That's a mouthful.
Click to expand...
No it’s not.:D
I went back and read the original post and didn't see anything mentioned of an 18yr old ?
Click to expand...
Yea, no ****. So, answer the question, what’s your buying power over a 18YO kid?
Also, since it is most like a lot more, should he listen to the board and dump the 318 & get a 340?
Like I said, get what you can afford. There's still deals out there if you look. I would rather hold out for a 340, or another displacement we're not talking about. Looking at the pole, the majority agrees.
Click to expand...
Even though you said build what you can afford, your still pushing and advocating a larger engine over a 318 for the not so thick in the wallet guy right?
If not, I sure seems that way and makes me wonder why your even replying.
 
Darter6 said:
That's why you can build a Chevy engine for less than half of any Mopar engine.
Johnny Dart. That looks like my 273 !View attachment 1715756963
Click to expand...


A Chevy is only cheaper using junkyard parts. I can run 273 rockers and the Chevy is stuck with junk **** stud mounted rockers. Junk, OE style off the shelf pistons may be cheaper for a Chevy, but when you get into pistons with a 1/16 ring pack the price is the same. Cams...same cost.

The difference is in blocks and heads. Even then, if you get a Dart block that isn’t just an OE replacement block, it costs the same money as a Ritter block. The Chevy guy pays the money with a smile, while the Chrysler guys ***** and moan and snivel.

Heads are the same. A Chevy guy will buy shaft rockers and anything else it takes to get the best head they can afford, and the Chrysler guys snivel, piss and moan about buying offset intake rockers.

There isn’t a conventional 23 degree SBC head that will make power with a W2 head. But again, the sniveling continues and the Chrysler guys end up with nothing. There shouldn’t be a single Stroker built without a W2 head or better. But it is what it is.

And that’s the rub. Chrysler guys bring this on themselves.
 
well i'm building a 340 now , all I have is a block and a set of x eads from my last 340 . no way i can compete with your build as cost is not a factor in this build . I still say a 340 do nothing but a little porting and add a cam a 318 will be no where close unless you spend $$$
 
As of today. Junkyard 5.2 long block $250.00
Oregon cams #1364 218/224 .528/.536 110 lcl $179.00
Metric ring pack, true 9.1:1 compression. Roller cam with reusable lifters. Free
200 cfm stock. 192/1.62 valves
Bowl port and gasket match. Back cut valves [email protected] lift.
$250 labor.
Mr. Gasket 1121g brings compression up to 9.3:1
Professional products Crosswind $212.00
Carb of your choice??
Summit 15/8 headers $175.00
Summit 360 car pan $70.00

BTW 1973 340 8.5:1 240 gross horsepower, 290 ft lb torque. 10.5:1 early 340 275 gross horsepower. If this is the metric then we can match the factory performance and then some on the cheap.

218/224 Roller will perform better than 224 hydraulic. Being on a 110 will sound like a muscle car.

Eventhough I don't drink $1000.00 let's me have money leftover for beer and tacos.

Use LA front cover and now we are pushing 350 horsepower, all on the cheap. I have a 340 block . Block only $250.00 no way to build for 1k.
Let's think of smiles per gallon, hitting 8.5 on the Oh Yeah scale or pegging your fun meter all the way to the bank. This not about whether the same parts will make a 340 faster, but rather matching or exceeding factory 340 performance at its best on a budget. That we can do.

Thanks to all who have responded.
 
rumblefish360 said:
Darn, I just finished the 340 build and never saved a receipt!


No it’s not.:D

Yea, no ****. So, answer the question, what’s your buying power over a 18YO kid?
Also, since it is most like a lot more, should he listen to the board and dump the 318 & get a 340?

Even though you said build what you can afford, your still pushing and advocating a larger engine over a 318 for the not so thick in the wallet guy right?
If not, I sure seems that way and makes me wonder why your even replying.
Click to expand...

Start a thread about 18yr olds if you want. This isn't a thread about them. Not sure why you are on my nuts. I'm entitled to my opinion. I shared a 340 above that I built on 318 money. Like I said, buy what you can afford. That's not a dig, it's reality. No harm no foul.
 
Nat said:
well i'm building a 340 now , all I have is a block and a set of x eads from my last 340 . no way i can compete with your build as cost is not a factor in this build . I still say a 340 do nothing but a little porting and add a cam a 318 will be no where close unless you spend $$$
Click to expand...
I'm starting with a fresh 328 cube 318 block. lol
Same parts it would be neck and neck at 1320.
 
Tbro said:
As of today. Junkyard 5.2 long block $250.00
Oregon cams #1364 218/224 .528/.536 110 lcl $179.00
Metric ring pack, true 9.1:1 compression. Roller cam with reusable lifters. Free
200 cfm stock. 192/1.62 valves
Bowl port and gasket match. Back cut valves [email protected] lift.
$250 labor.
Mr. Gasket 1121g brings compression up to 9.3:1
Professional products Crosswind $212.00
Carb of your choice??
Summit 15/8 headers $175.00
Summit 360 car pan $70.00

BTW 1973 340 8.5:1 240 gross horsepower, 290 ft lb torque. 10.5:1 early 340 275 gross horsepower. If this is the metric then we can match the factory performance and then some on the cheap.

218/224 Roller will perform better than 224 hydraulic. Being on a 110 will sound like a muscle car.

Eventhough I don't drink $1000.00 let's me have money leftover for beer and tacos.

Use LA front cover and now we are pushing 350 horsepower, all on the cheap. I have a 340 block . Block only $250.00 no way to build for 1k.
Let's think of smiles per gallon, hitting 8.5 on the Oh Yeah scale or pegging your fun meter all the way to the bank. This not about whether the same parts will make a 340 faster, but rather matching or exceeding factory 340 performance at its best on a budget. That we can do.

Thanks to all who have responded.
Click to expand...


All the engines of that era were grossly underrated.
 
Oldiron440 said:
Hell the smart 18 year old is building 2.0 liter Hondas that make 600 to 800 hp on the cheap for a 2400lbs body.
Click to expand...

Around here the average 18yo that can't use Daddy's money are buying a junk yard LS and putting e bay turbos and installing them in cheap Fox body mustangs and going fast. If the break the engine they just rinse and repeat.

For the most part they're not interested in Mopars as they know the prices out of reach for them.

Now back to you're regularly scheduled 318 orgy. :rofl:
 
Mmmm, I think the point of the discussion has been lost.

I have to agree with the OP, at least somewhat. Dollar for dollar, the 318 is a smarter choice. And for two reasons:

1. You can throw the same parts and work at both engines. The difference is the overhead. The 'gateway' fee. $2,000 spent on either, you're looking at a running 'core' 340, or a reasonably stout 318.

2. The stigma of "it's a 340". If you were building both engines side by side, even if you got them both for free, odds are more money will still go into the 340 because "it's a 340". Therefore it gets the good stuff. 318's are plentiful enough to where building one can be a very budget-friendly and guilt-free experience. Chinesium intake and cam? Maybe heads? Sure, who cares, it's a 318. Uncle Richards AFB that's suffered more *percussive maintenence* than any of us did growing up because he still has to get around to sorting it out (he won't), absolutely! "It's just a 318." I feel you would see FAR more backlash for putting cheap parts into a 340 than ANY manner of 318 building.

Just as an example, I am building one with a 60's marine 4-barrel + AFB, (intake bolt-hole redrilled) 5.2 magnum heads, 273 manifolds, old dual-point hemi dizzy I cobbled together out of parts, and a VERY mild cam. Total cost: <$800. And it will do absolutely everything I want it to do.
 
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