Value of a 340

Value of a 340

  • Gotta have a 340

    Votes: 244 57.1%

  • Forget the 340, give me a 360 anytime

    Votes: 88 20.6%

  • Forget both the 340 & 360, big block all the way

    Votes: 54 12.6%

  • Forget all of the above - keeping my slant/273/318

    Votes: 41 9.6%
  • Total voters
    427
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I have 2 very nice 340's and wouldn't take less than $3500.00 for either. when god created the earth he rode in on a 340. Take a stock 340 and a stock 360 heads up and watch the finish line. That is why a 340 is worth top dollar today, thhey don't make them anymore and they were the bad to the bone motor and still are. just my nickles worth.
 
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I have a new 318 from a slant six and love the power the 318 has. It's built with 10.25 to 1 Keith black pistons ,mild cam heads ported and matched rods peened and resized and balanced . Super smooth motor and plenty of power!
 
169dart4y said:
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I have a new 318 from a slant six and love the power the 318 has. It's built with 10.25 to 1 Keith black pistons ,mild cam heads ported and matched rods peened and resized and balanced . Super smooth motor and plenty of power!
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Nice looking engine bay! And yes, I have 3-340's along with 360's, 440's and an elephant. I don't care to part with any of them!
 
I love the 340.(Go figure huh) I've had both and just like the power the 340 makes. I guess it's the short(3.31)stroke with the bigger bore. You stomp a 340 and your a## is pinned to the seat. Even the late '72 up low comp. motor ran good. JMHO
 
It matters not which is/can be the best, the cheapest/expensive to build, or has the most potential/bang for the buck.

340 has always meant performance - always 4bbl
360 has always meant emissions - Lean burn, 2bbl, truck

It's the mystique
Grant
 
65CudaFish said:
340's are rare. The best were the mid years of it's production 71 being the sought after original 340 Muscle Car's. By 1971 the 340's were refined. It replaced the 273 Commando in 1968. The 340 was phased out by 360's. I once had a 1970 340 Dart Swinger it had a 727 & drop out gears. The engine was pretty high compression with a big AVS Carter Four Barrel. Nice Plumb Crazy car with a white wrap around stripe and a very cool dash. The odd thing was it came with a bench seat and a auto on the tree, but it was the real deal. Someone said to me that it was experimental for the production of the 1971 Dodge Dart Sport. If you can find a 340 Six Pack car, it is worth as much as any other highly sought after Mopar. I have a 340 right now that I spent a fortune on, $5000 on just the bare long block.
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Not to be a smart *** but the 273 Commando was not available in 1968. The 273 was still available. 340 was added as another engine option in 1968. Also, what is a bare long block?
 
dart4forte said:
Not to be a smart *** but the 273 Commando was not available in 1968. The 273 was still available. 340 was added as another engine option in 1968. Also, what is a bare long block?
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Yeah the 273 was still available after 1967 but was phased out by the 318, the 273 Commando was no longer available after 1967 The Famed 340 phased it out.

A bare long block is a engine without an intake manifold, exhaust manifolds, oil pan, water pump, etc. It would be block with heads ready to assemble the exterior components. No accessories. A complete long block is everything from fan to flex plate.
 
HERE HERE..... The 340 was the lil power house that if properly tuned and set up in a 3000lb A body would kick almost ANY big blocks *** up about 100mph. After 100 the stroke kicks in and the BB will pass you....but from light to light street racing in 6 years I never got beat! I ran against 440's 440+6 Hemi RR, Hemi GTX Super B's Vetts 350 Chevy's 396 Chevys 454 Chevys and 427 Chevys....I pissed off so many people.....when they asked me what I was runnin NO ONE Believed me!!! I HAD to pull over and open my hood EVERY TIME!!! I burned up like 6 sets of Mikey Thomsons L 60 14's. My 72 340 was worked to be brought to 68/9 specs and my trans had a shift kit and a 4. second gear arm, 391 sure grip, Doug Thorley headers and a tweeked TQ, manual slide dumps and front up lock shocks, and sorry if this pisses the BB guys off but in and around Detroit against somne pretty stiff gear head competitors, I never got beat up to 100 ok Maybe 105. Most of my racing those days was "STREET STYLE", No Nitrus , no extra cooling or alum radiator, no air and street ET torq Thrusts all the way around with Gabriel air shocks in the rear.....OH ya edlebrock High vol fuel pump.
SO if you werent impressed with the 340 LA motor, it musta been close to flatlining...mine ran stron till the day I sold it and beyond....I warned the girl that bought it to be careful, esp on wet days...she didn't listen and three weeks later, on my way home from work, there she was, my lil widowmaker, sternly hugging a rather large tree! The guy at the gas station across the street told me the girl got a lil hurt but walked to the ambulance.....the car was a total loss......I have to admit it made me a lil misty and I have wanted another one ever since....a 360 just wont do.
I presently have a 72 Duster with a numbers matching built 340 4 spd that I can feel will be quite the contender AND a 66 barracuda with a 340 TA motor with U heads ( yes U check it out ) a 727 and a 355 suregrip....both are destined to be LIL A Stingers
 
66cuda said:
HERE HERE..... The 340 was the lil power house that if properly tuned and set up in a 3000lb A body would kick almost ANY big blocks *** up about 100mph. After 100 the stroke kicks in and the BB will pass you....but from light to light street racing in 6 years I never got beat! I ran against 440's 440+6 Hemi RR, Hemi GTX Super B's Vetts 350 Chevy's 396 Chevys 454 Chevys and 427 Chevys....I pissed off so many people.....when they asked me what I was runnin NO ONE Believed me!!! I HAD to pull over and open my hood EVERY TIME!!! I burned up like 6 sets of Mikey Thomsons L 60 14's. My 72 340 was worked to be brought to 68/9 specs and my trans had a shift kit and a 4. second gear arm, 391 sure grip, Doug Thorley headers and a tweeked TQ, manual slide dumps and front up lock shocks, and sorry if this pisses the BB guys off but in and around Detroit against somne pretty stiff gear head competitors, I never got beat up to 100 ok Maybe 105. Most of my racing those days was "STREET STYLE", No Nitrus , no extra cooling or alum radiator, no air and street ET torq Thrusts all the way around with Gabriel air shocks in the rear.....OH ya edlebrock High vol fuel pump.
SO if you werent impressed with the 340 LA motor, it musta been close to flatlining...mine ran stron till the day I sold it and beyond....I warned the girl that bought it to be careful, esp on wet days...she didn't listen and three weeks later, on my way home from work, there she was, my lil widowmaker, sternly hugging a rather large tree! The guy at the gas station across the street told me the girl got a lil hurt but walked to the ambulance.....the car was a total loss......I have to admit it made me a lil misty and I have wanted another one ever since....a 360 just wont do.
I presently have a 72 Duster with a numbers matching built 340 4 spd that I can feel will be quite the contender AND a 66 barracuda with a 340 TA motor with U heads ( yes U check it out ) a 727 and a 355 suregrip....both are destined to be LIL A Stingers
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Nice, your post reminds me of the Kiss song.
 
Hey guys, I'm only 27, so I wasn't obviously around when these cars were new, but I do have a 340 Duster. I know quite a few Mopar guys and a lot of them would like to get their hands on a 340. Most settle for a 318 or even a 360 (which I have one of each in the garage too.) From what I see and hear they are rare, but only rarer than other motors because there were less built. 318s and 360s came in ALOT more vehicles so they're great if you're on a budget. I also see a lot of "340" cars at local shows but they're either clones or really 318s under the hood. I would spend extra to get a 340 if I had the choice. I also have a 383 sitting under the bench... and no car to put it in. So yes I do agree that a 340 is rare.
 
340 are not that rare....got a stack of them in the shed...
 
I have a complete 71 340 here, Never been apart intake down to the pan. I would sell it.
 
70aarcuda said:
340 are not that rare....got a stack of them in the shed...
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LMAO, BECAUSE IF GUYS LIKE YOU, THEY ARE RARE, TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.LOL IF YOU WOULD STOP HOARDING, THEN THEY WOULD NOT BE RARE AT ALL.........................................SO GIVE ME ONE TO ADD TO MY COLLECTION:bootysha::toothy10:
 
why does it take 64 people to tell a guy how much a limited production motor that was always flogged and sought for racing 'therefore very few are left' is worth???

the dumbest threads always get the most replies it seems.lol

and for the 100th time, 340 block std go's for around 300-500 bucks, std 340 short blocks go for around 400-600 [rods & crank not so important/as in easily replaced], and long blocks 600-800

but really they go for what ever the hell someone is willing to pay.

if 360's came steel crank...I think the rave about the 340 would be not so much, but also consider the 340 is the missing piece for a lot of numbers muscle cars....one of the main reasons they cost so much.
 
Realistically, I think the 360 is a better choice to build, generally speaking...

...BUT it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that I have a complete carb-to-pan original '69 340 from a Barracuda. The 360 doesn't do that for me, even though it's irrational.
 
NOT irrational.... just like the 540, 528 and 472 are ALL great powerful Hemi motors..... they are still NOT and never will be the motor that spawned legends the 426 hemi.

360 's are fine engines...BUT they are NOT from the years that Muscle was lurkin on the streets....

same with the 572 CHebby motor...FINE engine....just NOT REAL FINE LIKE 409 or 427 or 396

YOU are talking about the gut feeling, the love and the romance of the classic muscle cars and the motors they housed..... THAT is the entire REASON the accurate engine makes such a difference ( and I am NOT talking about the money part)
 
66cuda said:
NOT irrational.... just like the 540, 528 and 472 are ALL great powerful Hemi motors..... they are still NOT and never will be the motor that spawned legends the 426 hemi.

360 's are fine engines...BUT they are NOT from the years that Muscle was lurkin on the streets....

same with the 572 CHebby motor...FINE engine....just NOT REAL FINE LIKE 409 or 427 or 396

YOU are talking about the gut feeling, the love and the romance of the classic muscle cars and the motors they housed..... THAT is the entire REASON the accurate engine makes such a difference ( and I am NOT talking about the money part)
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I couldn't agree more. That's the warm fuzzy feeling. The correct musclecar era engine... it was there... it's the real thing. Totally. By "irrational" I was referring to which motor is really better (or equivalent) to build for actual use. But yeah, that feeling... that history, that authenticity. That means a lot to me, and I love having that REAL 340.
 
Thats why it has been referred to as the little hemi.Great little engine.The engineers got it together on this one.You can build a faster one out of whatever you want-with enough money.But at the time,246.00 extra right out of the box in a cuda or dart,you were the MAN.340 is my favorite!
 
Yep there is a certain feeling having a 340, 360's are good but like 66cuda said you get a warm fuzzy feeling with the 340. The nostalgia with it etc. The 360 has the extra cubes and can be had more economically. If its a /6-273-318 car and I wanted moah powah I might hump the snot out of the 273 or 318, if not then go 360.
 
How many 340 Dusters of any year do you think still have their original engine installed? Having never been removed? Hard to believe this is a question....


e72duster-eng-carb1.jpg
 
They are rare, but in my opinion not that difficult to find. My husband's Challenger came with one (free)...my early casting '67 340 complete and running was bought off ebay just a few years ago for $600, and in January we bought a standard bore '71 block for $150 off Craigslist.

And though we do have 360's and 318's and even a lone big block, none of them give me the warm and fuzzy of a 340. lol...
 
If you are going to compare them stock for stock, the 340 easily wins. If you are restoring an original 340 car, obviously a 340. Once the engines are modified though, it doesn't matter. You can build a 340 as bad-*** you want. You can make a 360 just as bad-***, cheaper. My point is, once the engine is modified, it is impossible to say which one is better because you can always make one better than the other. If you building for performance, the 360 is the way to go because of the availability of them and they are cheaper. 340's now a days are restoration motors. The 340 may have been the s*!t back in the day but now a days with the technology and the options you have when building for performance, the 360 is the logical choice. 340 stuff is too hard to find and way too expensive now a days.
 
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