What motor to go with?

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cjackson3396

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:rambo:I have a 71 dart with the 318 904 setup... I in no way plan on racing, doing quarter mile runs or anything more than just simple cruise and once and a while mess around. I have a couple options but bare with me I can keep the 318 go what .030 over throw the 360 Ported heads on it along with a cam and flat top pistons and get decent hp and keep car original (SORTA)
I also can get my hands on 360's and 440's for next to nothing but like I said just wanna do mild playin mostly cruisin...I don't risk my car for no man or woman lol love it to much. But I would lose the original badge.

The 904 is a fresh reuild and I also have a 8 3/4 rear going in it to...has headers and i beleive 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 duel exhuast

P/S This will be a winter build so isn't like I'm starting tomorrow...so think bout it set me straight...Intake and carb i haven't thot about yet it has 4barrel carb and intake on it Idk what intake.
 
Well I found a 74 hi-po 360 with the 727...would this setup work?....and sorry bout that I have an 8 1/4 rear with 3.73 gears
 
If you plan on rebuilding, I would stroke the 318, kinda go with a sleeper look.
Maybe even contimplate a turbo with the stock 318?
I think if I did not have so much money invested, I would have just turbo'd my 318 and been done with it.
 
A 318 with a supercharger would be a blast , plenty of low end for the city . Think my next build will be 318 , 30 over 8-1 forged pistons , not sure the cam and a 727 and 3.55 gears . Had a supercharger on my v-6 T-bird and with a bit of work it was a tire smoking beast . I can just imagine a 318 in a 3,000 lb car . That's the advantage of superchargers instant power . Had 2 one went 100,000 mile and was stolen , the other had 260,000 mile when I sold it , ran great never a problem .
 
lol Ok guys good ideas but I don't think I'm working with a budget big enuf to throw in the supercharger or turbo
 
you need to watch out went going to 360 heads...the larger combustion chamber will kill the compression on the 318....

if you are doing a rebuild on the 318...you might want to look at KB pistons that will up the compression with the larger chambers...

if funds allow..,..a set of RHS heads or EQ heads with small chambers and better flow then stock 360 heads would be a big plus
 
70aarcuda, Yea I was going to bore 318 .030 over...Have the 360 heads ported and chambers up to 60cc...flat top pistons... didn't have a cam, intake or carb picked yet...
 
Just a quick question neways...whats the difference between a 360 and a 360 hi-po? Ive been having trouble searchin that up
 
If you don't want to get too wild just refresh the 318 and throw some bolt ons at it. I am pretty suprised how well mine goes with bolt ons no converter and 3.23 gears. A converter would really be the icing on the cake for what i currently have i think.

I have a 73 318 with what i assume has at least 150k miles on it. stock heads and bottom end, 340 cam, ld4b with a 600 cfm edelbrock carb and headers. Pretty incredible difference over the stock garbage. Still no racecar by any means but goes pretty decent. would be good for you if you did not want to go too wild. If you want to go wilder by all means go for it.:cheers:
 
Just a quick question neways...whats the difference between a 360 and a 360 hi-po? Ive been having trouble searchin that up

not too much. maybe a double roller timing chain, cam and valve springs. nothing special about the block or rotating assembly.
 
Deal is its a 74 Hi-Po 360 with matching 727 tranny and comes with another full 360 motor...says the heads have Hi_po stamped on them...says it has big chamber heads and valves heavy rods and forged crank. Wants 500 but prolly get him down to 400
 
rods are just standard and its a cast crank if its a 360. he either doesn't know what he is talking about of trying to screw you. really worth nothing more then a normal 360 in my opinion.
 
NO 360s have forged cranks unless its an aftermarket forged one. All 360s have the heavy rods. Never seen any 360 heads stamped hi po or have big valves from the factory. What are the head casting #s? Most likely normal 1.88 360 heads. How well does the seller know his mopars? Every "stock" 360 ive tried and owned are dogy. Good cruiser motor if that what your looking for. I think this hi po stuff is going to sellers head. A good going early 318 would probably beat it. I personaly like 400+ HP
 
maybe it just me, but if youre just gonna cruise the car and arent gonna race it, I wouldnt throw a ton of money at the motor. If it doesnt need a rebuild, dont even pull the shortblock apart. Maybe stick like a stock 340 cam in it, port the heads, and go with a weiand action plus or stock 340 intake, and possibly a set of headers.
 
I was looking for the 727 because it was mentioned to me that it might not hold up to the 318 after i built it the way i was going to...The 727 came with the hi-po 360 thats only reason I was asking...and Yea i gunna go threw any motor I buy... I had never heard of a Hi-Po lol thats why I was confused
 
if want to build up the 318 like you say..then is sounds like you would be good with a comp 268* hyd cam, the hyperutectic KB 167 pistons and some regular ceviite77 tri metal bearings w/ some single moly rings, stock pan/oil pump...'maybe' windage tray

The heads need to be considered 'not really for what you're asking' but lets look at them anyways..

stock '675' 318 1.78 valve...........stock '974' 360 1.88 valve
--------int cfm-------------------------------int cfm--------
.100--53---------------------------------------55
.200--107-------------------------------------109
.300--154-------------------------------------169
.400--159-------------------------------------206
.450--162-------------------------------------213
.500--165-------------------------------------208

The 318 heads 'except '#302' have chamber that are around 68cc
The 360 heads all typically have around 72cc chambers

ALL factory la 318 heads have 124-125 cc intake ports

1.88 valve 360 heads have 160cc intake ports

With porting being considered...
The 318 heads pored will go 200 cfm fairly easy with a stock valve, more like 206-210cfm with a good valve job, they tend to peak around 240cfm on an average.
The 1.88 valve 360 heads ported will go 240-250 fairly easy with a good valve job, see here http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=145748&highlight=360+head+trip

You could just keep it simple and with the fore mentioned bottom end build and 'to keep it simple' run a set of milled 1.88 valve 360 heads, they're worth another 40 cfm over the heads you have now, cost a lot less than porting AND building the 318 heads you have.

jmo
 
Low budget cruiser id throw the 360/727 in and start cruising if they check out fine. Wont be a rce car but will sound good and cruise just fine. 727 is a stronger tranny w a lower 1st gear for a hotter engine later. Have to put alot more money into a 904 to get them to hold up to considerable hp. Yes it would be a little lighter but if your not racing all the time who cares. IMO 904s are junk. blew up 3 in my 450 HP duster before going w a 727 been 6 years w no problems.
 
I believe the 904 'most yrs' shared the same 1st gear ratio as the 727, others were even lower.

the 998 & 999 [904 family] have the lower 1st & 2nd gears...that swap into the 904 with ease.

They are raced all the time.
 
So whats the suggestion...build the 318 use my rebuilt 904...But i will still prolly try to get the 727 to be safe. The 360 is in pieces so it has to be gone threw and my 318 will be gone threw...Thanks Crazy guy for the Head job link...I'm going to look into that and see if my buddy can do that for me..I gunna drop 1000 or more in parts regardless of engine...so which ever one works...but i do like the sound of winding up a 318 :)
 
Low budget cruiser id throw the 360/727 in and start cruising if they check out fine. Wont be a rce car but will sound good and cruise just fine. 727 is a stronger tranny w a lower 1st gear for a hotter engine later. Have to put alot more money into a 904 to get them to hold up to considerable hp. Yes it would be a little lighter but if your not racing all the time who cares. IMO 904s are junk. blew up 3 in my 450 HP duster before going w a 727 been 6 years w no problems.
I agree on the 904 , why spend money upgrading it when a 727 will handle all you can throw at it .
And I beat you , 4 904's trashed , and 2 were built up to take a beating . After I switched to a 727 never had a problem . You want to save weight , alu intake and headers save a few lbs glass hood and fenders a few more . 727 is worth the extra lbs IMO .
Agree with wild and crazy on the 318 , if it's just for cruising .
 
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