Whats the deal with 340s?

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My son and I debated 340 versus 360. Went with the 340 for re-sale value. When it gets mentioned, people start to slobber....it matters not that it has AL heads and intake, a 273 crank, headers, etc,, and bears little resemblance to the to original engine. The 340 has achieved a rare mystique based on the performance of the original item.

As far as power, with modern heads and such, I can't see much difference. They're both mildly undersquare engines and ought to rev pretty well.
 
yellow rose said:
You can put a roller valve train in a 340.

They hydraulic roller is pretty much useless any more. If my customers want a roller tappet for a performance engine. They get a solid roller.

A hydraulic lifter, is a hydraulic lifter.
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Rosey, Rosey, Rosey, you pretty much post in a hardass way with most of your comments. But I gotta tell ya, we really think alike in many areas. This being one of them..............along with the horsepower belief.
 
I've owned much of all. I did a mild 340/360 comparison. Here is what I did and the results. Used the same 750dp Holley, same dual plane intake, same 340 J heads, same cam (MP . 280/.474), connected to the same 2400 converter/727 in the same 3300 lb Dart with 3.91's. I did replace the pistons in the 360 to get the compression ratio the same.
340 ran 13.60's
360 ran 13.30's
340 cost 200.00 for a builder core (good deal from a friend)
360 cost 25.00 from a dodge pickup on it's way to the bone yard.
No, not claiming this is all tale. Just reporting this experiment.
 
318willrun said:
I've owned much of all. I did a mild 340/360 comparison. Here is what I did and the results. Used the same 750dp Holley, same dual plane intake, same 340 J heads, same cam (MP . 280/.474), connected to the same 2400 converter/727 in the same 3300 lb Dart with 3.91's. I did replace the pistons in the 360 to get the compression ratio the same.
340 ran 13.60's
360 ran 13.30's
340 cost 200.00 for a builder core (good deal from a friend)
360 cost 25.00 from a dodge pickup on it's way to the bone yard.
No, not claiming this is all tale. Just reporting this experiment.
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That is the advantage with going larger cid
And probably was a little tamer but the 340 could of been as quick with more gear and converter. You either got to put the torque in the engine (more cid) or in the rear (deeper gears).
 
IQ52 said:
Rosey, Rosey, Rosey, you pretty much post in a hardass way with most of your comments. But I gotta tell ya, we really think alike in many areas. This being one of them..............along with the horsepower belief.
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Cause if your car is convertered and geared right the one with the better hp curve will win no matter at what rpm the powerband exist at (torque).
 
318willrun said:
340 ran 13.60's
360 ran 13.30's
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There you go. Chris Alston was talking about all out race engines in race cars. Not street cars with mostly production based platforms. Torque is king on the street. More precisely torque is more effective in a vehicle that is a compromise between many "needs".
 
Like that reply Moper. How true that is.
To bad we can't get two guys with spec built engines with the only difference between them being one is a 340 and the other a 360 to have some show off fun and competitive fun.
(Street trim build, nothing nutty.)
 
moper said:
There you go. Chris Alston was talking about all out race engines in race cars. Not street cars with mostly production based platforms. Torque is king on the street. More precisely torque is more effective in a vehicle that is a compromise between many "needs".
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I like to think of it as lower rpm hp vs higher rpm hp but yes torque "low rpm hp" is king on the street cause of mainly gear choice mainly 3.55:1 give or take a step or two in either direction. Is gonna suit a larger engines powerband over a smaller engine.

But if your willing to gear it eg. 4.88-5.13 plus geared 400-450 hp 273 there no reason it cant keep up with the bigger power plants although it's gonna be extremely less street friendly which is the obvious benefit of going largest engine you can start with.
 
oh boy..not this again...
Any engine can be built to perform today..and to argue which is best is pointless.
Those that lived through the Muscle Car era witnessed how quick the 340 was on the street
compared to everything else at that time.
.If you didn't live through the era,it won't mean anything to you and you will be happy
with a 360 or whatever.
 
Infecteddog said:
Perfect answer would be "just a small block", followed by "it's a dodge motor" (in the event of the dumbass chevy comment), then in the face of further questioning- "360 block"- finished off with "408" if the questions persist. That has been my favorite answer to that question ever.
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I get sick of hearing it by the second week of the season. I usually say no, it's just a slant six, or no, I didn't want that small of a motor.
 
Oh yes! The "Jonny know it all" crew that shows up and tells you "What you should have done/I would have done it like....And didn't you know this is a better thing to do and ....."
 
my 318 demon is a beast compared to 72 340 duster of wifes, similar mods but ive got 3000 stall and 355s compared to her stock 323s and stock converter.on that note though i'm in process of building a 360.if u can find a 340 cheap,sure,good luck, i think its what u put into these motors is what makes them, so far not impressed with the 340, but i remember back in the 70's they were pretty impressive
 
Wow you must have one wicked 318. The comparisons I have one is a 68s 4 speed,super coupe E58 and lil red express E58 and the 340 gets the nod everytime
 
The most underrated engine of all time, 318.
Most never thought about to consider engine of all tof me, 273. (Or the 1 year only 350 big block/RB 383.)
 
318's in stock form are great engines,even my#3 318 is a hoss. But the one true statement is if you spend a million dollars on a Volkswagen-you can have the fastest Volkswagen around.
 
I always thought of the 318 as our 327 but just do it yourselfer cause it never came with the goods from the factory, they crippled it with 273 parts. If they introduced it with all the 340 goods in 67 it would also be considered a legend.
 
Funny you say that because the general public here will say equips it with 318 parts to warm it up and that's all you can do to it.
 
My jackass can-and has- whipped your 318
 
I guess I'm not asking what is better but the numbers I saw don't really show it being a super crazy power house. So I guess the answer to my question is not really any more power than my 360 magnum but it was all the extras that went along with it.
 
although a stock '69 or '70 340 is fast enough to be fun,it is not a power house today. 45 years ago compared to the muscle that was available then it sure was "on the street"
...at the strip it fared pretty well too with a converter and a gear but race prepped big blocks usually prevailed in the bigger classes.
 
When I was a kid, one of my brothers had a 340 Demon. Some guy built it. I don't know what all that consisted of, but headers, cam, aluminum intake and a 850 dp Holley was what I knew. This car raced any and every thing that was willing.... and it never lost. Built 454 Chevelles, you name it. It never went to the strip, but wow, what a street warrior.
 
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