Why the 318 is a phenomenal engine...

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Big blocks are great.....until you have your foot into it going into a curve or try to shoe horn them into an A body. I prefer a small block for weight savings. That saying.....I wouldn't mind an light weight (aluminum head, intake, etc) low deck 383 or 400 stroker.
 
413 said:
I deleted my first post as I didn’t want to rain on the 318 parade. But since it was quoted I put it back up. Yes they are good, but “phenomenal” might be a stretch.

glad to see a young gun in the old mopars! Carry on.
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All is good. We are all mopar lovers in this thread!
 
A stock 2bbl 318 pulling to 6500 in a 3800 lb truck doesnt pass the sniff test for me.
 
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fishmens67 said:
I wished I never overlooked the 340 when I was younger, the 383 2 barrel in a 67 Polara was my introduction to Mopar.
I've always been a big block guy. I've only had one 318 LA and it was a 71 Satellite, I wasn't impressed.
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One of my first teens was in a 72 more door sat. Highway gears. Definitely not a rubber roaster..
 
A few years ago, I inherited, from my son, a D100/318/904w a 2800TC/3.55s/ and with 235/75-15s on it at 29".. That engine used to be the winter engine for my 68 Barracuda. It has a 4bbl and was fresh when I sold it to him. The engine was powerful enough to cause serious wheel-hop, so I fixed that.
It was a fun truck for my young son for over five years. But the only way the tires would spin was to stuff it into a turn going too fast, then gas it and hope for the best, lol. And there is not one panel on that truck, that does not bear the witness marks of how many times, it didn't work out for him; gosh, he sure tried to copy his ol' man. Well maybe jus one panel is still straight, namely, the roof, but I haven't actually checked.
 
My first car was a 71 charger 318, 2bbl. and headers with duals. I thought I was John Force LOL. Actually that car ran very good for what it was.
 
Sorry, also have a hard time believing 318/2bbl/6500 rpm. Maybe in neutral...
 
Ironracer said:
One of my first teens was in a 72 more door sat. Highway gears. Definitely not a rubber roaster..
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Appreciate the 318 for what it was designed for: A reliable engine that lasts and lasts.
Of COURSE it lasts a long time. They came with a cam with .373 lift. The heads had ports small enough that a grape couldn't get through. They ran out of power at 4500 rpms. These engines didn't get blown up at street races.
Now....
Take a 318 and fit it with a bigger cam, decent heads and some headers and you'll really have something.
 
The rep of the engine is a solid one based in the dependability of the engine. Not being a high strung engine and not beat on by most of the public at large, they just keep on going.

My ‘79 Magnum I bought off some of the only owner in which he stopped recording miles after 323,000. He then gave it to his daughter for 4 years of collage, then his son for another 4 years and then he used it on an 80 mile round trip commute for work for the next 10 years.

A half million mile car? Probably if not greater.

Ran just fine when I got it. Burned/leaked no oil.
 
I firmly believe that the engine can be a good performer. When using an engine that is smaller in size, there are compromises that have to be felt with. It will have limitations and short comings. Ignore it or deal with it. If you use your head, I don’t see a reason why it would not run fast.
 
gagembassett said:
I know it sounds far fetched but with every ounce I swear it was true
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Bewy said:
Sorry, also have a hard time believing 318/2bbl/6500 rpm. Maybe in neutral...
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He swears it’s true. So if the tach is accurate then let’s check that cam and valve springs. They must be aftermarket replacements. And the carb would need to be richened up. What about the ignition box, is it stock?

I cannot see a stock cam, valve springs, carb, and ignition box making power to that RPM unless it was a manual transmission going downhill, and then downshifted.

a stock big block won’t pull to 6500 Either.
Leave max wedge and hemi out of this silliness.
 
413 said:
He swears it’s true. So if the tach is accurate then let’s check that cam and valve springs. They must be aftermarket replacements. And the carb would need to be richened up. What about the ignition box, is it stock?

I cannot see a stock cam, valve springs, carb, and ignition box making power to that RPM unless it was a manual transmission going downhill, and then downshifted.

a stock big block won’t pull to 6500 Either.
Leave max wedge and hemi out of this silliness.
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I'll do a favor for both of ya, the 318 comes out this summer in favor or the aforementioned 360. When that happens I will take pictures of everything before I tear it completely down and I'll come back to this thread and we can talk. I did however think of one thing that would help support both of our stances. The kid a few years younger than me that I bought it from (absolute idiot when it came to doing anything properly so everything had to be fixed for him) had to have the headgasket repaired for him on the 318 because it chuffed like a blue smoke chimney the first time I ever saw it. There could be a possibility of a cam swap that I was never told about? Just a thought I came up with while thinking about how you both are in doubt of the 6,500 rpm. It was 6,500 I know that for certain, but I will try to do a proper debate/discussion about it when the 318 comes out
 
gagembassett said:
I'll do a favor for both of ya, the 318 comes out this summer in favor or the aforementioned 360. When that happens I will take pictures of everything before I tear it completely down and I'll come back to this thread and we can talk. I did however think of one thing that would help support both of our stances. The kid a few years younger than me that I bought it from (absolute idiot when it came to doing anything properly so everything had to be fixed for him) had to have the headgasket repaired for him on the 318 because it chuffed like a blue smoke chimney the first time I ever saw it. There could be a possibility of a cam swap that I was never told about? Just a thought I came up with while thinking about how you both are in doubt of the 6,500 rpm. It was 6,500 I know that for certain, but I will try to do a proper debate/discussion about it when the 318 comes out
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I've had a few 318's, there are a good, they have excellent bore to stroke ratio. My main complaint about them is for the most part they are gas hogs. I had a 1989 and a 1998 1/2 trucks and neither got better than 14 on the highway.
 
Kern Dog said:
Appreciate the 318 for what it was designed for: A reliable engine that lasts and lasts.
Of COURSE it lasts a long time. They came with a cam with .373 lift. The heads had ports small enough that a grape couldn't get through. They ran out of power at 4500 rpms. These engines didn't get blown up at street races.
Now....
Take a 318 and fit it with a bigger cam, decent heads and some headers and you'll really have something.
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We did one like that with the radical resto cam, had it in a club cab then a Ramcharger.. wicked
 
gagembassett said:
I'll do a favor for both of ya, the 318 comes out this summer in favor or the aforementioned 360. When that happens I will take pictures of everything before I tear it completely down and I'll come back to this thread and we can talk. I did however think of one thing that would help support both of our stances. The kid a few years younger than me that I bought it from (absolute idiot when it came to doing anything properly so everything had to be fixed for him) had to have the headgasket repaired for him on the 318 because it chuffed like a blue smoke chimney the first time I ever saw it. There could be a possibility of a cam swap that I was never told about? Just a thought I came up with while thinking about how you both are in doubt of the 6,500 rpm. It was 6,500 I know that for certain, but I will try to do a proper debate/discussion about it when the 318 comes out
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Are you sure the 4-6-8 cylinder switch on the tach selector switch wasnt on 6 cyl ? It happened to me, I had a 327/350 hp SBC that read 7500 and it was in the 6 cyl switch position. LOL
 
Brooks James said:
Are you sure the 4-6-8 cylinder switch on the tach selector switch wasnt on 6 cyl ? It happened to me, I had a 327/350 hp SBC that read 7500 and it was in the 6 cyl switch position. LOL
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LOL. I'd sure hope not otherwise I need to stop being a car person
 
Please take this with a grain of salt.. just because an engine can Rev to a certain level, it Does Not mean it's making power good there, or even running right up there ( missing ign, valve float, ect) that being said, some day were better in the factory than others.. I have heard, and even read here, about 2 of the same mills, acting in different manners, performance wise... OK, now let the show begin!
 
This Eight Wonder of the World, the 2bbl/318/6500 rpm, is reported doing all this pulling a heavy 3800lb truck. And richening up the 2bbl ain't going to do it either...
 
I wasn't there, so I'll take his word for it. Seen stranger things for sure. Not going to call him a lier.
 
Ironracer said:
Please take this with a grain of salt.. just because an engine can Rev to a certain level, it Does Not mean it's making power good there, or even running right up there ( missing ign, valve float, ect) that being said, some day were better in the factory than others.. I have heard, and even read here, about 2 of the same mills, acting in different manners, performance wise... OK, now let the show begin!
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^^This^^

When I was a teenager my cousin who was a couple years older than me loved 383's. He would turn them 6500+, yes, they would turn that much, but he blew up a lot of engines too.
 
I have had a lot of cars over the years with 318s.
Some are better than others in stock form, but the best ones I have found are the '68-'69 318s.
Of course the compression was higher in those years, but they just plain worked.
They are dead nuts reliable and it doesn't matter the year, they go good for what they are.
I have never had or ridden in one that was hopped up from stock other than dual exhaust and a 4 barrel, but they have a lot of potential.
It's like a 340's little brother...
 
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