mike639

Hey guys, its been a while since i was last on here but i have some questions for you.

I have been doing some thinking about upgrading my stock 318 with 360 heads. Is this a good idea, what do I have to do, and would i be better off just replacing the 318 with a 360? Im trying to get the most horsepower i can.

Thanks.

78D200

I'd just go with a 360 as they can be had for pretty cheap.

67 GTX

the 360 will give ya more bang for your buck

old tired rebel

318 or 360 will make a good stroker engine.

raindance654

No offence but how come you don't simply big block everything?
You guys are waist deep in V8's whereas here in the UK even 318's are scarce. I wish I had access to the supply of raw material and motors etc that you lucky people in the US have. Heck, even my lawn mower would be a hemi.......!!!

More seriously, I'd have to go with the 360. No substitute for cubes, is there..???
Shoot over to the local wrecking yard score a nice 360 for a few hundred greenbacks give 'er a freshen up and a choppy cam and "bob's your uncle"

Terry.

67 GTX

there are some dis-advantages to doing that
if you are only looking for 400-500 hp, the small block can do it, and you save a lot of wieght
it is also easier to swap if you have already have a small block

raindance654

A simple case of zipping down to the wrecking yard and buying one of the many 340 t/a's that are lying about, eh ????

78D200

If money were no issue and people didn't hog them for themselves.

With swapping to a larger small block, you can just bolt it in and go. With a big block, you'll need a tranny, torsion bars, frame tie-ins (if looking for big HP and torque), a lot better cooling, etc.

raindance654

I would have thought it would have been necessesary or at least advisable for many of these things to be done in any case when adding more HP -whether you use a SB or BB. More HP from a SB will need stronger tranny and more cooling for it, better brakes, frame connectors, etc anyhow..........and surely cooling is dependant on how much HP is being produced as power is accompanied by heat. More HP = more heat.

I'm not nit picking and I don't pretend to have much knowledge about MoPars in particular but since there's a possibility that I might want to one day get more power from my Plymouth Fury than the 318 currently residing under the hood provides, I'd like to know as much as possible before I look at options.

It seems to me that the 450Hp mentioned here might be quite pricey to achieve with any SBM not to mention that it would probably result in a motor with very few street manners and the TorqueFlite behind it would probably not survive for very long requiring a change of tranny to its bigger brother or some fairly serious modification and uprating. And how many SBM's REALLY make a GENUINE 450hp ??

With that in mind surely it would be cheaper, easier, more streetable and quicker to simply fit a 440 suitably modded to make 450hp -especially knowing that you'll have a much more civilised and possibly more reliable motor under the hood.

In good old Limeyland we have a slight bit of luck in that the British sports car, Jensen, was fitted from the factory with a MoPar V8. Many of these were BB and a few even had a six pack. These pop up every now and then online and are a nice alternative to the usual RV cut-outs that are often floating around over here.

MrOldart2U

http://amarillo.craigslist.org/pts/1453634593.html hmmm here I did it again.....lol

78D200

Raindance654 - You are right, going with a BB to get that 450 number would be easier and maybe cheaper than building a SB. It's all up to the owner though. It all depends on how much work they really want to do though.

theomahamoparguy

I dont know but I'm not seeing an excess of Big Blocks in the wrecking yards lately. The occasional 400 once and a while. I do see a lot of 360's though. [thats what im putting together now]

deadkelly

i will only go with what i have done & am doing . on the cheap i would go with a 360 for stock power up grade . now there are many stroker options available for the 318 & 360 . but give me big block rods , bore & stroke oil system , bearing size , valve size , reciprocating weight ( torque ) bullet proof 727 ect ect any day of the week . as soon as you spend money on machining it doesn't matter weather it's sb or bb it costs the same . hell the price of a 383 with 727 over there is insanely cheap compared to what me & raindance would ever see . I'm very happy with my 383 & a lot of people say to me thats sb cid , well look at my rods , bore & bearings & how hard it rev's DURABILITY is the name of the game . i was reving my cammed up stock 383 (hyd cam ) to 7000 rpm in 2nd gear . sure i bent a push rod & hyd lifters aren't meant to do that but it's a very good sturdy base to start with . & any of yous who have read about all the problems i have had , i can tell you i have learned the long hard way , but it's all part of the journey i never owned a V8 till i bought my 318 Ute & i had no intention of being a car nut , but v8s change people . my cammed up stock 383 was making around 400 hp ( 270 + rwhp ) 1250 lbs of torque @ 2800 rpm & i had a 3000 stall . i only had 5.8-6.1:1 compression @ the time also . my engine was so miss matched & still made good power . i am now out of work & on the tightest of all budgets & am making do with what i can just now but my lil 383 will be making some very good hp I'll keep yous posted . conclusion go 360 if staying small block . BUT BIG BLOCK IT 4 THE HELL OF IT .

rcknrolfender79

Well, things arent as thick around here as you think. If a guy has a 340 t/a around here he is going to want a really good chunk of money for it. And like someone else said up there if you are wanting to get to around 400-500 hp for a good street car then a small block can do it, and save you alot of weight and gas money. And alot less has to be done to switch out small blocks, really just bolt 'em in and go. Big Blocks alot more has to be done. Also gas isnt something that is cheap around here anymore. I dont know how much it is in your part of the world but where I live it's about 2.50 a gallon. And I kinda like driving my chally on a daily bases. If i were to switch her out with a big block that wouldnt be possible. But I would switch it out with a big block worth having in it if I had the money I would put a 426 hemi in it. Or a V10 Viper motor, which will probably do ALOT better on gas than probably even a 318 would. I am seriously considering the V10. Hope it clears things up for ya. Mopar parts arent cheap not even in America where they came from. And they are not easy to come by.

P.S. If you ever hemi your lawn mower I WANT TO SEE IT!!! And drive it lol