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318 rework?

volaredon

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78 Fury 2 door. 904 non lockup, 2.76 rear. 318-2bbl with still working Lean Burn (which is being removed-- and SOON) ONLY deviation from stock is true duals..... 56K orig miles. I'm 2nd owner, bought in 2007 with 38K original, from original owner.
Also already has Edelbrock True Roller T chain, installed when water pump started leaking, because I was "that close," and was afraid of original nylon toothed cam sprocket about, 8K ago)
LOVES cruising at 70/ but just takes a little too long in getting there.
---I have.... a COMP 260H cam, (slightly used, my son had it in a 360 for 5K, til he decided the 360 wasn't enough, he "had to" build a 408 in a Ramcharger)
Lifters are with it, and marked, as to where they ran, on said cam
Paid extra to have said cam "Nitrided" from COMP
--- a Weiand and an Edelbrock Perfomer for 4 bbl intake choices
---a Carterbrock 500, a Carter brock 625, and a couple of ready to run TQs
a set of fresh from the machine shop '302 heads, basic VJ, nothing special done to them, may try some simple porting and "cleanup" before I put them on

This is a cruiser, will never be a race car... just like a little more "spirit" in "spirited" driving, nothing crazy.
Am considering down the road possibly swapping gears... maybe 3.08s (made popular in 8-1/4s in XJ Cherokees and newer that used 8-1/4 rear) or maybe a set of 3.21s "but not now"....

Given the pile of parts I have "right here, right now", does anyone see a good combo that makes sense to wake up the 318? I AM NOT SWAPPING TO A 360, so DON'T GO THERE!
I am also NOT going any deeper into short block than a cam and those 302 heads....
being I also have a vintage popup (that also happens to be a '78) that I may pull on short jaunts (100 miles or so each way, maybe 3-2 times a year for weekend campouts but this is the exception, not the normal use planned.....
is there a better cam choice? Id like to use what I have but I may buy a cam if ther eis a better "bang for buck" option available...
trans will come out for a "freshening" next salt season when car is again parked.... trans has never been out, to date, since new. may consider "slight" converter stall bump at that point but again "not now".

my wife likes driving it too, want more oomph, dependable enough not to be temperamental, and the AC stays.
 
Gears are so important with that little engine. 3.2‘s for the win
 
I think a nice four barrel carter and a little cam would benefit with those gears but fuel mileage may suffer... just depends what you can live with!
 
Been there with 2 318s with tall gears. One stock one with Toth Aluminum heads, torque cam, Performer and 4 barrel. Neither are stellar off the line with 2.94 gears. The later once spun up keeps pulling long after the first goes flat at 4000 RPM. Bottom line in my opinion the only way for a 318 to feel peppy in normal day to day driving is lower gears. Since I am on the highway at 65 to 75 way more than anything else I just accepted it and kept the 2.94 gears. Tried a set of 2.76 gears once and went with the 2.94s
 
A really tight performance convertor is pricey but likely the best way to get any performance... especially w highway gears. A good tq is hard to beat IMO. I am guessing the intakes are both for the bigger 360 port? They don't fit the best on a 318 if that's the case, but porting the heads will help. I'd probably run the cam you have but it wouldn't be my first choice. I assume you are doing dual exhaust with manifolds?
 
Yup the duals/off the original manifolds was the 1st thing I did to the car back in 07 when I got it. Still in great shape as the car has only seen rain a few times since I have had it, never seen snow in that time.
 
Mopar thought the dual exhaust on the 318 73/74 Roadrunners was worth 20 HP.

I think you are on the right track with the small 4 barrel and small but larger than stock cam.

If the 625 is an AVS, I'd use that.

See what intake works best with your AC bracket.

I believe the Performer should work well with it. it has 318 sized ports as well.

No need to do any converter replacement with those mods.

I'd bet those mods won't hurt MPG either.

Your rear axle is likely an 8 1/4, which requires some pretty advanced skills to change the gear.

A lot of effort to go from 2.76 to 2.94.

I changed a 360 Duster from a 2.76 8 1/4 to 3.23 8 3/4 and that car started chirping second pretty good despite the added weight of the 8 3/4.

3.23 (or in the case of 8 1/4- 3.21) will start to affect highway MPG a bit. Not much, but a bit.
 
If you did a good job with the heads there would be significant performance gains with a different cam that was more aggressive with more lift but short durations. A cam with a narrower lsa would help build some bottom end since this is a pretty low compression engine, 260h is a pretty narrow lsa for its size. The cam you have will likely be mediocre, but just stepping up to the 4 barrel will be a big step in performance, and nothing wrong w saving a buck on what you have. Jones has some cams that likely would work good. It may be worth a call to ask. 318 we had 3.23, headers, mild cam, 4 barrel would get 20mpg...better then when it was a 2 barrel w 2.71s.
I doubt you will lose any economy w your combo thus far.
 
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Fuel economy definitely is NOT a problem now, over 20. And yeah, I do have an 8-1/4 rear.
Wasn't looking at 2.94, (too much work and money for little improvement) was looking at 3.07 or 3.21.
I've done gear swaps on 8-1/4s, I know what that means. There is a yard near m with lots of 60s and 70s cars not far away, there was. 77 4 door fury there, and I know of a 79 300 that was taken there semi recently. (A car I tried to buy from the past owner several years ago) I might look and see if either is still there and of so what rears are in them
 
I'm surprised no-one has commented on removing the lean burn.
Do it NOW! A good old vacuum advance distributor with lighter springs and I'm sure you will notice the difference with what you have.
Then either of the smaller carters would work fine, get the advance right and tune the carb.
 
260H cam appears to be a single pattern cam.

Those work best with headers or high flow manifolds and heads (like Magnum parts).

A split pattern like the 256 XE or summit 6900 might be a better choice if staying with stock manifolds.

...but the OP already has the 260H.

Run it and see.
 
I have the stuff on hand to remove the lean burn, and as was said in my original post that IS going away. Was gonna do it in conjunction with the rest of what I want to do with this car. At the same time.
I'm surprised no-one has commented on removing the lean burn.
Do it NOW! A good old vacuum advance distributor with lighter springs and I'm sure you will notice the difference with what you have.
Then either of the smaller carters would work fine, get the advance right and tune the carb.
 
Swapping in a non-lock up trans will give you much better performance. I had a 77 lock up trand behind a 360 in a 69 fury. Put in a 69 trans and a shift kit. Night and day difference.
 
it already HAS a non lock up trans.....this is a very early build '78, 9-77. (before they started putting lockup trannys in) It still has a drain plug in the front of the converter! '78 was 1st year for L/U.

and yeah, I know what you mean.... killed the 904 in my Diplomat and put in "what I could find" which was a non L/U trans and yeah there was a difference between it and the original trans (even before I killed it)
In fact me + 904s = never been a good combination. Even when I 'just drive them like a sensible person". usually if I "beat on" a trans, it's towing and hauling (of which this car has never done either)
 
it already HAS a non lock up trans.....this is a very early build '78, 9-77. (before they started putting lockup trannys in) It still has a drain plug in the front of the converter! '78 was 1st year for L/U.

and yeah, I know what you mean.... killed the 904 in my Diplomat and put in "what I could find" which was a non L/U trans and yeah there was a difference between it and the original trans (even before I killed it)
In fact me + 904s = never been a good combination. Even when I 'just drive them like a sensible person". usually if I "beat on" a trans, it's towing and hauling (of which this car has never done either)
My mistake I read it has a lock up trans. Disregard
 
I don't "have to" use the cam I have already.... just would "like" to. The best 318 buildup I have ever done was in an 83 D250 with a 727 and 3.55s.....
I put in; a stock 360-2bbl cam (Melling) the COMP 252 has IDENTICAL specs to this, except for o.015" more lift on the COMP cam
--- did a Magnum head conversion
--- which included the Magnum head's 1.6 RR..... which made the cam's 0.410" turn into a 0.437" cam..... (the COMP 260 is only o.003" more lift than that with stock LA rocker gear)
---Eddy Performer (not "RPM" or "air gap" version) and 625 CarterBrock AFB (just like the Carter Brock carbs I currently have on hand) never messed with an AVS.
---- Super COMP Hooker Headers
----muffler shop bent up true duals with turbos, tails to the bumpers.... think I ran 2-1/2 (same size I have on this car but with factory manifolds)
and with that combo, I had people thinking I was BS'ing them that I really had a bigger engine than a 318.

I don't have a set of good Magnum heads on hand, have these 302s fresh from the machine shop with all new valves, I don't think they did much beyond a standard rebuild on them. I "might" pull the valves and try what I dare without fear of ruining the fresh seat work..... but I'm thinking that just going to 302-style chambers vs the original heads (Im guessing '163s) certainly won't hurt.... it "runs fine" for what it is, as things stand now.... I just want a lil more power so if I gotta step out in the other lane and get around something, I want to be able to do so without feeling like a "hazard" if you know what I mean..... I'm not looking to do anything "crazy" in mods to this engine.....
 
according to the Chilton manuals of the day my 318 that year, was a whopping 140HP/ what a drag.
Id like to get it closer to what the 318 Mags were like in my several Dakotas Ive owned....or what the 318 was "rated for" in the late 60s/1970-ish (which according to the same manuals was ~230 and yeah I know the difference between gross and net.... Id like an honest 225-250HP out of it, but then again I am nowhere close to any dyno facilities.... so failing that, I want a noticeably improved, "seat of the pants" feel to it if that makes sense.

Back in the 80s "my 1st engine rebuild myself".... was my guinea pig in HS..... was a JY engine my Dad bought, came from a 77 LeBaron with 40k (according to the JY) and had an International Harvester logo cast in which I thought was weird.... My Dad put another 100K or so on that engine in the 76 Charger (which eventually became mine) Didnt run too bad, all stock except had the distributor, manifold and carb from the Charger's original 360 on it (since 77 Lebaron was a Lean Burn setup originally, that was Dad's answer to eliminate it....) That Charger had 2.45s in it even (major YUCK) After the Charger was wrecked (before you ask/ I wasn't even near it, car was parked when it was hit) I pulled that 318 back out, took it to Community College auto Shop and rebuilt it in my "Engines" class....
I put some kind of Erson cam in it, thinking back it was "close to" a stock 340 cam..... the idiots at "super Shops" weren't much help because I wasn't working on a Chevy) a 4 bbl intake and carb, and some cheapo headers of the day........ That car sounded mean, but ran horribly..... "get up-and-go wise" anyways....
It went into a 75 Cordoba body that had 2.76s (just like this Fury does) and I think it was actually slower than it was in that Charger with the 2.45s and it was slow then..... and that wasn't just my then-20 year old self talking.... now at 53, I still say that car was a slug..... though I thought it was so "cool" at the time.

THIS is exactly what I DON'T want an engine "upgrade" to end up like....
This Fury cruises nice, always did.... and that's what this car will always be, a cruiser.... but "more power" (in my best "Tim Taylor" grunt) never hurts....
Id like closer to the results I had with my 83 D250..... I have lower (numbered) gears here but also less weight and I don't think I'm gonna fit 235/85-16s on the Fury even if I somehow (stupidly) wanted to........ less weight than that old truck, , shorter tires, means I won't need to drop as low as 3.55s to get what I am after......
 
A simple mod people forget is an exhaust cross over. It will help throw end and midrange, exactly what that Fury needs.
 
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