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SB Dodge Engines Which do you prefer?

Hemi2Much

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318,340,or 360?
Which is the best engine and are they all pretty much interchangeable with parts?
 
340. Lots of interchangeable parts, but not for someone not familiar with these engines.
 
318 poly all the way!

OK help us out, best engine for what use?
 
It all depends what you want to put it in and what you want to do with it.
 
I have that other 66 Coronet factory 318 - 2 bl car auto on the column.
I haven't really made up my mind what to do with the car just yet.
It does have the engine/trans in it
But I believe the engine has seized.
I can also get a 72 camper van with a running 360 - 727 for a few hundred $$
but from what I get, these engines are really not all that good.
The car is too complete to cut it up for the few parts I need from it.
Just wondering what the 360 would be like in a B body.
JKent
 
ran a 360 in a tow truck worked its *** off for me and never had a problem as in special to that motor , depends on previous owner use and maintance .
 
The reason they put 360's in motor homes and trucks is because of the power and torque they make. A 360 will haul your 66 around with ease. A 318 will work as well just not as easily. Leave the 340's for the hot rodders.
 
360 would be a good one for the car. But you need to use the weighted converter, and that won’t go into a 66 trans without mods. Need to change the front pump and input shaft. A trans guy can make it work with a newer converter.
 
I like 360’s. Longer stroke makes more torque. Had a nice one in a cordoba and hauled a$$. You can put the 360 in your car. You can use the converter you have now. Just buy the offset flex plate from B&M to use a neutral balanced converter behind it. I had a 360 in my Monaco for a while like that. Worked well with the exception of 1 of the bolts from the poly to the LA block you need to leave out cause it don’t line up. No biggie it’s not 500hp. Youll also need the lh motor mount that is offset and a bit different. Used to be able to buy from Schumacher but don’t know if their still in business. You’ll have the change the head pipes for the manifolds but that’s it. Even stock 360’s are great. Get a nice distributor set timing to 12 initial, 34 with mechanical advance and 52 all in with vacuum. Jet your carb and roast away the tires. I love 360’s they don’t rev like a 340 or 318 but with the extra torque you don’t need to. And they are among the cheaper mopar engines. In a street car I’d take a 360 over a 340 any day.
 
Back in the 90's I had a 70 Challenger Convertible that I'd cloned to look like a 340 car, it had correct 70 340 exhaust manifolds, correct 70 340 air cleaner & valve covers... But a stock E58 360 out of a cop car... I tried eight different cams in that car just trying to get the most out of it.... And it did run pretty well... Car had 3.23 gears & a 727 TF... One day just screwing around I wound up next to a buddy in a 70 Challenger with a 440-6/727 & a 4:10 Dana... He got me a car length out of the hole but after my car started sucking in some air he didn't really gain on me & by the end of the 1/4 I'd eaten into his lead & he only had me by about half a car length.... Don't ignore the 360, they can run pretty well...
 
My preferences stem from "what do I want to accomplish?". For starters, regardless of the recipe, I have found that the older LA blocks are far stronger than the later Magnum versions. My trusted machine shop didn't have a torque plate for the LA engines. I asked why, and the reply was that they (older LA engines) are so robust, they couldn't see a difference when one was bored with the torque plate versus one without. HOWEVER, if one were to machine a Magnum block, he/she should not only use a torque plate, but also bolt on motor mounts, alternator bracket, PS bracket, water pump, and anything else that could possibly distort the block... because it will!! My machinist's opinion is that the Magnum blocks are rather flimsy compared to the older LA blocks. This means regardless of the package, I prefer the older LA blocks.

Casting numbers will terminate with a -Xx number. For example: when a new sand cast was created, the dash number was -1. After a block or 5 was cast, one of the cylinders would collapse and they would have to replace that portion of the casting. The dash number then became a -2. I've seen -17 on a block I sent to the recycle yard. So after 10 or so "fixes", statistically none of the original cylinder spacing is preserved in the casting this block was made from; the cylinder wall is much thicker at the 4 O'Clock position than the 10 O'Clock position. This is referred to as 'core shift'.

Moving on to the cylinder heads, I ported dozens and dozens of heads for both foreign and domestic applications, ranging from 1 to 10 cylinders, 2-valve and 4-valve per cylinder. What I can tell you is that flow numbers usually don't tell you how the head will perform in YOUR intended application. I am not the least bit partial to the older LA heads with open chambers. There's too much power left on the table without the squish pad. The only LA head I can like is the late 80's 318 "302" casting with the swirl port combustion chambers (and a squish pad). Up one notch from that is the production Magnum heads. Frankly, I've seen where independent speed shops have flowed 340 X heads and Magnum heads (with smaller valves) and the Magnum heads flow better!

Velocity is king when it comes to getting the most from the air and fuel the engine ingests (BSFC on your dyno report). High velocity helps promote vaporization of the fuel and homogenization of it with the air charge. (There is a Ford Variable Venturi Carburetor patent I absolutely love that references the ability of Mach 1 air velocity -- the speed of sound -- to obliterate fuel droplets in an incoming air stream and convert them to a vaporous element.) Therefore, the ideal port size is one that chokes right about where you want to make the most power. Anything more than that and the port gets 'lazy'. Valve lift should support port flow. In other words, if you have a head flowed on a bench, maximum flow numbers should occur at or slightly below where your cam opens the valve. Aftermarket camshafts make more power because the factory cam maxed out flow past the valves before the port itself maxed out; low flow AND low velocity.

Next is bore to stroke ratios. It is commonly accepted that longer stroke engines make better torque at lower RPM, while shorter strokes are able to scale higher RPMs. Shorter stroke equates to slower maximum piston speed at any RPM. This is great if you're targeting 7500 RPM. However, the laws of fulcrum arm physics dictate that a longer stroke can impart more force on a crankshaft than a shorter throw (stroke) crank. However, this increases max piston speed at 90 degrees ATDC.

If I were building an engine for the 1/4 mile (or other high RPM racing application), I'd probably use a 340 with a relatively short stroke (3.31") and large bore (4.040"). This affords higher RPM, which is good for high-end HP.

If I wanted decent throttle response and great fuel economy in a street vehicle, I'd probably go for a 360 (3.58" stroke and 4.00" bore) or even a 225 (4.125" stroke and 3.40" bore) due to the longer stroke.

Add to the consideration the stroker packages like the 408. The longer stroke makes for delightful throttle response on the street. At lower engine speeds, piston velocities are reasonable. Yet, consider Chrysler created custom engine packages for sanctioned racing where they opted to de-stroke a popular engine to meet maximum displacement rules versus using a block with a smaller bore and then designing a longer stroke. Examples include the 305 AAR package (de-stroked 340), and the 80's era 2.0 liter de-stroked 2.2.

Modern aftermarket heads usually have excellent port biasing combined with combustion chambers that promote in-cylinder activity. Usually they also utilize the thermal conductivity properties of aluminum, which provides for higher compression ration and/or more boost. These heads almost always target high-RPM applications with "generous" ports and large valves. For certain applications I would favor the "302" casting 318 heads just to capitalize on the smaller ports & valves, combined with the swirl port combustion chambers.

What are you wanting to build??
 
The 318 is one tough little booger but I like the 360 if going for a little performance. Never had a 340 but have nothing bad to say about the others and there's a lot more of them out there to be had cheap.
 
I have that other 66 Coronet factory 318 - 2 bl car auto on the column.
I haven't really made up my mind what to do with the car just yet.
It does have the engine/trans in it
But I believe the engine has seized.
I can also get a 72 camper van with a running 360 - 727 for a few hundred $$
but from what I get, these engines are really not all that good.
The car is too complete to cut it up for the few parts I need from it.
Just wondering what the 360 would be like in a B body.
JKent
Notice he said he can get the engine and transmission.
No need for changing anything regarding converter, etc.
The 360 is the redheaded stepchild as it was a "smog" engine but it actually tan quite well and reaponds well to intake/exhaust mods.
I put a 73 360 in a 72 Charger SE and for fun we put 440 Mag callouts in the factory position on the fenders.
A local with a 67 Goat called me out so we did the old stop light drag.
Even with 2.76 gears I got him out of the hole and he was nowhere to be seen when I pulled into a parking lot where a bunch of people were waiting.
He said my car ran pretty good but wanted a look under the hood so I obliged. He oohed and ahhed but when I removed the air cleaner to show the 2 barrel he asked what the heck was that thing. When we explained his Goat got beat by a smog 360 he had every excuse under the sun.
The point is, set up right, 360s aren't slouches!
And great gas mileage, too!
 
Some bore and stroke combinations seem to work better. I have been a fan of the 340 T/A or W2 head version.
 
I go bone stock original always, and hands down stock the 340 is a screamer, and many a ford and chevy guy will attest to that fact.
However, I really liked my 318's in the passenger cars I owned(1968 Charger) while raising four kids. very reliable, and economical. I also liked the 360 in my 78 Magnum, as in a heavier car loaded with four kids travelling across country it did the job, reliably and easily. and don't forget the 273, my 69 Dart I had in 1975 was a trooper. It outran the 289 mustang, and got great mileage. So I like them all! The design was well thought out, and to this day I have a 69 273 Dart, a 340 Dart, and a 383 dart just to mix it up. Mopar engines are far superior to the competition!
 
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