Aesellitto
Member
I need some advice on my 72 Charger SE with a 318 LA engine. Here is what the car has at the moment. Stock block and the low flow stock heads. It has an Edelbrock performer intake and a Street Demon 625 4 barrel with dual exhaust from stock manifolds. A 727 transmission and 8 ¼ rear end with 2.71 gears (or close, no tag, but counted close to that ratio).
I have resigned myself to updating the rear end to 3.55 gears so it has all the help it can get for the low end but still be manageable for moderate to light highway speeds (the car is mostly a local driver). I am not looking for a super high HP rating (hoping for 300 – 350). The end result, at the very least, I would like to outrun a soccer moms lead foot if neededJ.
I do know that the car is due for a timing chain so that will be done. With that said, is there a significant advantage to upgrading to a mild CAM when I do the chain? With the low flowing stock heads is there that much of an improvement in performance/HP? If the cam is replaced with a mild performance cam is it necessary to change the push rods?
The other option I read about is looking for a set of mid 80s early 90s heads (not the Magnum heads). From all my research, they are a direct bolt on and perform better than even the J heads due to the combustion chamber design. Again, do I need to worry about push rod length if I swap heads?
I am not on a super tight budget ($1000 - $1500). There are tons of threads out there on this and they are all over the board. I was hoping for an answer that deals with my specific variables and budget. The big thing I am not ready for right now are headers. I don’t want to monkey with the shift linkage or deal with the intense heat under the hood right now. And the budget will get blown doing the exhaust the right way with ceramic coated heads into new exhaust that will need to be replaced.
I also am not interested in swapping out the 318 with a 360. For the price, I am going to get someone else engine that needs as much work as mine and the cost is going to rise quickly. The car is also numbers matching (even though it is a 318). I would prefer to keep it that way for now. Who knows if that will matter in the future when there are even less of these cars around.
I have resigned myself to updating the rear end to 3.55 gears so it has all the help it can get for the low end but still be manageable for moderate to light highway speeds (the car is mostly a local driver). I am not looking for a super high HP rating (hoping for 300 – 350). The end result, at the very least, I would like to outrun a soccer moms lead foot if neededJ.
I do know that the car is due for a timing chain so that will be done. With that said, is there a significant advantage to upgrading to a mild CAM when I do the chain? With the low flowing stock heads is there that much of an improvement in performance/HP? If the cam is replaced with a mild performance cam is it necessary to change the push rods?
The other option I read about is looking for a set of mid 80s early 90s heads (not the Magnum heads). From all my research, they are a direct bolt on and perform better than even the J heads due to the combustion chamber design. Again, do I need to worry about push rod length if I swap heads?
I am not on a super tight budget ($1000 - $1500). There are tons of threads out there on this and they are all over the board. I was hoping for an answer that deals with my specific variables and budget. The big thing I am not ready for right now are headers. I don’t want to monkey with the shift linkage or deal with the intense heat under the hood right now. And the budget will get blown doing the exhaust the right way with ceramic coated heads into new exhaust that will need to be replaced.
I also am not interested in swapping out the 318 with a 360. For the price, I am going to get someone else engine that needs as much work as mine and the cost is going to rise quickly. The car is also numbers matching (even though it is a 318). I would prefer to keep it that way for now. Who knows if that will matter in the future when there are even less of these cars around.
