318 opinios keep or toss?

[Drifter]

Hey Guys,
Just wanted some feedback from those that have a 318. Is the power enough for regular driving? I keep hearing mixed reviews. Everyone seems to want to dump them for 340s and 360s. So keep or toss and why... Trying to decide what to do with the "Death Row Charger" (great name given to my 1974 Charger by a poster here):icon_axe:

 

[iraqivet01]

If your just going to use on the street, keep it if it in good running condition. Why replace it if not broke.

 

[Redpolara]

Hey Guys,
Just wanted some feedback from those that have a 318. Is the power enough for regular driving? I keep hearing mixed reviews. Everyone seems to want to dump them for 340s and 360s. So keep or toss and why... Trying to decide what to do with the "Death Row Charger" (great name given to my 1974 Charger by a poster here):icon_axe:

Glad I could help Drifter, anyway......as iraqivet said, if your just going to cruise around in it,leave well enough alone.

 

[Meep-Meep]

Nothing wrong with a 318. Treated right it will probably out live you! I had a black 69 318 Charger back in 81-82 and it had 53K orig miles! Wish I still had it!!

 

[Bens69PlymouthSatellite]

Those 318's are tough bastards,If u are wanting to do a BB swap then I would drive it until you have everything built,then pull the 318 and trans and then go find a little A body roller project and toss that 318 in there,just my 2 cents.

 

[rumblefish360]

The 318 is an excellent people mover. It'll go a gazzillion miles. The one that was in my Magnum had over 500,000 miles when I decided to swap in a 400 for a bit more fun factor.

I moved the 318 into a '74 Duster and sprinkled some basic performance parts on it;
625 Carter/LD4B, headers and Jegs exhaust and a small Hyd. Crane (216/228-.454/.480 on a 112) It ran a low 15 OOTB and got 17 MPG's w/3.21's.

The 318 can bennifit from some performance parts just for mileage and a little more power. A MSD is a great mileage getter for the older engines. A 4bbl carb and intake are very good as well as headers. So long as you keep your foot out of the secondaries, you'll more than likely get better mileage with these parts.

 

[Propwash]

318.....Great reliable engine!!

 

[Drifter]

Thanks for the great feedback guys. Rumblefish...500,000 miles? That's amazing! What work did you have to do to keep it going that long? How many Horses can you gain with the upgrades you mentioned? I am blown away by this site. Always get great info from people who know what they are talking about. Much appreciated. The 74 Charger is my first Mopar. The more I read up on the innovation and racing heritage I finally get it. Ford and Chevy were just trying to keep up and never really could. Consider me a convert. Heres a pic of the Death Row Charger. Still waiting for the call from the Governer....The shopvac had just been used to vacuum out rats nests and acorn shells (about three inches deep) that ran from the trunk to the gas pedal. Not pretty. The mice seemed rather organized. They would remove vital electrical connections from one end of the car and transport them to a nest on the other end. It's like they held swap meets on the weekends. The car sat in a field for twelve years wasting away under some oak trees.
The motor runs great now that I rebuilt the carb, even with no vacuum lines hooked up. I had mentioned in another post that although there was a nest directly next to a pile of receipts in the glove compartment. The mice left them alone. The recipts were for oil changes, tune ups etc., all verifying the 42000 original miles on the odometer. The lady only put 2500 miles on the car in the first eight years!The amazing thing to me and the moment I fell in love with the car was when after 12 years, with just the vital wires under the hood literally pieced together, the float actually stuck to the bottom of the bowl in a 1/4 inch of what looked like tree sap, the car started on the third try. Only for a few seconds but long enough to let me know it was alive. Thanks for the info and input guys.

 

[moparstuart]

with gas just going higher and higher the new trend is smaller motors

 

[Drifter]

RedPolara thanks again!

RedPolara Thanks for the advice and the name tag. Since you said it, it has kinda stuck.

 

[Drifter]

Moparstuart glad to hear someone say that. I believe you are the first person who didn't roll their eyes when mpg is mentioned in conjunction with muscle cars!

 

[rumblefish360]

Rumblefish...500,000 miles? That's amazing! What work did you have to do to keep it going that long? How many Horses can you gain with the upgrades you mentioned?

Heres the deal. I purchased the car from the 1 and only owner of it. He purchased the car off the show room floor. The record keeping was unbeileveable. Everything was recorded down to spark plugs, wires light bulbs radio repair windshield wiper blade replacement coolent changes, rear axle oil changes...it was nutz!

The car was purchased (IIRC) mid-ish '79. In 1989, he stop recording miles with over 325,000. He then gave the car to his Daughter for 4 years of collage about a 1-1/2 hour drive off Long Island into upstate New York. He rolled his eyes and said, She was home every freakin weekend for money and laundry.

Then his son got the car for 4 more years of collage at the same school. And good Lord knows what boys do when they get wheels and are free to do what ever... He laffed at some of the crap his son did. Pictures sent home from St. Louis, Canada western Penn. I laffed and said, "Oh, you mean he went places huh?" He giggled and said you have no idea! Though he didn't come home as much."

After 8 years of collage, he told me he used thecar as a daily driver to and from work. So I enquired where and what he did. He said he was a Fireman in south Jamacia Queens.
Humm, Babylon to Queens I asked. Yep! He said. That is approx 35 miles 1 way.
For how long? 10 years.

Hum, 70 miles round trip for 1 day, times 5 for one week is 350 miles per week, times 47 weeks per year (Minus 4 weeks vaction?) 16,450 per year times 10 years is 164,500 miles in traveling to work alone. For about 350,000 miles total not includeing the 8 years of collage. Oh which was in Oneonta, NY. I'm guessing , wait.....mapquest suggested 321 miles, 1 way. How many weekends in collage? For 4 years? Home everyweekend? Not to mention driving around. Then his son? Ha ha ha. Who knows what really happened there. Kegs in the trunk, girls in the back, buds up front and no maps tot travel on. Ha ha ha

Forgeddaboutit.

 

[rumblefish360]

Part II

What work did you have to do to keep it going that long? How many Horses can you gain with the upgrades you mentioned?

The owner said just constant oil changes and fluid changes.

He added a Edelbrock Performer carb , manifold and cam to it with dual exhaust.

When I swapped it out, it needed an oil pump and cam bearings. I so replaced them myself, cleaned everything up and installed my parts on the engine and into the Duster it went.

Approx HP? That's tuff to say for sure. The car had 3.21 gears with 225/70/14's on the back. The rear was also a sure griped equiped unit.

I'll take a wild stand and say, 260 HP.

 

[64BEL]

Try to always remember what this old car thing as all about - having fun! You can have fun with a nice running 318 or /6, or whatever. Down the road you may want to change - ok, that's fine. Don't put a lot of pressure on yourself to have it all planned out and to have to implement a plan as soon as possible. Take your time and enjoy the car. I'm having fun with my 318 poly, and along the way I'm doing things and accumulating things. Now I have different bumpers, a 440, a 361, a big block Torquflite and a small block Torqueflite all in my garage waiting for further steps. But life is busy, and I can't spend a lot of time and money on the car at the moment. But I have managed to accumulate all of those extra parts here and there for only about $500. All the while taking the car for a drive now and then with the old reliable 318 under the hood. Have a blast with your car no matter what you do!

 

[YY1]

318's are very under appreciated.
Most are rated around 175 net/230 gross.
All 5 of my 318's (including 2 polys) had decent power and good tourque.
Some regularly outran GM 350s.
They were all capable of 20 MPG or better.
The best for power was my first 66 poly. The best mileage was a 67 LA that dripped clean water from the pipe, ran so smooth you could balance a pen on the air cleaner, and never failed to start on the first try, usually with me showing off by turning the key while standing outside the car.
Now I have an 87 with swirl heads and a lock up trans. We'll see how that one does.

The interior in my 74 Charger matches your 74 and up "Sherwood" green.

 

[roadrunnerman]

318's are good motors. i have one in my 71 charger(it's supposed to have a 383)but i have no immediate plans to change it unless i can find a year correct block for it.my 318 only has a 4-bbl, but i still get plenty of zip with it.take your time with it and when the time is right to change out the motor you'll know.

 

[Cranky]

A buddy and I played with his 318 72 Demon and got it running 13.50's without doing anything wild.....but did have a huge gear in the rear

 

[rumblefish360]

LOL @ Cranky. Yea, the lil'buggers need some gear. Racing one is a bit harder than other engines, but some good power can be had from them and still be very reliable.

 

[Drifter]

I posted a reply earlier but it didn't make it I guess. Thanks for the great advice and info guys. 64Bel, I agree completely. I am taking my time and enjoying the ride. I knew when I bought it that it would take awhile to get it on the road. Rumblefish, AMAZED at the story, I think it changed my mind completely about making a switch.

 

[Coronet 500]

My first 318 was 30 yrs ago and finding performance parts wasn't easy to find like the other guys.Now all kind of stuff mild to wild for small blocks.The beutiful thing is the guys upgrading to wild have great,cheap parts for us.318s I LOVE EM.