318 would like to go all in
- Thread starter JustCurious
- Start date
JustCurious
Well-Known Member
I am still lurking around and reading things from time to time.. Going to be a proud pappy soon so instead of working on the car I was "responsible" and now we are debt free minus the house and the wife's new ride.
Now to start stock piling parts.
While I am doing that I think I am going to try to at least make it run.. This is all pretty cheap so wont hurt to do it all even if some are not needed I figure.
list of things to check or replace:
tires
check brakes
change fluids.. oil & coolant
replace the gas tank.. the tank has a hole from loading it when I picked her up.
Probably new plugs
permashield tri-pack wire set, OEM cap and rotor
pull and clean carb
EDIT: Battery
Is there a specific site that everyone uses to get most of their parts if you want new ones? Rockauto or similar?
Anything else you might could think of? has not been cranked since 92-93.. just sat in storage.
Now to start stock piling parts.
While I am doing that I think I am going to try to at least make it run.. This is all pretty cheap so wont hurt to do it all even if some are not needed I figure.
list of things to check or replace:
tires
check brakes
change fluids.. oil & coolant
replace the gas tank.. the tank has a hole from loading it when I picked her up.
Probably new plugs
permashield tri-pack wire set, OEM cap and rotor
pull and clean carb
EDIT: Battery
Is there a specific site that everyone uses to get most of their parts if you want new ones? Rockauto or similar?
Anything else you might could think of? has not been cranked since 92-93.. just sat in storage.
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I do buy from Rockauto if there is a huge savings but I like to buy locally and keep those guys in business. O reillys has been good as well as NAPA and Advanced Auto. Get it running first if you are planning on keeping the 318 under the hood.
A 4 barrel and dual exhaust is a plus for any "teen". The best bang for your buck is a proper rear gear. Your's may be like a 2.87 or so and a 3.55 will make it much peppier and still won't kill your highway drivability. If you put big tires on the rear you can bump the rear gear up another notch. There are formulas to figure the right gear for your needs. It's easy to over cam a 318 especially if it's stock with the low compression. Too big of a cam and you will need a higher stall torque converter to make it work. Good luck.
A 4 barrel and dual exhaust is a plus for any "teen". The best bang for your buck is a proper rear gear. Your's may be like a 2.87 or so and a 3.55 will make it much peppier and still won't kill your highway drivability. If you put big tires on the rear you can bump the rear gear up another notch. There are formulas to figure the right gear for your needs. It's easy to over cam a 318 especially if it's stock with the low compression. Too big of a cam and you will need a higher stall torque converter to make it work. Good luck.
JustCurious
Well-Known Member
I will check the local places as well.. have not ever bought for a car that is 46 years old ha.
I plan to do some tinkering this weekend and getting more pictures but I think the previous owner had a dual exhaust with x pipe put on it. not sure of muffler brand haven't looked.
I do not intend on keeping the 318 for long but I want to drive it a few times like it is just because I am tired of seeing it sit in the garage and realistically it will be two years before I do anything major like body/paint suspension over haul and new engine. Wife needs to get done with her masters degree and get back to working!
This car has the 2.72s according to code D51 and then farther on the build sheet for the axle there is a 181 code (dana 30?) cant quite find what the 181 is for yet.. have not looked hard either though.
I recently rebuilt my daily truck 09 silverado rear end with 4.56s and a truetrac.. it sure is sweet! probably should have stuck with the 4.11s though in hindsight but oh well.
I plan to do some tinkering this weekend and getting more pictures but I think the previous owner had a dual exhaust with x pipe put on it. not sure of muffler brand haven't looked.
I do not intend on keeping the 318 for long but I want to drive it a few times like it is just because I am tired of seeing it sit in the garage and realistically it will be two years before I do anything major like body/paint suspension over haul and new engine. Wife needs to get done with her masters degree and get back to working!
This car has the 2.72s according to code D51 and then farther on the build sheet for the axle there is a 181 code (dana 30?) cant quite find what the 181 is for yet.. have not looked hard either though.
I recently rebuilt my daily truck 09 silverado rear end with 4.56s and a truetrac.. it sure is sweet! probably should have stuck with the 4.11s though in hindsight but oh well.
Slap Stick
Well-Known Member
I saw a couple errors in this thread.
First, the 5.9 Magnums (93 up) are not throttle body injected. They are multi port.
Two, if you go with the 5.9 they are EXternally balanced and you need the flexplate from the 5.9.
To use the Mag engines Iirc there is some mount swapping needed. Kits are readily available.
Then since you won't be using the injection system (unless you want to do some wiring for the ECU, etc) you will need a new intake and carb and ignition system including distributor.
If you decide to use the ECU and injectors use the transmission that was in the donor vehicle. You get a 727 with OD and can then put 3.55s out back which helps your goal of good performance along with highway driving. But you will need to do some trans hump mods along with the driveshaft.
With the stock FI you will need to either fix the plenum on the stocker or get the FI airgap, both available from Hughes. They also have larger throttle bodies for increased performance along with bigger injectors.
To go carb, Hughes has that covered, too.
The easy way with your car is IF your 318 is in good shape you could give it a going over and add cam, intake and heads and exhaust.
Its your car, do it the way you want it.
Myself, I would stay with the small block of either variety. No K member or T bar changing.
First, the 5.9 Magnums (93 up) are not throttle body injected. They are multi port.
Two, if you go with the 5.9 they are EXternally balanced and you need the flexplate from the 5.9.
To use the Mag engines Iirc there is some mount swapping needed. Kits are readily available.
Then since you won't be using the injection system (unless you want to do some wiring for the ECU, etc) you will need a new intake and carb and ignition system including distributor.
If you decide to use the ECU and injectors use the transmission that was in the donor vehicle. You get a 727 with OD and can then put 3.55s out back which helps your goal of good performance along with highway driving. But you will need to do some trans hump mods along with the driveshaft.
With the stock FI you will need to either fix the plenum on the stocker or get the FI airgap, both available from Hughes. They also have larger throttle bodies for increased performance along with bigger injectors.
To go carb, Hughes has that covered, too.
The easy way with your car is IF your 318 is in good shape you could give it a going over and add cam, intake and heads and exhaust.
Its your car, do it the way you want it.
Myself, I would stay with the small block of either variety. No K member or T bar changing.
JustCurious
Well-Known Member
Those little tid bits I did not know of yet. Good to know about the trans. I do plan to mock up and modify everything before sending to body/paint but at least now I will know to expect to mess with the trans tunnel/hump
BeatersRus
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he gave you partial bad info on the trans.
you have to be Aware of the years that you are getting the donor From.
anything 95 and up you want to be Very careful.
unless its a 518 or 500 trans,then the transmission is computer controlled...
the A500 is a 904 variant overdrive trans and the A518 is the 727 version.
you can actually use a toggle switch on these to activate od.
also,if you Do use an od,bump your gears up another notch.
the spread is meh on these,id say use at Least a 355 if not a 373 or 410 gear with od.
if you stay stock/trans,and dont cut your car up
(which is a very good idea because once people take apart their cars,well,we know how that ends dont we.)
your best bet is to install better gears,323 or 355`s
use a magnum 360 motor out of a dodge truck and reuse your original trans.
buy a magnum 4bbl intake or hey go big and buy a standalone efi.<< $2,000
buy a 360 Car Pan/off ebay/w pickup tube.
buy timing chain and gasket set.
buy new waterpump.
my current magnum swap,i have 600 cash into the parts.
i bought the whole donor vehicle for 200 with a bad trans.
yanked the motor trans,sold the frame immediately and between the rest of the scrap and the cat,i got my 200 bucks Back.
if that motor takes a dump tomm,i simply take my parts back off,
grab another cheap magnum motor out of a junk truck and im rolling again.
compare that to spending tons of money on a Single rebuilt/or built up 318 la motor,
that if it does blow up,
most of the mods and parts are Inside the motor and probably wont be reusable.
wyrmrider
Well-Known Member
Lots of good suggestions
on my must do list for the temp fix is a new timing chain, check the block plugs
now for later
if you have a donor up though 75 then the 360/ 518 is a no brainer = carb/dist etc or new cpu to control injection/ dist stock SBMC sucks in anything but stock but does work then-- trans is not cpu it's hyd
if you find a 76 up then, since you have everything, just put in the stock motor and trans and ecu- not tough if you have everything and there are websites to walk you through it
you can then change the manifold using your existing injectors if you want less grunt and more top end later and change the cam later all magnums are SFI
keep your eyes open for big block t bars and sway bar, find a cordoba rear sway
todays radials and wide wheels do not match with a body lean suspension
on my must do list for the temp fix is a new timing chain, check the block plugs
now for later
if you have a donor up though 75 then the 360/ 518 is a no brainer = carb/dist etc or new cpu to control injection/ dist stock SBMC sucks in anything but stock but does work then-- trans is not cpu it's hyd
if you find a 76 up then, since you have everything, just put in the stock motor and trans and ecu- not tough if you have everything and there are websites to walk you through it
you can then change the manifold using your existing injectors if you want less grunt and more top end later and change the cam later all magnums are SFI
keep your eyes open for big block t bars and sway bar, find a cordoba rear sway
todays radials and wide wheels do not match with a body lean suspension
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