Anybody gone the cheap route for an engine of

[ramairthree]

just getting a 1200$ or so replacement block.

My 74 RR coded for some cool stuff like buckets, console, sunroof, etc. but was a 318 car.

I had planned on a well built 350ish HP 360, or 400 HPish stroker 408.

My 13 year old daughter is interested in the car and thinks it is neat. While my wife would want to put each kid in a 4 door 4 cylinder Honda with 4 airbags, etc. the car does have the shoulder/lap belts, and disc brakes.

I started thinking, the original 318 is long gone, it has a beat old 78 or so truck 318 in there with like 2 pounds of oil pressure at idle, that is just to make it drive around able to work on, etc.

For well under the cost of a performance motor, 1500$ or less total, I can get a basic 318 long block. This would make the car a reliable runner, but be what, about a 225 or so crank HP engine, less under the pedal for her to get in trouble with than many new V6s.

I already have all the components on the current 318, no new flywheel or anything with the 904 bolting straight up, etc.

Has anyone gone this sort or route? Some of these come with years of warranty, compared to getting a junkyard magnum , etc.

 

[ZR9B]

I did it with a ford 302 in a 88 f150.....It was cheaper to do that than for me to rebuild it I paid $800 for the 302 long block and $100 extra for a rv/ towing cam that had paper work to show they degree it in....I put over 100,000 hard miles on it...I sold it in 2004 and I saw it about 4 years ago. the only problem was they put a 86 type water pump housing ( I think that was the year) on it and I had to pull it and take it to them to get the rite one.

 

[HT413]

IMHO, aftermarket engine warrantees are worthless and should be avoided especially if they try to charge you for it (oem warrantees of course are pretty solid).

Also, for a $1200 shortblock, I would bet with shipping, gaskets and misc, you're around $1800 to $2k... for a stock 318. I know a guy is selling a very hot 318 on the site that is unfired. You might consider it... make him an offer, ya never know.

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?46486-318-LA-MAGNUM-Hybrid

 

[scotts74birds]

If I were to be building that car for my daughter, I would really consider just putting in a trouble-free, low mile magnum motor, and overdrive trans. That is if there is help out there with the electronics. The motors are plenty powerful enough for her needs, and low maintenance. It would also be a learning experience that I would like.

 

[Meep-Meep]

I had to rebuild an engine that was one of those "guaranteed rebuilds" after only 40 miles of use and what I found was not pretty. The engine developed a rod knock almost immediately and when I pulled it apart I found two rods that had previously spun a bearing that someone just put a new insert in. The crank was also tight in the block and found to have nearly 1/16" of runout!! I first noticed some burnt oil around one of the main journals then started removing the main caps from front to rear one by one until the crank turned freely, at which point I could easily see with no measuring tools the snout wobbling back and forth. The heads had over sized valve stems, which is a production house type fix, and while that would work for most applications it's not correct to the letter of the FSM. Turned out the heads were the only thing we saved from that and the rest went to the scrap bin. Fortunately it was a 350 Chevy so an easy and cheap fix for my contractor buddy. This is not to say all mass produced rebuilds are like this but you really don't know what you're getting. Perhaps do some research on the company and the parent company if applicable. What does Dodge offer in the way of rebuilds? GM has the Goodwrench engines that seem to have more successes than failures so maybe something similar. Short of that I'd just grab a good low mileage runner from something that hasn't been monkeyed with.

 

[99ss]

I havent yet but I will be looking for one..LOL junkyard special 383 that runs if I can find one.

 

[goose69]

We've found that getting a used motor and cleaning up with maybe some minor new parts seem to be more reliable and a better buy than the rebuilds around here with warranties, went that route a few times and ended up regretting it. Usually 318s are pretty reasonably priced and aren't that expensive to do a cheap re-ring and bearings, heads are about $120 for a freshening up. Aftermarket parts are plentiful and inexpensive at all swap meets and craigslist.
But this is all my opinion and experience, good luck with whatever you go with!

 

[HT413]

A guy i worked with bought a warranteed rebuild jeep 6cyl for his older Cherokee and had a local shop install it. After a few hours of run time somehow a small bolt entered one of the combustion chambers, where it tore things all to hell. The shop insisted it was vandalism and the engine builder insisted it was the shop. Never got a penny and since he was a kid, he was forced to sell the project and buy a POS just to get to work.

Like you guys say, i'd rather use a junk yard motor and just look it over before firing it.

 

[Jonnyuma]

I was considering an AutoZone reman long block for my old RamCharger when it's original 318 went south. I asked some pretty simple questions about the rebuilder(s) and thier processes, none of which were answered to my liking. I found a rebuilt 360/727 combo thru a friend, the only catch was that it was in a car and I had to take the whole thing.
Long story made short, I bought the car for $700, drove it home, yanked the motor, got a killer offer on the engine-less RamCharger, sold it,put the motor back into the car...and that's how I ended up with a 1976 Cordoba, which I still have today.
The moral? There isn't one, really. 'Cept fer ask questions, and I don't trust volume reman shops.

 

[stonehengeheels]

I bought a 1970 or 1971 Newport for a little more than that $1200 and put the 440 and 727 from it in my '67 Coronet. Best $ I ever spent on it.