My 1978 Dodge Monaco 4 door sedan.

[Gary P]

Don't give up on it Gary, you are probably very close to getting the issues resolved and getting back into the drivers seat, best wishes for you sir.

Thanks Greg! It's been a busy hectic and somewhat sad last few weeks but finally I got to the car, and I have progress, here's the report thus far:

My car wizard friend Adam came by and dove right in. He finds all the technical stuff, the stuff out of my comfort zone, fascinating. He was pivotal in getting the motor running, and showed me hands-on. All credit goes to Adam, and all of you guys for your input and help THANKYOU ALL!

My intake manifold gasket replacement was 100% successful. My Mancini Electronic Ignition swap was 100% successful. Timing wasn't too far out, and we plugged up all the vacuum leaks really solidly. With a couple of hours of fiddling, the car starts well, runs on choke as it should and runs so smooth, THIS is how smooth...



There are still a couple of adjustments needed, as off the line, it does bog down a little. Adam thinks the jets in the carb are too big, so we have some coming, and will swap those out this week. Even with metering rod adjustments, she bogged down on initial acceleration BUT driven gently she's an absolute peach, and even sounds better, more throaty like a V8 should. Almost there guys! Thanks again to everyone for your help and assistance.

 

[Don Frelier]

Good to hear, there is only so much you can do to help over the internet.
My one suggestion/comment would be that almost always: hesitation on acceleration is due to lack of fuel not too much.

 

[Nxcoupe]

Thanks Greg! It's been a busy hectic and somewhat sad last few weeks but finally I got to the car, and I have progress, here's the report thus far:

My car wizard friend Adam came by and dove right in. He finds all the technical stuff, the stuff out of my comfort zone, fascinating. He was pivotal in getting the motor running, and showed me hands-on. All credit goes to Adam, and all of you guys for your input and help THANKYOU ALL!

My intake manifold gasket replacement was 100% successful. My Mancini Electronic Ignition swap was 100% successful. Timing wasn't too far out, and we plugged up all the vacuum leaks really solidly. With a couple of hours of fiddling, the car starts well, runs on choke as it should and runs so smooth, THIS is how smooth...



There are still a couple of adjustments needed, as off the line, it does bog down a little. Adam thinks the jets in the carb are too big, so we have some coming, and will swap those out this week. Even with metering rod adjustments, she bogged down on initial acceleration BUT driven gently she's an absolute peach, and even sounds better, more throaty like a V8 should. Almost there guys! Thanks again to everyone for your help and assistance.

If gradual accel doesn't produce the bog and rapid opening does, it's almost always accelerator pump not working or maladjusted.

 

[HawkRod]

Hi Greg,

I agree with @Don Frelier and @Nxcoupe regarding the (now minor) issues you have. I think the accelerator pump is the first thing to look at.

Here is an easy check. With the engine off and the air cleaner off the carb, just barely move the throttle. You should IMMEDIATELY see fuel being squirted into the carb when the throttle is moved. This fuel should start IMMEDIATELY when you start moving the the throttle. If there is any delay at all, then you have an issue with the timing of your accelerator pump.

 

[Greg Ducato]

Man Gary, that is a smooth idle for sure, I haven't seen the balanced coin trick in a few years but your engine seems to have pulled it off well. I'm with the other guys, I think you need more fuel to overcome a lean bog.

 

[Gary P]

Hi guys!

Thanks for your comments above. I’ve taken note as always. I appreciate you all.

Adam has taken the other carb away and is going to rebuild it. I mean, he insists and also admits to absolutely loving that challenge so who am I to prevent his happiness :-D We will try the other carb which we knew ran well before the Mancini kit swap, and see what happens - just out of pure curiosity. If there’s no change then I think it will be time to buy an intake and a 4bbl carb. I’d like to explore every avenue before firing a parts cannon at the car, though. At the moment it runs and drives and around the neighborhood it brings enough of a smile to my face I’m grateful for that. So I’m not stressed.

In the meantime I’ve thrown a steering wheel cover on

Cleaned the interior, and spent quite a while tidying up wires and other bits and pieces from the lean burn removal. That’s all this week. Did a few miles and enjoyed it despite the lack of power. Here’s a couple of pics for no reason at all.

Adam text me tonight, he’s almost done with the carb rebuild so for spitz and giggles we’ll put it back on and see how she runs.

Cheers fellas.

 

[Greg Ducato]

Best of luck on your carb swap sir, the old beast is looking good!

 

[Gary P]

Best of luck on your carb swap sir, the old beast is looking good!

Thanks Greg, and thanks you guys.

Bad news however. The original Lean Burn carb, fully rebuilt, every aspect of it's inner workings gone through, cleaned thoroughly....

...FAILED.
Its idle circuit is, in technical terminology, up sh*t creek. Adam (known locally as a genius) was left scratching his head. Accelerator pump working perfect, shooting clean fuel as it should. But just couldn't get the thing to sit nicely. The final thing he insists on doing to the carb, is an acid dip. He says, he's had many 34pict3 carbs from old VW's come back to life from an acid dip. Who am I to argue? When he first mentioned an acid dip it took me back to my younger years, when rock festivals and roaming the countryside all night talking absolute nonsense with friends was just the ticket to happiness. I had no idea he was talking about Hydrochloric Acid :-D

So we'll see what happens about that.

The second carb, the pre Lean Burn Carter 2bbl, still idles beautifully, but no amount of timing, mixture, or any other kind of adjustments could get the car to get out of its own way. On the way to Adams shop, it barely made it over the Geneva Road flyover, and that's nothing more than a skateboard ramp. Embarrassed at the wheel of my own car? Yes.

SO

A 4bbl and a new intake is on the horizon.

Now, I know this opens up the whole discussion of switching the cam, adding dual exhausts and headers, and that all of the above is worthless on a lowly 318 (yes, believe it or not I read a lot of posts on here) but for now, on a budget, still a beginner, I'll start at the beginning. My goal - take in everything you guys say. Learn from that. Acquire wise upgrades for my Monaco. And do a little tire screetching, just a little one...like this little one I saw on Hunter...

That's all for now. Hopefully, I'll have some better and more exciting posts soon. Thanks guys!

 

[Greg Ducato]

Good call on the carb and intake, it can be used with the remainder of any other mods you make and is a simple way to add some performance.

 

[mpgmike]

I have an Edlebrock SP2P 4-bbl intake that was designed specifically for 273 & 318 small port engines. I have to move soon and am about to clear out stuff. If interested, I'm finally willing to part with it (it's as rare as chicken's teeth). PM if interested.

 

[HawkRod]

Gary, whatever manifold you buy you should get a dual plane manifold and not a single plane manifold. (The SP2P, as an example, is a dual plane manifold.). Why? Very generally, a dual plane manifold is better for low end torque while a single plane is better for high RPM performance. Your stock 318 would do much better with a dual plane manifold.

How to tell the difference? Dual plane manifolds have intake runners that go above or below others, while single plane manifolds go straight in.

Here is a single plane manifold:

Here is a dual plane manifold:

Good luck with the project!

 

[Gary P]

@mpgmike thank you for your offer of the intake, that’s very kind of you. However I am going to go a different route based purely on vast amounts of customer reviews I’ve read. Thank you kindly sir!

@HawkRod thanks brother, for your detailed advice. It’s inside my brain and using your advice and aforementioned reading of reviews will see me shell out some hard earned casheesh any day now.

 

[Gary P]

Big massive thanks goes out to the man, the myth, the legend, the Dolph Lundgren doppelgänger, @Kern Dog for tireless help, tech advice, pics, and mostly for sending me a Thermoquad all the way from sunny California - cheers mate.

The generosity and kindness of you guys is astounding. As you read through this thread, it’s easy to see that so many of you have helped in so many ways. Thanks guys.

So: rebuild thermoquad with correct rebuild kit.

Buy correct intake. And gasket kit (again)

Then I have the irritation of figuring out which Lokar kickdown cable kit is going to work with my set up. And the throttle linkage.

I have it all to do. Eeeeek!!!

 

[Kern Dog]

Lokar works....but the Bouchillon kickdown cable is a better setup in my opinion. I've had one since 2001. Even better? Factory linkage if you can find it.
I've modified 2 barrel linkage many times. I have a pile of linkage bits that I piece together when I do a 2 to 4 barrel swap. A Diplomat or Gran Fury police car would have a 318 4 barrel with all that you need.

 

[Gary P]

Lokar works....but the Bouchillon kickdown cable is a better setup in my opinion. I've had one since 2001. Even better? Factory linkage if you can find it.
I've modified 2 barrel linkage many times. I have a pile of linkage bits that I piece together when I do a 2 to 4 barrel swap. A Diplomat or Gran Fury police car would have a 318 4 barrel with all that you need.

How I would love a Diplomat police car….. thanks Kern I’m sure I’ll be hitting you up for more advice here soon. The carb arrived today a day early so I’ll get on ordering that rebuild kit a day early!

 

[HawkRod]

Cheers to @Kern Dog for supplying the Thermoquad!

@Gary P The Thermoquad is an excellent carburetor, although often misunderstood. You almost can't over carburete your car with one. In addition, the small primaries make for excellent responsiveness and fuel economy (if you keep your foot out of it). But, something to put in your memory bank: Thermoquads often have what is known as Thermo Bog. It causes the car to bog down when you try to accelerate quickly. It is a simple adjustment of the sencondary spring, but is essential to the carb working well. Just something to keep in mind once you get it mounted and running.

During the rebuild, check the black plastic resin bowl carefully for cracks. There are parts bonded into the bottom of the bowl; make sure they are still sound with no cracks.

Rock on Gary!

 

[Gary P]

Thanks @HawkRod i shall do just that.

 

[Don Frelier]

Worth noting that the ThermoQuad is a spreadbore carbureter meaning the distance between the two primary venturis/throttle plates is closer together than the secondaries.
So your intake needs to have openings spaced so that the secondary throttle plates don't hit the opening when they rotate as they are further apart than a squarebore carb.
Sorry I don't have much performance small block experience so I can't recommend what intake to find/chooose.

 

[Gary P]

Worth noting that the ThermoQuad is a spreadbore carbureter meaning the distance between the two primary venturis/throttle plates is closer together than the secondaries.
So your intake needs to have openings spaced so that the secondary throttle plates don't hit the opening when they rotate as they are further apart than a squarebore carb.
Sorry I don't have much performance small block experience so I can't recommend what intake to find/chooose.

Duly noted Don, thanks man.

Have any of you had experience/advice regarding the Air Gap intakes? What are the pro's/cons of those? I noticed a couple of them are significantly cheaper which is a pro for me.

 

[HawkRod]

Duly noted Don, thanks man.

Have any of you had experience/advice regarding the Air Gap intakes? What are the pro's/cons of those? I noticed a couple of them are significantly cheaper which is a pro for me.

Are there spreadbore versions of that? Although they do make spread bore to square bore adapters, I'd recommend a spread bore manifold instead.