How to Beef Up a 318

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1. 

   PushinInkTattoo Member

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   I have a bone stock 318 in my 74 dodge dart that I want to beef up a bit. I will admit right now im a cheap ass and dont want to sink a fortune in this thing. With that being said, what can I do for cheap/free? It already has dual exhaust with no cat. are headers worth it? dont know if its 2bbl or 4bbl, but maybe bigger carb (is the 2 to 4bbl upgrade cheap?) what about removing the smog pump and a/c? ar advance the ignition timing? bypass fan clutch? Im new to mopars so forgive the newb questions

2. 

   NEWATTHIS Well-Known Member

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   I also have a 318 dodge dart sport, but i spent more $$$$$ on it then you are willing to do. As far as the headers being worth it, i will say yes, but be prepared to go through hell first. Putting headers on my dart sport was a nightmare, i learned alot from the good people on this site, dont go any bigger than a 600 carb. good luck

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   needsaresto Well-Known Member

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   First of all welcome!

   As for your 318;It will be a 2 bbl unless someone already changed it. The cheapest upgrade to 4 bbl would be a cast iron stock intake and a thermoquad carb. Lots around on 360 powered trucks/vans and some 80's era 318 cop cars (Diplomats etc).Some late 80's 318's had rochesters as well and a good casting head called the 302. Make sure to get a 4 bbl air cleaner filter and housing. A K&N air filter is inexpensive,and reusable.

   Dont bother upgrading your ignition system. Not much gain per dollar there.

   Summit offers cheap headers,dual exhaust kits and cams. Your mopar is an A body. And yes it's fair amount of work to install headers. If you change the cam,do the timing chain. Upgrade it to at least a double roller. For a few more bucks you could add a tensioner. Wont help make power but will ensure accurate cam timing when the chain starts stretching.

   Another cheap upgrade would be a thinner head gasket. Buy an .028 thick Mr Gasket head gasket. A bit more compression will help.

   Transmission shift kits are inexpensive too and simple to install.

   A distributor recurve kit is another cheap upgrade that will help. Or grab a used one from a small block pickup/van. It will have a bit faster advance curve and lighter springs.

   If you can port and have the tools,that will definitely help quite a bit and cost you almost nothing.

   Rear gears would really help,but probably be more expensive than the other mods and I have no idea what you have for gears/diff.

   Good luck!

   • Thanks! x 1
5. 

   rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

   This is a stock part, it's on the car allready.

6. 

   rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

   What is your cash limit/ spending limit? A "Fortune" is a realitive term.Not much.In the long run, yes, when hunting for power.Realitivelyremoving the smog and A/C pumps will free HP that is allready there. It's called parasidic loss. Or when you get rid of the pumps, gain.
   You can not "By pass" the fan clutch, but you can do 1 of 2 things.
   Get a viscous fan from MoPar which uses less power or got to a electric fan and rid yourself of parasidic power loss.

   For tips, read through my thread which is more about getting the old heap up and running and then adding power in a spirted way called, "On the Cheap", which is again, realitive to what's in your pocket.

   http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=10508&page=1&pp=20

   In short, I took a bone stock 1979 - 318 and added a 4bbl. & intake, headers, cam and matched springs and a electric fan. The car has a auto trans and 3.21 gears on stock tires. At ATCO raceway N.J. on a cold cold day, untuned it ran 15.14 @ 89 mph.
   Check the classifieds here for intakes and carbs etc.... on the cheap.

   • Agree x 1
7. 

   rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

   Further performance can be had cheaply with milling the heads. Cost for this varies widely. I had a set milled down for $35 and some can't believe it. I see others pay triple per head.

   Advancing the ignition will help, but you can go to far.

   A simple air cleaner from the local auto store will help.

   A MSD ingnition will clean up and ignition issues and will put some mileage in your tank. IMO, this is a worth while thing to do.

   IMO, this kit which is preety complete as far as I can tell is a nice package.
   Once I had this in hand, I'd port the heads with 1.88 and 1.60 valves (360 valves) and be set up for a good street runner. This should make a easy 350 HP. But cheap is realitive.
   http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?part=CMB-03-0162&autoview=sku

8. 

   PushinInkTattoo Member

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   cheap to me is less than 400$ in the whole project. so yeah prolly wont be doing the heads. the 4 bbl carb and intake sound like my best option at this point. I think I may even have a 4bbl holley laying around somewhere

9. $400? If it were mine I would spend it like this:

   Cheapo headers ($100), used eddie performer intake ($50-$75), used Viscous fan ($50), a rebuild kit for that carb you have ($20?) Lighter springs for your distributor ($20?) and some decent gears. Buy really good header gaskets or double them up because those cheapo headers will probably leak. This is exactly what I did with the old stock 318 in my Duster. My gear choice was .410's. I have the car on stands now in the garage. It is getting a new 340 and 904 in it, but the melted rubber from the "stock" 318 is still splattered all over my quarter panels.:thumbrig:

   You will think you have a different car.

   If more was in the budget I would go a different way, but if I only had the $400 this is what I would do for simple cheap upgrades.

   This should get you your "fix" for a year or so. In that year, I would try and pick up a used 360 (or 318 if you prefer) and built it a piece at a time with good parts. When the 318 is ready for a rebuild you can just swap in your new motor and your car is only down for a day.

   You can even use all the parts you bought for the old motor on the new one. I would try to get a little better headers on the new engine though.

10. 

    rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

    Your close to screwed, the abpove suggestion is a good one. The headers from Summit or Jegs @ something like $99 and finish it up with a pair of 4ft. straight pipe @ 2-1/4 inch and a pair of summit or Thrush turbo mufflers. There very inexpensive. You'll probably need 8 clamps and 2 hangers. System ends in front of the rear axle. Exhaust gaskets should be Mr. Gasket Ultra seals. Very good stuff.

    The above mentioned used intake and carb might be found here or at a swap meet. Carter carbs are easiest to rebuild.

    On a gear change, you'll spend about $400 on parts nevermind the installation of them.

11. 

    needsaresto Well-Known Member

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    So far on my gear change in my 8 1/4 for my M body, I bought a decent set of used 3:55 gears. $120. Cant imagine spending another $280 to install them myself...

    I had no idea the factory head gaskets were .028 thick. Mr gasket does sell thinner ones.

    Agreed on the headers. I spent $50 on my used set,which havent even been run,just trial fitted and bashed a bit. They look just like hedmans. You will need header bolts as well as gaskets,again cheap.

    A cast iron intake should be cheaper than any aluminum intake and they are actually a very good piece. it's unlikely you'll encounter cracks or stripped holes. If it's spread bore,it'll bolt right on. Dont pay more than $25.

    I still thnik gears would give you the most bang for buck in the acceleration department,IF you can get a good used set for cheap.

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    clhyer Well-Known Member

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    I have a cast iron 4 bbl intake I would let go for $25 plus shipping. It is on a 318 truck engine. Shoot me a PM with your email address if you would like pics or have any questions about it. It is a spread bore.
    C

13. 

    AdamR Big Member

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    On the real cheap ? A real good tune up, Cap, wires, plugs and filters.

    Advance the timing to 10* before TDC, Summit racing has headers for $100. Pick up a used Performer intake, Probably around $100. Then hunt for a cheap edelbrock 500 or 600cfm carb.

14. 

    PushinInkTattoo Member

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    clhyer, sent you a message. dont want to do a gear change cuz I still drive on the highway. whats the deal with the distributor springs? are they hard to put in? where can I buy a set at?

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    LXguy Well-Known Member

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    Are you sure that stock head gasket is that thin? The source material I have says .40 or thicker?

16. 

    rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

    Yes, very sure. OE head gaskets are the same one found in the MP parts catolog as there listed @ .22 - .028 thick.

    Any gasket after that is aftermarket and the Fel-Pro's I normally see are .039.

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    krms19 New Member

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    Can you send me the link for this kit? I click the link and it won't open

18. For $400? Tune up, get your timing dialed, exhaust exactly as mentioned by rumblefish. Jegs has pretty nice copper gasket for the headers, best $31 you'll ever spend if you rock headers with a 5/16" badly bead ground warp master flange (like summit or jegs headers, which I like and run.

19. 

    rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

    The tread is over 7 years old AKA "Dead Thread" LMAO!

    What ever I posted that link for I no longer remember what it was for.
    PM me if you want.

21. 

    rumblefish360 I have escaped the evil Empire State! FABO Gold Member

    It becomes dead after people stop posting in it and that is often after several years it gets called dead.

    That link is very old and seen many many times. It's old news except to new eyes. It is easily found here and on the goggle search engine.

23. 

    toolmanmike Moderator Staff Member FABO Gold Member

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24. 

    Syleng1 Karma is real and Life is short... FABO Gold Member

    AED status- "Clear the patient." "Checking for heart arrhythmia". "Applying voltage"
    We have a beat!

    just reviving the patient again!

    We need more 318 cam shaft info!

25. I was going to say if you don't know a 2 barrel from a four-barrel you're not only new to Mopar you're new to working on cars period... Then I seen the date and said holy cow this is old...

    • Agree x 1
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triplettvenceptant1947.blogspot.com

Source: https://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/threads/beefing-up-the-stock-318-engine-cheap-mods.56138/

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