[kzooman83]

Well, I finally found a home for my forlorn little 318. My cousin has an '82 Dodge half ton 2wd with a slant six and wants to swap my 318 into his truck. I am going to be taking the disassembled engine to a local machine shop soon for inspection, and then we will know for sure what the build will entail. Some opinions/info regarding this build and swap would be appreciated.

1.) Tentative plan for the engine:

-stock (8.7:1) compression if it does not need an overbore, if it does: Kieth black flat tops with a little under 10:1

-port match the swirl port heads to 360 intake and exhaust gaskets; edge the combustion chambers

-hydraulic roller cam with 45-50 degrees overlap and .450 to .500 lift w/ matching springs

-Performer intake manifold or similar

-Mopar Performance electronic ignition

-Holley 600 cfm vaccuum secondary 4160 carb.

Sound good? Should I remove the valves before doing port work on the heads or leave them in place? Also, do larger valves need to be installed to necessarily make use of the port work, or will we still see benefits with the stock valves?

2.) The swap:

-reproduction 318 motor mounts (pretty easy to come by)

-It has an 833 manual trans. I know we will need a V8 bellhousing, but what else?


Thanks!

 

[Bearhawke]

Check to make sure your 318 crank can accept a pilot bushing and I'd would not use a cam much bigger than about 210 duration @ .050" lift.

 

[kzooman83]

My crank has a hole drilled for a pilot bushing; I am not sure if the hole is finished to the proper diameter, but the machine shop can probably tell me that. Why so short with the cam duration? It seems like I read that the duration @ .050 for a stock 340 cam was more than 220. I don't mean any disrespect, just curious. Thanks!

 

[Bearhawke]

My crank has a hole drilled for a pilot bushing; I am not sure if the hole is finished to the proper diameter, but the machine shop can probably tell me that. Why so short with the cam duration? It seems like I read that the duration @ .050 for a stock 340 cam was more than 220. I don't mean any disrespect, just curious. Thanks!

The 318 has less cubes and a 340 or stronger cam will be even more radical. Remember you have a 4,000 lb pickup truck and you probably will want more off idle power and torque.

 

[kzooman83]

That's true. I dealt with that when I put a big comp cam in my duster; it was useless below 2,000 rpm and I ended up swapping the milder cam back in (for now until I can afford lower gears and a 2500 stall converter, anyway). The cam that has my attention is a Mopar cam part #P5155560; it is a roller cam with long snout that is supposed to work with a mechanical pump. 264/274 advertised, 210/220 @ .050, .480/.480 lift, 112 lobe separation angle, 45 degrees overlap, 900-5200 rpm. Too big or about right?

 

[Bearhawke]

That's true. I dealt with that when I put a big comp cam in my duster; it was useless below 2,000 rpm and I ended up swapping the milder cam back in (for now until I can afford lower gears and a 2500 stall converter, anyway). The cam that has my attention is a Mopar cam part #P5155560; it is a roller cam with long snout that is supposed to work with a mechanical pump. 264/274 advertised, 210/220 @ .050, .480/.480 lift, 112 lobe separation angle, 45 degrees overlap, 900-5200 rpm. Too big or about right?

That 'stick' should be OK; I believe the old 340 cam had about the same specs.

 

[Guest]

Make sure to check the rear end gearing. I did'nt do that to mine later and regretted later.