New Truck Guy Looking for Advice on 318 Rebuild
Amateur
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 25
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From: Texas
c'mon now, don't mess around.... those are tough to find, and swapping from small block to big block mounts, tranny, etc.... a lot of $$$$...
not to mention that I haven't seen a 400 get better than about 11mpg ....
my
Banned Goober Smoocher
Joined: Jun 2010
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Thread Starter
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Amateur
Joined: Mar 2013
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A 400 or 440 bb is years down the road (but yes it will happen!). I dont really want to mess with fuel injection as its much cheaper to swap carbs, and my budget is my limiter right now. I'm not looking to push too much more hp out of my 318 right now, mostly just make it drive down the road better and be a bit more dependable (as its my daily right now).
By the way, thanks everyone for the tips, they really have helped. I'm still looking into the quadra's as I do like them, just finding one for the right price is the trick.
By the way, thanks everyone for the tips, they really have helped. I'm still looking into the quadra's as I do like them, just finding one for the right price is the trick.
Captain
Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 611
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I swapped in a 426 wedge in my 1974 Ramcharger from the original 318. It did have mucho burn out power and was FAST. It never saw more than 9mpg on the city streets for sure but was worth it. It was NOT my DD btw! Had about 500hp even after I swapped out the original Cross Ram and dual quads.
Amateur
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 25
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From: Texas
Another option is to look for a factory roller cam block from 1990-1993...
A roller cam is typically a little torquier and adds to long term durability...
Gotta love the B/RB engines!!!
Hey Dodge Dude, where are You at in East Texas? I am in Tyler.
A roller cam is typically a little torquier and adds to long term durability...
Gotta love the B/RB engines!!!
Hey Dodge Dude, where are You at in East Texas? I am in Tyler.
Banned Goober Smoocher
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 8,916
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Surprised I haven't seen or heard you around.
Amateur
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
From: Texas
Haha, small world, eh?
Well, it is my Dad who owns the supercharged 318 truck, so I don't get to drive it much and he only uses it about once a week for short trips...
I will take this to PM's so we don't wreck the thread
I have a buddy who lives in Tyler who is a master Dodge hot rodder....
Legend
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 8,025
Likes: 72
From: orangeville ontario
The truth is that the booster design of the TQ and QJ are much more efficient than the old crappy straight leg boosters that come in almost all of the holley carbs, especially the the 390 and 450...... some ford motorcraft holleys had a decent annular booster that had good response and atomization at low velocity giving good fuel economy and responsiveness at low rpm...
Yes, tuning TQ and QJ is not easy, but, there is a wealth of knowledge out there about them...
Holleys have the same hot start problems because the fuel bowls hang out over the manifolds..... this can usually be fixed with a phenolic resin spacer and a heat shield under the carburetor.
I have had to use these spacers and heat shields with every type of carburetor for best results, as I live in Texas and get to 100+ summer temps very often.....
I also worked at a hot rod shop for 10 years and I sold all kinds of carbs and tuned and worked on all kinds....
The carter AFB's tend to be super easy to tune and get some of the best mileage.
Don't worry about going to big on your 318 within reason.... a 600cfm wouldn't hurt it at WOT, but you would only have roughly 300cfm on just the primary barrels.... also, having a velocity door/flap, keeps it from opening the rear barrels until the engine can take it... That is why a 500cfm might work very well...
I know that I have personally installed several 500 and 600 AFB's/ Edelbrock performers onto truck 318's and 360's.....
The TQ and QJ have the best potential for mileage of all the carbs and probably the best potential for the most HP on top end also.... but, more difficult to tune and harder to get parts for....
Fuel injection is great, but double whatever You think it will cost, and then some.... even for a factory setup to work on your older truck.....
However, swapping to a 318 MPI setup with intake, magnum heads, and all electronics and controls would be a nice swap.... but, look at the mileage numbers..... they really aren't much better than a well tuned carb setup really.....
GOOD LUCK!
Yes, tuning TQ and QJ is not easy, but, there is a wealth of knowledge out there about them...
Holleys have the same hot start problems because the fuel bowls hang out over the manifolds..... this can usually be fixed with a phenolic resin spacer and a heat shield under the carburetor.
I have had to use these spacers and heat shields with every type of carburetor for best results, as I live in Texas and get to 100+ summer temps very often.....
I also worked at a hot rod shop for 10 years and I sold all kinds of carbs and tuned and worked on all kinds....
The carter AFB's tend to be super easy to tune and get some of the best mileage.
Don't worry about going to big on your 318 within reason.... a 600cfm wouldn't hurt it at WOT, but you would only have roughly 300cfm on just the primary barrels.... also, having a velocity door/flap, keeps it from opening the rear barrels until the engine can take it... That is why a 500cfm might work very well...
I know that I have personally installed several 500 and 600 AFB's/ Edelbrock performers onto truck 318's and 360's.....
The TQ and QJ have the best potential for mileage of all the carbs and probably the best potential for the most HP on top end also.... but, more difficult to tune and harder to get parts for....
Fuel injection is great, but double whatever You think it will cost, and then some.... even for a factory setup to work on your older truck.....
However, swapping to a 318 MPI setup with intake, magnum heads, and all electronics and controls would be a nice swap.... but, look at the mileage numbers..... they really aren't much better than a well tuned carb setup really.....
GOOD LUCK!
fuel injections is not that expensive. i picked up a 93 ramcharger with fuel injected magnum 318 and 4 speed automatic transmission for $1000. it would all just drop into my 81. motor mounts are the exact same. if you are willing to do a bit more work you can usually pick up a jeep grand cherokee with 5.2 magnum for about $500 and do the swap that way. for the extra 90hp and 40lb-ft torque would be worth it. people want power but don't want to pay for it so that is really the cheapest way to do it.