SO, I'm the proud owner of a brand new (to me) 1974 D100 w/ a 318. I'm looking to rebuild the engine so I can get more years out of a truck that I payed $700 for. I would like to up my hp from the stock 150hp to the 200-300hp range just for better daily driver capability, but I am much more concerned about being able to drive this truck for years to come. I have plenty of time for the rebuild (6 month before I will need to drive again), and I am looking to stay under $1000 total. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. Any and all questions are welcome if more info is needed. Thanks!

 

i don't know if you will get 300hp out of a 318 for under $1000 but you may be able to hit 200hp. i think one of the biggest mistakes people make with trucks is that they over carburate them. for a 318 in a truck you really don't need anything bigger than 400cfm carb. trucks make all there power down low. by the time my 81 hits 3400rpm i am doing nearly 90mph.

 

Yea the hp boost is really lower on the list compared to running right and longevity. I really only want a little more to make driving around town a bit better.

 

just dont put a cam or carb thats to big in.

 

what carb does it currently have on it? if it has a holley carb you may just need something like a tow/rv cam tossed in on a stock rebuild. could also do a compression test to see what shape the engine is in. this may allow you to save some money and just toss a cam and new valve seals in the engine. i know i was quite surprise when i got about 150-170psi of compression out of my 81.

 

What about dropping in a carbed Magnum? Just tossing that out there, I dunno how the Magnums take carburation....

 

I really dont want to do an engine swap, I would rather just rebuild what I got. The carb is the stock carter.

 

if i was to do i magnum swap i would keep it fuel injected. then you get the 230hp they put out.

 

After more digging I found a have a model BBD Carter, which had varying cmf depending on more specific model numbers. At most I'm getting 365cfm. Would replacing this with a Holley be a good investment? Im going to stick under 500cfm, so would a 2 or 4 barrel be best?

 

if it works good you could try keeping it. i just know some of those carter BBD carbs don't work that great compared to the holley 2 barrel that was also used on a lot of dodge's. if you get the right 4 barrel and set it up right it can get you good gas mileage if you can keep your foot off the gas and it would also get some good power. the 2 barrels usually will get you decent gas mileage even if you have lead foot and also allow for good off the line power.