My truck has a 318 with >226,000 miles on it. I know it's going to die eventually. I just got a job at an auto parts store, and I'm planning on saving some money to build a new motor for my truck.

I'm either going to get another 318, or get a 360 and stroke it. I would really like to do the later.

Either way is going to take me a while, and I'm probably going to do it a little at a time, but I should be able to do it.

So, what do you guys think? 318 or 408? Would the 408 be worth the extra time and money?

 

just take the 360 and beef it, you can make plenty of power without stroking it....the 408 is a VERY expensive job i hear.....

 

The 408 is only about $1000 more than a 360. All the kits come with forged pieces and connecting rods. In a truck motor this is not needed. A cast 4.00" stroke crank and hypereutechnic stroker pistons are around $700. Just reuse the stock rods and get the rotating assembly balanced (could be expensive). Everything else is going to be about the same as a built 360. It should have better low end compared to a hot 360 which is the biggest complaint I hear about building the 360 for a truck.

 

I would just get a 360 and bore it .30 over and put some quality parts in it with better flowing heads, intake, injectors, 6-al, and a good tune from SCT and call it done.

Oh yeah dont forget a cam to tie all this together, and once you do all this you will want to up the stall and possibly reinforce tranny

 

Thank you guys for your input. Would it be possible to beef up a 360 and stroke it later?

 

You can always stroke it later, but that would be a PITA! I am planning the same project, just dont have enough green stuff. Anyway if this is your daily driver then I would do everything to the 360 at once so you only have to install it once. Get everything planned out so you can have as little down time as neccessary. If you stroke it later your truck wont be driveable until you finish the engine, and if your lucky you wont have to wait on any problem that may occur.

Do everything right the first time and dont worry about it later. Unless you have another vehicle. Good luck to ya!

 

what im doing to my 360 is getting stuff done one at a time....i did the plenum and etc., have rebuilt the entire front end, all suspension....

So my best advice would be get things done when you can...take yor time....i do it this way so i take one day, add my upgrades, then have it done by night, then plan out whats going on next. IMO thats the best way to do it, so you dont rob yourself

what autoparts store did you start at? i started at AutoZone tonight lol.

 

The 408 is defiantly worth it. It doesn't sound like your in a big rush to build, so just save the coins. When I built my 408 it was only about an extra 1000.00 for the stroker kit and machine work. At a minimum the 408 will give you 100ftlb over the same set up in a 360.

 

I'm starting work at Advance Autoparts. I start tomorrow. I was planning on building the engine, and when it's completely done, pulling the 318 and dropping in the new motor.

 

Also, where can I get a new engine block? I somehow doubt Autozone would carry it.