I'm planning a rebuild for my 1990 dodge ramcharger. I will keep the TBI, stock heads, exhaust manifolds, and intake. However I want to put a little better cam in it. Im not lookin for a racer, but since I'm goin to the work of rebuilding it I want to feel a difference in power. Mabye pickup 10-20 hp. I will add dual exhaust from the manifold on out. I have considered takeing a little off the block and/or heads if it would help. I want it to run fine with 87 octane fuel as well as the 91.

My questions...

1. What cam would work well for me... gain a little low rpm hp, make for a nice daily driver, and handel 87 octane.

2. What would the compression of the 318 be in 1990 stock, and what compression ratio would handel 87 octane ok?

3. If I do grind a little off the block/heads which would be better? Could I compensate for the shortened length with shims on the rockers? If not what steps would work best?

That stock 90' 318 in a RC would have the hydrolic lifters but not the hydrolic roler cam right?

 

Welcome to the site. I will move this thread to the Ramcharger section,
FF

 

for a street daily driver i recomend a cam of 268 duration not more this is the advertised duration, not the .05 lift duration. i had a 1965 chrysler 300 L with same duration. it realy worked good on the street. the 413 gained 20 hp over a new yorker, but no lose in mpg.

 

It should have a roller cam.
The only problem is the computer is limiting,you my need to add to/change your computer.
A mild cam may work with out help.
The heads on it are pretty good,but can be better with 360 valves,maybe some port work.
Shaving the heads is an easier option than decking the block.

 

hay silvermopar how did it turn out?

 

Indy Cylinder Heads has alot of options for your engine. I have their ported heads and intake in my Demon. Lunati has great cams as I also have one in my Demon,
FF

 

Haha, its been quite a while. I had it bored .02 and decked ever so slightly. Put a new but to stock specs cam as my old one was pitting. Basicly its the same as it rolled off the line. Currently I have removed the body and painted the frame, now to put it back together and then fix the rust and paint the body.

BTW, I ended up with no noticable difference. It just does not use a quart of oil every 1500 miles now. Oh well, its been good to me.

 

Everyone that I've spoken with who's rebuilt and added performance goodies to their 318 has been somewhat underwhelmed with the final result. Don't get me wrong, the 318 is built like a claw hammer, a great engine to be sure. The problem is the ratio of money thrown at it is not directly attributable to the amount of power one gets out of it. The concensus seems to be if you want to really improve torque and HP, one needs to swap with a nice tight 360.

As someone else pointed out too, rebuilding and modifying the 318 while keeping the old ECS, fuel injection, etc., won't yield many results. In some cases, one could even go backwards on the satisfaction index because the computer isn't set up with aftermarket camshaft or compression specs. All that money in performance parts could be overruled by the stock computer.