My gasser truck in signature sent rods through the pan.... after 80k miles....

Question now is what to do with it... replace the 318 with another 318? with a 360? or does anyone have any other briliant ideas of what to do with it short of parting it out?

 

Ick. The 318 has usually been proved to be a good motor. I'd look around for a 360, should be easy enuf to find.

 

This one evidently wasn't a good one... blew up going down the highway...

How hard is the conversion from a 318 to a 360? what all needs to be changed out?

 

might i suggest a 12 v swap???

 

I was thinking more of an 8v swap..... but a 4bt and a nv5600 is most likely out of my budget for this project.....

 

Too bad!

it's very uncommon to blow up a 318. I've seen them take an outrageous thrashing. But they never got good mileage and when towing mine used gas faster than ANY vehicle I've had. The 360 seems like a better engine in every way and should bolt right up. I've had both and loved the 360.

John

 

I'll echo the rarity of a 318 failure like this, but I'm sure that's hollow comfort to you.

As for swapping in a 360, that would be pretty easy to do. The only complication is that most 360s are externally balanced (special damper) and most 318s are internally balanced-- cast cranks.

Swapping in a 360 has been done a million times. If you don't have to have your truck smog checked, you can build a modest 360 that will have way more power than the 318 and get a lot better mileage than the factory 360s. (factory MPI 360s are gas hogs-- as bad as the new Hemis, sometimes worse).

If you get the MP shortblock, you'll want a different cam, as the cam they come with is WAY too big for anything you'd want your truck to do (they come with the Mopar 292 street/strip cam or something similar to it, depending on Magnum or regular LA configuration).

The key to getting a 360 to work well is to give it some higher compression and a mild(ish) cam. Make sure you get a cam that will play with your factory EFI setup.

If you're going bigger on budget, a stroker 408 with FAST XFI fuel injection will rock your world and tow like a champ. A 4" stroke does wonders for a small block

 

be sure to change the torgue converter to the 360. you wont like the vibtration if you dont.

 

Torque convertor or the flex plate? The TC shouldn't matter, but the flexplate may be weighted different for the 318 vs. 360.

 

Was that a joke?

 

chry. has always put the weights on the torgue converter.

 

I don't think they ALWAYS weighted the tc. Mopar Performance sells a converter weight kit to let you do this (as many OEM applications were).

I've seen 360s with special dampers (offset weighting) and others with "crescent" shaped slice cut out of the flexplate.

 

I'd find a crate motor 360. Jegs has one rated to 330hp and right at 400ftlbs. I had an 02 with a 360 and though not the strongest or quickest, it was a very dependable truck.

 

10 years as tech at dealer never saw a weighted flex plate. 360 had weighted harmonic balancer. all 360s i worked on had a weighted converter. but you could be rite i just never saw one.

 

i think you would be better off going back with a 318!!
the 360 is heavier, sucks more gas, and the difference in power isn't that noticeable... but you will notice it at the fuel pump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i had a 99 with a 360 and liked my friends 318 better it ran smoother used lell gas on the road and seemed like he had just as much power ( maybe more) than i did.
so i checked and there was only like 20-26hp difference from the factory

just my thoughts