Small block driver vs big block project?

[h76]

Was wondering if a solid small block driver would be a better option than a big block project? I'm now seeing solid 68-70 318 cars trying to be sold for 15-20k. Is that a little high or just about right? I see a lot of big block projects for the same price(some incomplete and have pretty heavy frame rust).  I've heard of a quite a few fellows losing steam on their projects due to not realizing what a huge task projects can be.

[Baldwinvette77]

i was going to go with a smallblock auto combo on my car, if i did that i would be finished by now, but i decided to go with a bigblock and a 6 speed manual, it cost almost twice what it could have been.. but.. at the same time i regret nothing 

[Pete in NH]

Honestly, I think there are more big block cars around today than Chrysler ever built. When these cars were sitting on the showroom floor you almost never saw a big block car at a dealership. 383's were rare at a dealer and 440 R/T's were almost unheard of. They just weren't practical as daily drivers. Forget about 426's no one wanted to spend the extra $1000 on a $3500 car.

Most cars were 318 2 BBL eights which moved along nicely on the highway, were quite reliable and not that it was all that important back then delivered decent gas mileage. I think a 318 converted to a 4BBL, dual exhausts and a better cam than the stock grocery getter would still make a very nice highway cruiser today.

[myk]

The bottom line is, what do you want?  If you want a big block car, then go for it.  No point in buying a cheaper small block car and then wishing you had bought a big block car instead.  You could also buy the small block car and then swap it out to a big block, but that's another series of steps you'd have to take to your end goal.  Pick a target, and then wait for the right moment to buy.  Buying into anything else will leave you with years of regret LIKE ME...

[h76]

The bottom line is, what do you want?  If you want a big block car, then go for it.  No point in buying a cheaper small block car and then wishing you had bought a big block car instead.  You could also buy the small block car and then swap it out to a big block, but that's another series of steps you'd have to take to your end goal.  Pick a target, and then wait for the right moment to buy.  Buying into anything else will leave you with years of regret LIKE ME...

[rt green]

I agree. figure out what you are going to do with the car, and make the best choice.

[ws23rt]

The bottom line is, what do you want?  If you want a big block car, then go for it.  No point in buying a cheaper small block car and then wishing you had bought a big block car instead.  You could also buy the small block car and then swap it out to a big block, but that's another series of steps you'd have to take to your end goal.  Pick a target, and then wait for the right moment to buy.  Buying into anything else will leave you with years of regret LIKE ME...

I agree  
When someone asks this question I see in their question a wondering about value. Value is something that is realized at point of sale.
Make yourself happy with what you want today. If that is a combination of what you want now and how it will sell in the (perhaps distant) future than spend more now for that questionable future.

Take this from an old guy---life is for enjoying now. Later is a time that never comes.

[keith88]

Mine is a 318 and its not bad at all gets good gas mileage dont have to put high test in it runs good sounds good (Glasspacks) has a 4 barrel and bigger cam. The only thing i would change is the gear have 2:76  wish i had at least 3:23 or 3:55 would be nice and i paid 25,000 last year so ya they cost that much.

[ws23rt]

Mine is a 318 and its not bad at all gets good gas mileage dont have to put high test in it runs good sounds good (Glasspacks) has a 4 barrel and bigger cam. The only thing i would change is the gear have 2:76  wish i had at least 3:23 or 3:55 would be nice and i paid 25,000 last year so ya they cost that much.

You have a great looking car from a great past in car history.
When it comes down to it two things come to mind when making an impression. One is for ourselves. (about what we feel good about) The other is about how others feel about what we have.
We pay for both.

[Mike DC]

Its much easier to swap a drivetrain than rebuild a rusty bombed-out body.  DO NOT spend the same money to get half as much car just because it has a big block.  Not worth it. 



These days 318 cars are less common than 40 years ago, for sure. 

You always hear:  "find a nice clean surviving 318 and be money ahead over a rustbucket."  It's good advice.  But it was already good advice in 1990 and that was 25 years ago.   People have spent the last 25 years doing it to every nice 318 car they can find.  Now if you find a nice 318 VIN it may already have a 383/440 in it. 

[ws23rt]

Its much easier to swap a drivetrain than rebuild a rusty bombed-out body.  DO NOT spend the same money to get half as much car just because it has a big block.  Not worth it. 



These days 318 cars are less common than 40 years ago, for sure. 

You always hear:  "find a nice clean surviving 318 and be money ahead over a rustbucket."  It's good advice.  But it was already good advice in 1990 and that was 25 years ago.   People have spent the last 25 years doing it to every nice 318 car they can find.  Now if you find a nice 318 VIN it may already have a 383/440 in it. 

--agree-- lets not toss any charger just because of it's original pedigree. Too many are gone and the more that are saved the better.

[Ghoste]

Real good arguments can be made for both.  Only you can decide short term budget versus long term goals.

[Dino]

My small block car came with a big block when I bought it.  I'm not complaining about that, but I really wouldn't mind it being a 318.  I drive the car a lot and never on a track so I can't use the engine's power anyway and gas mileage sucks!   

My original plan was to find a 318 car and drop in an efi 360.  The plan has recently returned, sort of, and I am seriously contemplating dropping a newer hemi in there.  6.4 preferably but cost may be too high and again, do I need that power?  I still want a T56 trans and efi so why try to adapt it all to the old 440?

OP, you need to write down all the pros and cons of a SB and a BB.  And be honest to yourself.  If you want a BB just because of image then so be it.

[toocheaptosmoke]

If you want a BB just because of image then so be it.

I've been surprised by how much of an expectation this is.    Maybe because the majority of cars people see these day are now BB's?  Be prepared to "defend" the small block all the time. I've never been asked if it had a 318 in it.    But, I was able to hop in the car and drive for over 8 hours yesterday and only spend 58 bucks in gas.

[myk]

Our cars are fat.  They need the cubic inches just to get out of their own way.  And I'll be damned if a Toyota Camry is going to embarrass ME on the desolate, post apocalyptic, death dealing wastelands we call the freeway...    

[skip68]

It boils down to what you're budget is and what you want.  
There isn't that much difference in price between a small block car and a big block car.  
If small block cars were that much cheaper everybody would be buying them.   When I look at a charger I'm never concerned about what size engine it has unless I was buying a completely finished car.   I could care less if I swap the engine on a project or project driver.  What I do care about is overall condition, completeness and RUST.  
Say you're looking at spending $15k.   The car's you'll be looking at will and should be around the same condition regardless of what motor it has unless it's a 4 speed or HEMI of course.  
This theory about buying a 318 car in way nicer (driver) condition for way less money than a big block may have been true years ago but not anymore.  
The hard part is finding a clean complete car not needing $10,000-$20,000 of rust repairs.   Motors and trannies are a dime a dozen.    

[Mike DC]

My original plan was to find a 318 car and drop in an efi 360.  The plan has recently returned, sort of, and I am seriously contemplating dropping a newer hemi in there.  6.4 preferably but cost may be too high and again, do I need that power?  I still want a T56 trans and efi so why try to adapt it all to the old 440?

I would skip the original plan if you were trying to avoid the big blocks for mileage purposes.  Mopar 360s and gas mileage don't go together.  I've known guys with EFI 360 trucks that wished they'd just gotten diesels for all the gas it burned.

IMO either a 318 or a 383 is a much better compromise for power/mileage, if we're just discussing the old motors.   The 318 doesn't burn too much gas.  The 383 burns gas but it makes even more power to show for it.        

[1974dodgecharger]

Our cars are fat.  They need the cubic inches just to get out of their own way.  And I'll be damned if a Toyota Camry is going to embarrass ME on the desolate, post apocalyptic, death dealing wastelands we call the freeway...    

damn myk you ok.....lmao 

[JR]

I know I absolutely hate having 750lbs+ of cast iron big block in the front of my 70. I have an original RT so I don't want to swap it, but I know a 300lb lighter small block new hemi would help the car handle so much better.

800 lbs of weight on the front end of the car doesn't make for a good handling vehicle.

That said, big blocks sound soooo much better. I'll probably end up throwing as much aluminum on my engine as possible to try and improve weight distribution.

Getting a big block down to 550lbs or so would be nice.

[Dino]

My original plan was to find a 318 car and drop in an efi 360.  The plan has recently returned, sort of, and I am seriously contemplating dropping a newer hemi in there.  6.4 preferably but cost may be too high and again, do I need that power?  I still want a T56 trans and efi so why try to adapt it all to the old 440?

I would skip the original plan if you were trying to avoid the big blocks for mileage purposes.  Mopar 360s and gas mileage don't go together.  I've known guys with EFI 360 trucks that wished they'd just gotten diesels for all the gas it burned.

IMO either a 318 or a 383 is a much better compromise for power/mileage, if we're just discussing the old motors.   The 318 doesn't burn too much gas.  The 383 burns gas but it makes even more power to show for it.        

No it's not for mileage purposes, rather driveability.  Just this morning I take it out and it stalled on me a few times because it was colder than I thought it was and I disengaged the choke too soon.  That part of old car charm has no place in my life anymore.  I don't exacting enjoy losing brakes and steering when I'm about to merge.  It didn't help that the sob took a while to fire up again.   

I love that so many of the parts on this car are the originals and after some cleaning all work great, but unless I modernize my engine with efi and all that, it will never be what I want.  After a lifetime of driving and working on classics, I finally had enough of the leaks, the smell, the squeaks, and the rattles.  It's no longer charming dammit.   

So do I upgrade and modernize the 440 and mate a 6 speed to it?  Or do I yank the drivetrain and install a modern hemi?  Or poly or whatever it is.  I think the latter is the better choice, but I have some homework to do.

[303 Mopar]

If money is no object and you are tired of dealing with the original motors, I would install a new 6.4 HEMI with a NAG1, QA1 K-member for clearance.  We are dropping one in my buddy's Cuda for some of the same reasons.

[Paul G]

Mopar engine swaps get ridiculously expensive. Swapping to  gen III hemi is a great idea, but there is little support. Conversion packages do not exist. There are individual components that can be sourced to do the swap. But your on your own trying to make it all work together.