440 to 318 swap?? what do i need?

[69chargeryeehaa]

ok, sounds crazy , but i'm thinking about a swap to a 318 and taking out the 440. with gas prices the way they are, i find i don't drive my car cause gas is sooooo expensive. i don't want to sell the 440, just keep it for later. so, i have a 727, power drum brakes, pwr steering setup now, what would i need to swap a 318? will the 318 bolt up to the 727? what about the rad, pwr steering, alternator, headers, ect?.....

I have access to a 318 and tranny for next to nothing (about $100) good running engine, so theres not that much $ involved. i get about 14-16mpg average with the 440, and my car is tuned to near perfection. it was just a thought, if only the 318 bolted up to the tranny i'd do it tommorrow. i had a 65 dodge polara 4dr with a 318, it got amazing gas mialage, well over 20mpg just crusin. one problem with the 440 is i can't keep my foot out of it!!!!  and it's getting expensive, not that i mind really, i accept the fact that muscle cars and fuel economy don't belong together. but it would be nice to have something in the 20+mpg range, i'd just drive the car that much more. in contrast, my 74 bug gets well over 30 mpg, i could cruise for a whole night on less than $5 of gas, and when i go for a cruise at night i often do 100+mi in a night just drivin the back roads, going into town, take a boot on the highway ect... i put alot of miles on my cars, just thinking about the alternatives to make it slightly more affordable. ahhhhh if only gas was cheaper, and with the predictions of gas prices really got me thinking.

::)ummmmmm,  maybe i should get that turbo for my 74 beetle. 

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[firefighter3931]

what would i need to swap a 318?

You need to have you head checked 

Basicly, the chassis & k-frame are fine. New engine mounts, headers/manifolds, exhaust, pullies,belts etc...A smallblock tranny and possibly a driveshaft. There could be issues with the radiator as well....outlet on opposite side for SB ?

Ron

[dodge freak]

I don't  think you get 20 miles per gallon with the 318. Are you sure you are getting 14-16 now? My 318 gets 11 mpg, Yes when I put the 3.91 gears and holley hp 750 and My subwoofers and 5 amps I could have care less what milage it got. $1.50 a gallon  is what it was for so long, we didn't know how good we had it then. You must have 2.73 gears and a great carb for mileage. You have to change everything, well the rad would be ok if you got different hoses, I have a 440 rad now just had to change the top hose, but headers, trans case will not work. If you really want a 318 car sell your 440 car and buy a 318 car that you like. It be cheaper and a lot less work. I know its your baby right? But if you look around you might be surprise what other peoples baby's are out there. I would wait tell you find what you want and then sell your car. That is what I would do.

[69chargeryeehaa]

I don't  think you get 20 miles per gallon with the 318. Are you sure you are getting 14-16 now? My 318 gets 11 mpg, Yes when I put the 3.91 gears and holley hp 750 and My subwoofers and 5 amps I could have care less what milage it got. $1.50 a gallon  is what it was for so long, we didn't know how good we had it then. You must have 2.73 gears and a great carb for mileage. You have to change everything, well the rad would be ok if you got different hoses, I have a 440 rad now just had to change the top hose, but headers, trans case will not work. If you really want a 318 car sell your 440 car and buy a 318 car that you like. It be cheaper and a lot less work. I know its your baby right? But if you look around you might be surprise what other peoples baby's are out there. I would wait tell you find what you want and then sell your car. That is what I would do.

i was just thinking about it, since i could get a good low mialage motor and tranny for next to nothing, so i'd need motor mounts, exhaust, and a few other things, the 318 and tranny i can get for $100 or so, is complete from air cleaner to oil pan including the alt and pwr st pump, heck even the rad, and it's out of a charger, and actually would be a #'s matching motor for my 69 (for year) since my charger was originally a 318 car too.  i would not sell the 440, and if i ever did sell the charger (which would never happen, i don't ever plan to sell the car) then i'd just swap the 440 back in.  it's just a question of would it yeild better gas mialage?  like i said i had a 65 dodge polara 4dr, with a 318, and it got 20+mpg, i would say weight of the cars is perty close to equal.  and yes, my 69 charger has a 3.23 gear and 28" tall tires, so final ratio including the tall 28" tires works out to be about 3.08, that's where the not so bad mpg comes from, but it's still a expensive beast to fill/run, just trying to make it better, espically with what the gas prices are predicted to be, never mind what they are now.

[dodge freak]

Well if you have the space and time to change it go for it. It have to get better milage I would think. I have the time but no where to pull my motor so I just hop it up a bit. Over here in michigan  it works pretty good. Was in Vegas 2 years ago and drove around alot outside the city, now over there I would want, I mean need a 440, They have roads so flat and open you can't see the end. Just look at the old posts for putting a 440 in place of a 318 and go backwards.

[mikepmcs]

14-16 MPG from a 440.  That's mint!!!! Keep it in there and get another job if it's gas money you are worried about.  My dually got 15 maybe and my H2 gets 13-14 on a good day.
Just cut out eating and stuff, that's what I did.
Don't give in, pay for the gas and live man, live!!!

[RD]

you will need:

72 and below motor mount brackets
proper oil pan and pickup
904 or SB 727 trans:  if you use a 904, you will need a different driveshaft that is 4 1/8" longer, if you can find a SB 727, then your current driveshaft is fine

things to consider:

exhaust may not mount up the same
throttle linkage may be different
kickdowns are different
your coil wire will be really long going from a 440 to a 318

and that is all I can think of right now..

[deputycrawford]

I just topped off my tank to go racing. I spent $28 to get to the track. I left the track and noticed it was low already and stopped in Milan Michigan to "top" it off again and spent $30. I drove it the next day for two short runs and decided to "top" it off again. It cost me another $30. This car cost me $88 to run it for two days, not to mention the $20 to run it at Milan Dragway. Keep your 14 MPH and drive the car a few less days a month. You will spend $1000 for all the little parts and fluids, motor mounts and gaskets you will decide to change while the engine is out. Not to mention the time spent working the bugs out. You will then have a 318 Charger. Need I say more?

[Nacho-RT74]

what do you need ?

the engine first

LOL, j/k...

after that, everything stated

[XXSpiralXX]

  My 72 charger gets about 25 mpg highway around 17 city if  Idont beat on it. its a 318 2 bbl car with a dual exhaust and turbo mufflers. No idea what the gears are. The cars all stock cept the exhaust and the bigger radiator.

[69chargeryeehaa]

  My 72 charger gets about 25 mpg highway around 17 city if  Idont beat on it. its a 318 2 bbl car with a dual exhaust and turbo mufflers. No idea what the gears are. The cars all stock cept the exhaust and the bigger radiator.

thats the #'s i'd expect from a 318, and is what i roughly got in my 65 dodge polara with a 318.  sure beats my best mialage of about 18mpg!!! but that was going down a hill, wind behind me, engine off, coasting, and drafting a truck, damm thing takes gas when it's not even running!!!!!

[dodge freak]

I had a 1977 318  grand fury that was stock expect for the duel exhaust and I got only 16 mpg and that was back in the 55 mph speed limit days. 25  mpg highway WOW 

[Mike DC]

 
The 318 is a lot easier than a 440 for mileage, that's for sure.  But just because the motor's small it doesn't automatically guarantee better gas mileage.  The rules still apply.  The 318 is pointless if you're still gonna run 4.10 gears and a loose converter and a big carb on it.

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I hear ya on the swap in general, though.  I like to actually drive the car even if it's a little slower. 

I'd put together a 318 with a roller cam, a small carb, a tight converter, and highway-suited rearend gears.  It still won't be very fast, but it will make the slower motor a little more responsive & halfway fun to drive.  And you should actually gain some significant mileage over the 440 this way.

 

[MassCharger73]

Every ounce of fuel you would save with the 318 would be wasted flogging the LA trying to match the torque you are used to with the 440.