Head question !

[chargers_r_us]

I have a 1973 SE that had a 318 originally. I put a 360 out of a van into it a few years ago. Ran great! Recently I had headers and flowmaster 40's installed at Monroe with all new pipes. Sounded real NICE! Trouble was that the headers were too low. They banged the ground and cracked the head. Now I have white smoke pouring out the back! I picked up another 360 motor from a truck that is "supposed" to run good. I plan to install this motor into my Charger. I have a few questions! #1 Should I change the cam since it was a truck engine? #2 Where can I get heavy duty shocks for the front so it won't do this again? #3 I also have an old 318 motor in the back 40 that "may" have  good heads on it. Will these 318 heads fit on my 360 motor and will there be a difference in performance from the 360 heads? #4 Where is the best and most reasonably priced place to get new torsion bars for this car? I REALLY want to drive this car this Summer, and I have the car in a garage where I can work on it now, so I want to get started ASAP!

[flyinlow]

Can you see  the cracked head? Is it possible you just over stresed the header bolts and damaged the treads? This could let coolent into the exhaust port. Might be able to fix with a helacoil?

I have a 73 . No real heavy duty shocks that I have found for 73 and up Chargers. I used KBY's on mine. They are OK. Would like higher dampening units, but Monroe,Gabriel,KBY and Edelbrock do not make them for 73 and up cars.

Check that the bottoming snubbers are still good.

You can increase the front end height with the torsion bar adjusters.

.Larger torsion bars are available. They would do more to help with bottoming than stiffer shocks would.

[chargers_r_us]

Thanks for your input! I will check the head bolts, but the mechanic at Monroe checked it out and said that he saw the crack in the head, but I will look myself also! I believe my torsion bars are adjusted as far as they will go. Where can I get a set of those heavier torsion bars? I do not know what the bottoming snubbers are.

[firefighter3931]

If you can find them the "308" head castings are a nice upgrade. Mid 80's trucks/vans with 360 ci engines will have them. 

Firm Feel will have the larger diameter torsion bars. Yours are probably worn out and tired. 



Ron

[chargers_r_us]

Both 360's I have are from mid 80's trucks....one from a van, one from a Ramcharger. Would the cam make a difference in a truck as compared to a car? I have a mild cam on the shelf for a small block Dodge, but it has gotten some surface rust on it....I suppose that it could be cleaned off and still used...

[General_01]

I have a question:

If only the head was damaged, why are you replacing the whole motor instead of just the damaged head?

[flyinlow]

The snubber is the rubber piece attached to the lower control arm that prevents metal to metal contact when the suspension is fully compressed.

After years they sometimes fall off. Both of mine were gone after 35 years. $12 part at Mancinni. If they are gone your suspension can compress farther then it is designed to  and drag things like headers. Mancinni sell Mopar .960 torsion bars. You probably have .920 ones now.

I would look at some of the newer cams (Lunati, Engle ) that take advantage of the larger Mopar lifters ability to open  at a faster rate.

[chargers_r_us]

Thanks for your help guys! I will start with checking to see if the head is cracked for sure! I will check the snubber! I will get new and bigger torsion bars, and maybe a whole new front end kit while I am at it! I really want to drive this car this Summer, and I want it to run and drive NICE! As far as the question of why replace the motor and not just the heads....that is a very good question and one that I would have asked also! There are a few reasons , though, beginning with wanting to paint the engine bay real good, and also to paint the motor, so I rerally need to remove the motor anyway! And after it is out, this other motor is supposed to be good also, and it is already together, so I just figured I would install it and see how good it is!
I KNOW that the 360 I have now runs great, so it might make sense to change the heads and use the motor that I KNOW is good, but then I have to remove the heads from both motors and install the good ones onto my motor, and find new heads for the other motor!
And to be honest, I know how to , and I have the equipment to change motors, but getting into the engine itself and changing the heads kind of intimidates me! I am not a "mechanic"! I have done heads before, but when you remove them, they should go to the shop to get tested, and then you start asking how much further should you go with rebuilding the motor...etc!
What my ultimate plan is to do is just change motors and paint everything good. And then take my time building the engine that I remove, learning as I go! I'm getting a bit old now, but there is still time to learn! And that way I can still drive my car while I build a really great motor for later on! Does all that make sense, or is it a bad plan? I appreciate your suggestions! Thanks and Merry CHRISTmas!

[General_01]

I guess if that is the plan, the only thing different I would do is change the head on the motor that you KNOW runs and put that back in the car and tear down the "supposedly runs" engine for the rebuild. My reasoning is if you pull the motor apart that you know runs and the supposedly running engine quits on you, you will be parked until you can get one of the engines rebuilt. Just my  .

[chargers_r_us]

General, I believe you are right! That makes sense! My only problem is  that I do not have a set of heads for the good engine unless I take the supposedly runs engine apart and use those heads...maybe that would still be the best approach, but I hate to take it apart if the motor is good....no way to tell without installation, though!
I would rather just pick up a set of GOOD heads for the good motor and go that route!
I do have a 318 out in the back 40, are the 318 heads different from the 360's?

[General_01]

They are different in chamber size and valve size I would bet. I have heard of people putting 360 heads on 318's, but not the other way around. Probably because people want to go faster, not slower.

I suppose you should wait until someone that deals with small blocks can give you a definate answer. I just have big blocks. The last 318 I had was in my rusty '74 Charger back in about '88.

[b5blue]

Check your lower control arm bushing too!You lose lift from the bars when they shot (that was the case on my 70)