318 question for friend

[Drache]

A friend gave me a call today and was asking a question.

He has an old dodge 318 in a pickup. Old original 2bbl.

He was hoping to get a little more top end out of it. He was wondering if you could just grab a 4bbl manifold and carb and get enough of a "boost" from that. People are telling him though that he would also need to redo the heads as the stock ports wouldn't work?

He's not looking at making a racing motor, he just wants a little pick up in speed for the pacing lane.

I don't know enough about engines to give a clear answer so I told him I would ask here.

I was reading that the Edelbrock 2176 manifold was made for this sort of thing 2bbl to 4bbl using stock heads?

[BLK 68 R/T]

As long as it's not a wide block 318 then I don't see any issues with changing from 2 to 4 barrel? Can-do wide block as well but the manifolds are different from the standard 318.

[RallyeMike]

You can get a moderate perf boost with a simple 4bbl swap from a 2bbl without any other changes. Just intake and carb. Don't expect the difference between night and day.

[A383Wing]

dual exhaust will help also

[Alan73Charger]

2176 intake will work great for non EGR system.  What carb is he looking at?

Only other thing other than the dual exhaust already mentioned is that he should consider a new camshaft.  The 318 camshaft won't fully utilize the upgraded intake and carb.  He will see much more of a performance lift if he can afford to do that camshaft.  Edelbrock can probably hook him up with a camshaft and timing chain set for about $300 more.  (I'm in the middle of a similar upgrade on my 73 charger)

[crj1968]

I agree I've woken up many o' 318's with a dual plane, small 4bbl and decent ignition.

I think it's worth trying and doing without going further....you would need these parts if you went further anyways. 

I believe Edelbrock sells a decent small block combo kit.

[RCCDrew]

Or you could find an old intake and carb locally for cheap. Be sure the carb is small, like a 600.

[Alan73Charger]

I agree I've woken up many o' 318's with a dual plane, small 4bbl and decent ignition.

I think it's worth trying and doing without going further....you would need these parts if you went further anyways. 

I believe Edelbrock sells a decent small block combo kit.

When you say "decent ignition" what would u be doing?  New dizzy?  More?  My 73 has electronic ignition but I hear people talking all the time about not being a big fan of it and how they would upgrade it.

[scratchinfotraction]

best bang for the buck with a lopo 2v 318 truck keeping the 2v cam/carb in there would be

  1) change the low stall truck TC to a stock high stall TC. this alone will make a 2v 318 a little more peppy.
 
  2)add headers/duels to the 2v 318 will be the 2nd best bang for the buck.

  3) add a couple other things it will get better.

Holley STREET Dominator intake
600cfm edelbrock/holley carb
cam swap
stock high stall TC
headers/duels
3.55 gears
235/75/15 tires

I have done a few teens with these combo of parts keeping a stock long block 318 in a truck.

another option is add 360 heads for more flow. this drops comp ratio a little but makes up for it with more breathing/higher rpm. also a better intake/cam choice can be made.

for the Ign system I like to use a stock points dist with a pertronix points conversion, then add a FBO mech advance limiter plate/spring kit to get the initial/total timing set.

I use a vac gauge to see how much the engine wants for initial and adjust mech with plate for total.

[crj1968]

I agree I've woken up many o' 318's with a dual plane, small 4bbl and decent ignition.

I think it's worth trying and doing without going further....you would need these parts if you went further anyways. 

I believe Edelbrock sells a decent small block combo kit.

When you say "decent ignition" what would u be doing?  New dizzy?  More?  My 73 has electronic ignition but I hear people talking all the time about not being a big fan of it and how they would upgrade it.

Decent meaning no points- Mopar electronic or an MSD6 is all I've really messed with. I've had no issues with either, but I'm just a street car guy so that's all I've needed.