finally, a block to buy

Having the weight on the converter on a 318 is probably what failed the crank. That weight should only be for 360's, 400's and some 340's.

i thought 318's were externally balanced? 360's internally? am i backwards........my old engine didnt have the weight......the new to me engine does. hey speed. talked to my boss about the cam thing. he agreed with longer push rods and the 1:6 ratio rockers

Just wanted to say I'm looking forward to this build!

I'm sure your buddy will build quite the impressive 318 for ya. It sounds like he's a knowledgable source.

Are you building for torque or high-end?

high torque. i want to do a stroker but its not in the cards at the moment. ya it'll be cool. i'll snap some pics along the way, i already have the block torn down. monday i'll pressure wash it then run it through the parts washer at work. then i need to start buying parts.....

Originally Posted by maachine

i thought 318's were externally balanced? 360's internally? am i backwards........my old engine didnt have the weight......the new to me engine does. hey speed. talked to my boss about the cam thing. he agreed with longer push rods and the 1:6 ratio rockers

You are backwards, 360's are externally balanced, that why they have a different balancer and use a weighted converter. If you have a 318 and your converter has a weight on it, knock the weight off.

Don't think you need longer pushrods to run the 1.6 rockers. Might though.

i should have said longer push rods OR 1.6 rockers.

weird cause the engine i just got has a weight on it. i plan on using the old (no weight) torque converter anyway.

Pushrods for 1.6 rockers with a roller cam need to be about 1/4" shorter than a flat lifter cam.
I had 1.6 Crane rockers with a flat cam. I used ball and socket pushrods for a 340, 7.24" long I believe.
When I built my current engine, ('91 360) with roller cam I had to use shorter pushrods, just under 7". I wish I could provide you with the PN. I had to search Crane's catalog to find them.

thanks b-300, what'd you do about valve springs? stock or after market?

If you decide to switch the cam do yourself a favor and get the Comp 264HR-12 cam.It has the long snout for the mechanical fuel pump and is GREAT.The duration is 210/220 with .480/.480 lift.The LSA is 112.I have used this cam in two 89 360's and let me tell ya it is an awsome cam for a truck!Get the 901-16 springs and you'll be set.Oh yeah,they also have a smaller version which is 262HR-12 that I believe is for 318's.

264HR-12, thats exactly the cam that compcams recommended. only with the 110 LSA rather than the 112 LSA.

just to update, finally got the engine fully disassembled. here is a picture of the crank. still gotta look up the serial number but i'm pretty sure its cast iron. looks like it will have to be reground and get over sized bearings.

block was greasy and dirty. so i brought it to a do it yourself car wash and pressure washed it. then brought it into work and hot tanked it. didnt get a picture of it cause i had to leave work early. will post a picture of a clean block and freshly ground crank soon.

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Re: Valvesprings. I used Edelbrock heads (and springs) good for 0.575" lift.

new crank is the same crank shaft that broke on me. serial #3751841. cast iron

Err.. Sounds like a part number.. not a serial number. 2 Cents.

Cast crank will be fine as long as you don't run the weight on the converter. People have made 400hp and run a 250 shot on cast cranks.

right right, part number. haha, you get the point

so my boss and i talked a lot about what i want to do with this 318. he looked up parts....ran some numbers......wont be easy to get the 10:1 compression ratio i want unfortunately. soooooo.......he talked to a friend of his who has a 4000$ 450HP LA318 engine. my boss's friend told me to rebuild it stock.

we mic'd the block, cylinder walls have almost 0 taper to them. so they are in really great shape. we discussed it more and came to the conclusion that we will cam it, install bigger valves, port the heads, gasket match, and thats it. basically all top end work. we wont bore it because its not needed and boring it out to the .030 pistons i do have, really wont add all that much compression anyway.

we ran the numbers on a program he has. with the stock valves (not the bigger size like i am wanting) it came out to be almost 300 HP @5000 rpm with almost 400 ft. lbs of torque @1500 rpm. pure torque right out of the gate. which is what i am aiming for.

we also discussed intake and decided that the edelbrock performer is the way to go. unfortunately, i sold mine thinking i was going to go with the rpm air gap. my boss is a stubborn dude and wouldnt listen to me when i said the air gap does work with 318 heads. "because edelbrock says its for a 360/340 engine". but in his defense, the cam he wants to use matches the performer intake better than it matches the rpm air gap intake. so there is that.

gotta figure out if i need oversized crank bearings before i buy a master rebuild kit. bringing the crank down to the shop to see if it needs to be turned....then its just buying parts after that.

thinking we are going to throw a 600cfm holley on it. sorry for the book fellas, just excited that my truck might be on the road here soon. excited

the cam is a 268 with .480" of lift and 110 LSA. cant remember the rest of the specs. i want to say .050 duration is a 210/220. which is what comp cams recommended, and eggman, and my boss. so apparently its a great choice for a cam. boss said it'd be perfect for this build.

That cam should be good for a bit of lope and some good power. I would still use the Air Gap, the Performer is basically a stock 4bbl intake in aluminum and will choke the gains from the cam and head work. You can order pistons that will give you 10:1 if you want, but you will more than likely need to run 93 oct on it then.

i was planning on building an engine for 93 octane. would have to get domed pistons to get the compression i want. but i have 2 sets of pistons now. one stock size and one set .030 over. both flat top. so to save the expense i'll just use the parts i have now. i'm thinking at a later date i'll get a 360 magnum engine and build that up slowly over time. the 360 magnum has a 9:1 compression ratio stock with dished pistons. throw some flat tops in that and the compression ratio should go up nicely. so for now, a torquey cheap 318 build should be ok for a play truck. who knows, maybe i'll be perfectly happy with my slightly built up 318.