I know this question has been asked a thousand times but here goes. I just noticed I'm getting a little antifreeze in the oil on my stock, never apart, 318 in my Challenger. I figure it needs a head gasket. I hate to pull it apart without doing a little something to wake it up but want to keep the cost to a minimum while maintaining it's status as a FANTASTIC cruiser. What are your suggestions for a mild build of my 318? And let's keep the, "drop in a 340, 360, 440, etc." replies to a minimum, I'm sticking with the 318 for now.

My warmed 318 performs super. THe 323" has , 318 large valve 1.88/1.60 areo heads($399pr) , the Edelbrock "streetmaster 318" single plane low rise (1000-4500rpm) intake, A factory 340hp cam .430/.444" lift on adjustable factory rockers, crank-scrapers.com scrapper, summit headers, 600 cfm hollley vacuum secondary purple spring w/ 68pri jets, GM HEI modual with MOPAR HEI distributor ignition set at 16 inital and 36 total comes 2800rpm.etc.

This is the cheapest path to a fast road car. Too much/just right amount of power for a 4 speed , 3.23 gear, and 225/60-15's tires. Shift around 4,800rpm , and you'll be next to high 14's in the quarter all day. Fast as the first 4 gears of a 90's 5.0L 5spd mustang.

the factory 340 cam makes more power than the summit small crysler cams, either of them. Makes more power and torque than a 318-360 performer manifold and the matching edelbrock performer cam.

I suspect you don't run the thing long enough and often enough for any of the condensation to evaporate out of the engine. Don't tear anything apart you know for certain.

well, I'd be inclined to keep the 318 together, and in the interim, get another to build. that way the car is only down for a weekend while you swap motors.

for a motor, I'd look for a 318 magnum, get an edelbrock magnum air gap, get the roller cam reground by bullet cams with their HR259/316 lobe for intake and exhaust. hughes #1110 springs with junkyard 2.2L retainers, a 600 edelbrock carb, just rering/rebearing the motor, maybe do a little touchup on the heads. you'll be very pleased with the performance of a magnum headed 318. it pushes my 3900 lb boat into the 14's...

t-cover and intake first place to look

pick up another 318 to rebuild then swap out

start with a newer roller block and stock roller gear

I did that and run the lunati roller cam with some comp 901-16 springs

very happy with it inmy 85 truck

I don't think it'll be the head gasket, there's something else wrong IMO.
My motor did the same thing and it was a cracked cly wall from corrosion from sitting for 20 years. It was the last thing I expected.

Put some Eddie heads on it and maybe a small cam and that will wake it up without hurting reliablity. You current heads will need alot of work after 40 years and it's hard to justifiy the cost of a rebuild. Eddie heads will add power and reliabilty.

instead of edelbrocks, I'd get these heads from hughes. they're enginequest 318B's (LA intake pattern), a 4bbl intake, spread bore or 600 CFM square bore carb, and for a cam, I'd probably run an engle 4416H, 4418H, or comp 262H if going flat tappet. get a set of used (~$40) or new (~$85) magnum rockers, and measure for pushrod length, and find the nearest length one at summit.

heads, $700, rockers, ~$85, pushrods, under $90, used eddie performer intake, $100, used eddie 600 carb,t-quad, or Qjet and rebuild kit, $150, cam and lifters, ~$200, and you have the whole top end for less than the price of the eddie heads