I think I remember reading that the 318s of that era had more compression than the 360s (around 9.2:1, advertised). The heads will be fine but you may need new valve springs with a different cam. Roller cams are not cheap. How much is a basic set of 1.6 roller rockers? The 360 TBI cam was also used in the first 360/300 magnum crate motors but it had the benefit of the 1.6 ratio rockers. It's not a performance grind, it's a stump puller. The factory magnum cams aren't much better and don't have a fuel pump eccentric (but the 360 TBI does). Buy a three way timing chain.
The other option would be to just install a traditional hydraulic cam. A stock 340 cam was always considered the best upgrade for a 318, although there are more grinds out there now. That means giving up the roller feature though. All depends on your budget and what you are comfortable with. I am in the same position with a stock rebuilt 360 roller motor and I think I'm just going to leave it alone. It's barely broken in and any changes are just going to snow ball. It's not going to blow anyones doors off but it'll be reliable and have good torque. I'm going to put in a 'warm' converter and some decent gears and chase the dragon that way.
If you don't mind the weight, the factory 340 4bbl manifolds work just fine. Another good option would be an older edelbrock 318-360 performer.
I have googled some more and it seems to be too expensive to get better performance with a roller cam. Since I'm cheap and I'm not gonna put a lot of miles on this engine I have started leaning against a flat tappet hydraulic cam. I have been looking at this one, I think it could do the job and costs only 150 including lifters:
https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sum-k50052/overview/make/dodge Questions:
will the lifters just drop in, and can I use the pushrods from the 1970 318" in my circa 1987 roller cam 318"?
I know it won't be correct and by the book but can I use the 1970 valve springs with the Summit cam?
I'll check for binding first of course. This engine will never see higher rpm's.
I'll check today what intakes I have. I know for sure I have a couple of stock and heavy 4-bbl's so I guess that will be good enough. Weight is no issue on a 4,600 pound truck
I have started lapping the valves on the 302 heads now so they should soon be ready to go. They would benefit of some porting but I don't have the time (and I hate porting iron heads), will just match port.
