Cheap 318 build help

Just want to put a cheap engine together to haul around with in my 70 Sweptline.
I enjoy being cheap and buy as little as possible.
Haven't any experience from 318's so I need some advice.
Truck is a Power Wagon with manual tranny. Want to wake her up a little. Don't want a screamer, just some more grunt.

I have the original 318 coming out today. It barely runs. Checked compression and it has all from 80-90 to 145 psi. I plugged in compressed air and listened for valve leaks but they seemed to be okay. 2bbl carb needs job. Original points ignition.
The other engine is from the late 80's with roller cam and swivel closed chamber heads. Did a leak down test before I took it apart and it has bad leaking valves.
Bores look pretty good (for my purpose). Some home honing and new rings will be needed regardless what block I use.

The original exhaust manifolds will stay on.
I have some LA 4-bbl intakes and a bunch of different carbs.
Will buy new cast iron rings but bearings only if needed.
Hope to be able to use some of the original valve springs.

Are the swivel heads a better choice than original or will the compression ratio be too high?
Summit have cam kits for 120 dollars for the older engine, what cams should I look for for the newer roller cam engine?

the compression with the swirl heads will be better, don't forget you'll be replacing a stock .018 shim gasket with a .040 composite.
For the roller cam I would get one for a same year 360 from sealed power, probably less than 100 bucks. reuse the lifters.

I have gone thru the engines today I have decided to use both short block and heads from the 80's engine. Bores are better and will be nice with a honing job.

Have put some work into the heads and valves should be tight and sealing now. Maybe should go with the .018 head gasket again to not loose any comp?
I can't find the cam you mention... would finding someone who can regrind the cam be an option?

I’m pretty sure those head gaskets are no longer made. I built a budget 318 from the 80’s a few years ago for my desoto. I had the roller cam reground by bullet cams. The rest of the motor was rebuilt stock with magnum heads drilled for an LA intake. Had a 600 Holley, headers/2.25 dual exhaust. The motor was out of steam by 4500rpms. I just swapped in a lunati voodoo cam and the difference was night and day. I know roller cam prices are far from budget friendly but I wouldn’t advise having one reground and expecting huge gains.

Thinnest head gasket you can buy is Mr. Gasket 1121G. No new 0.018" steel shim gaskets have been manufactured for about 20 years.

R.

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.

As far as I know it will all bolt up but be careful not to mix and match lifters and pushrods roller/non-roller. I know that with the magnum heads the pushrod length changes.

You are not going to be mixing up roller/non-roller pushrods or lifters. The push rod lengths are substantially different. 6.76" vs 7.5" pushrod lengths and well the lifter differences are even more obvious.

But to answer the OP's question, as a set, yes you can run the earlier non-roller cam, lifter, and pushrods in the Roller block, BTDT.

Will your old springs work?? Yes, for certain values of work. You shouldn't have a binding issue but 48 year old 318 springs that were weak to begin with aren't going to be happy if you wind up the rpms. Try them and if it lays down on you then I'd put in new springs A set of Melling VS1120 are pretty much spec for the 340 and that cam is close to a 340 cam.

cam is CS665

.

https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sum-k50052/overview/make/dodge


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I used a similar cam in my 318 1977 Power Wagon,it was a Crane grind I believe (Circa 1990).It worked well,mild bowl cleanup in the heads,performer intake and small Holley 600 carb,the truck had 3.55 gears. I don't recall the lobe separation,but I think the lift was .427/.454 in/ex. I did install the cam straight up originally but later advanced the cam for some more low end and it worked well in the 5k pound truck,
RT

Do the push rods for the flat tappet cams will rub on those late 80's heads? Seems like someone told me that once. Does anyone know if this is an issue?

I don’t think the pushrods will be an issue, the 318’s of the mid to late 80’s came in both roller and non roller versions using the same heads and blocks

Just get the right OE pushrods if going roller

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0409-318-engine-build/

https://axleaddict.com/cars/Mopar318

some ideas there

No, it's the other way around.

The heads used on roller engines have oversized pushrod holes because they would rub on the earlier smaller holes.

But like any build, you should check.