Need Help [Archive] - Pirate4x4.Com

Lloyd

06-26-2002, 06:48 AM

Originally posted by 74ramcharger
I have a 74 ramcharger with a 318 under the hood, i was wandering if anyone had any help ful ideas on how to beef up the power

I've got a '77 318 and have been checking out options for about a year and a half. Swap in a big block or a Magnum crate engine - seriously. Most bang for the buck. Either that, or buy a stroker kit from Speedomotive or Hughes, and make a 390 out of it, if you want something a little more than the small crate mill and can't find a good B or RB cheap (I can't). If you only want a little more power on a smaller budget, carb and headers will help, along with porting the heads. I've got a Qjet on mine, and a set of $80 headers from Summit. Changing the cam will generally get you more horsepower at the expense of low-end torque. Hughes makes some with extreme lift rates, designed to take advantage of the large lifter diameter in Chrysler engines; this will help across the entire rpm range (much like a roller cam does, but without the $800 cost). See http://www.hughesengines.com I'm thinking about a HE0914AL. According to Desktop Dyno this combination, with no head work, should give 276 hp and 338 lb/ft with a pretty flat torque profile. Pocket porting would bump it to 308 hp and 347 lb/ft.

I've ruled out swapping heads for mine, since home is 8200 ft. and I'm most interested in low-end to midrange; large ports and valves at this altitude on a small engine (especially at lower rpm) would cut the port velocity so severely it'd suck across the entire rpm range; and the extra compression lost to the larger combustion chambers would be totally unacceptable. Already the altitude has cut the nominal 8:1 to an effective 6:1 and I can't afford to lose any more or the damn thing won't run at all.


Pirate4x4.Com > Brand Specific Tech > Dodge > Need Help PDA : Need Help 74ramcharger 06-25-2002, 04:14 PM I have a 74 ramcharger with a 318 under the hood, i was wandering if anyone had any help ful ideas on how to beef up the power FULLSIZE 06-25-2002, 09:29 PM what are your smog laws?;) Lloyd 06-26-2002, 06:48 AM Originally posted by 74ramcharger I have a 74 ramcharger with a 318 under the hood, i was wandering if anyone had any help ful ideas on how to beef up the power I've got a '77 318 and have been checking out options for about a year and a half. Swap in a big block or a Magnum crate engine - seriously. Most bang for the buck. Either that, or buy a stroker kit from Speedomotive or Hughes, and make a 390 out of it, if you want something a little more than the small crate mill and can't find a good B or RB cheap (I can't). If you only want a little more power on a smaller budget, carb and headers will help, along with porting the heads. I've got a Qjet on mine, and a set of $80 headers from Summit. Changing the cam will generally get you more horsepower at the expense of low-end torque. Hughes makes some with extreme lift rates, designed to take advantage of the large lifter diameter in Chrysler engines; this will help across the entire rpm range (much like a roller cam does, but without the $800 cost). See http://www.hughesengines.com I'm thinking about a HE0914AL. According to Desktop Dyno this combination, with no head work, should give 276 hp and 338 lb/ft with a pretty flat torque profile. Pocket porting would bump it to 308 hp and 347 lb/ft. I've ruled out swapping heads for mine, since home is 8200 ft. and I'm most interested in low-end to midrange; large ports and valves at this altitude on a small engine (especially at lower rpm) would cut the port velocity so severely it'd suck across the entire rpm range; and the extra compression lost to the larger combustion chambers would be totally unacceptable. Already the altitude has cut the nominal 8:1 to an effective 6:1 and I can't afford to lose any more or the damn thing won't run at all. txs 06-26-2002, 08:31 AM A set of magnum heads and a good torque cam and headers would be my choice if you stay with the 318. Stroker crank would be ok too, depending on your mechanical abilities and wallet thickness. dogbender 06-26-2002, 02:37 PM Switch to a big block.(i.e. 383) gobs of torque not bad mpg,about 13.