318 4 bbl. ?

[lowbudget]

I have a 1978 Aspen wagon with the factory 318 4 bbl. set up. From what I've been reading it has 360 heads and intake on it probably due to the cost of Dodge having to cast a new 318 4 bbl. manifold. Is this correct? If so does anyone have the factory specs. for this engine? I'm at work in Kuwait and planning a cam change so am doing some research. I figure to do a top end and throw a cam in it this winter and start building the bottom end with a spare 318 I have laying around.
Thanks Mike

 

[lowbudget]

I was wondering about the cam specs and the compression of the 78 318 4 bbl. I'm thinking that they decked the 360 heads to raise compression as I read tossing stock 360 heads on a 318 would give you around a 8.0 to 1 Compression ratio.

 

[bremereric]

I am doubting that they would put a 4bbl and 360 heads on a 318 from the factory but then again they might have run out of 318 heads and 2bbl intake at the time. Yah the 318 was a dog a 8.5:1 and the bigger combustion chambers on the 360 heads would dog that even worse.

 

[Erics5th]

Well, the 318-4 police engine did have 360 heads, so they probably did have a 360 manifold. I didn't think they did this until the late '70's/early 80's though, since a 360 could be had in a F body police package car.

 

[lowbudget]

I read they started in 1978 (the year they started building the 318 4 bbl) and that they just used what they had instead of designing and casting a new 318 head 4 bbl.manifold. I might have to wait until I get home and look in my 78 service manual and on the heads themselves.......If I have a 78 Manual as it might be a 77.

 

[jasperjacko]

I had a 78 dodge charger se 318 thermoquad from california

 

[lowbudget]

I found this on Allpar:
Around 1978, MOPAR first sold the 'LA' version of the 318-4Bbl. They simply bolted on a 360 intake/thermo-quad. Shortly after, a (so-called) H.P. version was 'unleashed' on the motoring public. This version used the (current) 360 heads with the 1.88/1.60 valves. In fact, this H.P. 318 was available through 1984. Hey, some of you must have owned one.
By 1977, 318 heads were only 1.0 c.c. smaller than the 360's. From 1968 through at least 1984, all 'LA' heads, either 318, 340 or 360 were of the 'open' chamber design. The 318 chambers were in the 61-62 c.c. range to 1975 then they slightly increased to about 63 and then to 65 a couple of years later. The 360 heads at that time were mostly 65's.

I suppose I will have to pull the top end off measure piston/deck height and cc heads to figure out what is going on