Decisions, Decisions....

[fuzbone]

Ahh man, I'm at that crossroads that many of us have been at.

The good news is that I am now the proud owner of a 1980 Mirada with a 318 and a 727, and get this, 14k original miles. That's right sports fans, 14k legit. It was owned by a former Dodge salesman who passed away at 90 years old and it was his pride and joy. As he was a dealership employee, this baby was converted from lean burn long ago and now sports a 2 barrel manifold and carb. It all looks completely stock and correct, because it was done right. Hell, there's still chalk marks under the hood and on the interior fender wells from the factory.

Now, the tough part is, for all of her beauty, she can't get out of her own way.

So, here's the age old question,,,,,if I change this motor to something that actually can break these tires free and has some giddy-yup, am I depreciating the value of this car or adding to it?

I know what the "numbers matching" camp will say,
"A car is only original once", and I get that.

But will putting a nicely worked 360, which as y'all know has the same exact physical dimensions as this 318, and was available as an option on this car, in it actually add to the value. I know it will add to the fun.

Decisions, decisions....

Any thoughts?
Have you gone down one road and maybe regretted it?

Would love to hear any thoughts or opinions

Fuzbone

 

[77kickinaspen]

318s are beast if u putt some effort intoem

 

[CMX360]

Sadly stock J-bodies are never going to have much value so you don't have to worry about numbers matching. Anything to give the car more muscle without messing to much with its already perfect appearance will only add value. You could keep the 318 around and offer it with the car if you sell. You might find some nut who wants the stock engine. I have a 80K 82 CMX and a 97K 82 T-top and I'm in the process of putting 360's in both. The 130hp 318 just doesn't cut it.

 

[bremereric]

Keep your block and change the internals. Go to Muscle Motors and buy you a 390 stroker kit. Put you a four barrel on it and your block will stay numbers matching. Find you some 302 closed chambered heads also.

 

[82Cordoba]

Here is my build. I wanted to stick with the 318 because I like to be different. All you ever hear is go 360, never build a 318. I had one guy tell me that no matter what you did to a 318 you could never make more power than stock. He was dead serious. The funny thing was he claimed to be some amazing mopar guru or something. Anyway, I'm taking a crank from a 360, turning down the mains to 318 size. Then I'm going to use stock cast pistons from a low compression truck 318. They can be had new dirt cheap. If you find the right ones they will have the correct compression height for the new stroke. Then bored .030 and square off the deck and It will make a zero decked 318 stroked to a 349. I allready got a 1970 340 cam that was a new take out. Got it and a brand new timing set for $6 off the World Wide Web. A guy in town is givin me 1970 340 J heads, intake, and exhaust manifolds for a steal of $100. Will slightly port and clean up the heads. I'm gonna get an Eddie Air Gap and top it with a nice 650-700cfm carb. Throw some headers on her. Will have around 10:1 Compression and should be good for 415-425 HP Give or take a little

 

[slant6billy]

Thought about using heads from a 273 on a 318 and a big cam from a 360? Cheap mans 340? Might get some mean low end torque- perhaps

 

[Mr.Lopar]

forget original, do whatcha want. like in last months mopar collectors guide, youll only add to its history, why erase that and leave it stock?

 

[ramenth]

Lord forbid if I turn into one of the "it's only original once" crowd, but it is a survivor. Car shows have special displays set up for 'em and you'd be surprised at what turns up. B-vans, J-bods, R-bods, everything from slants to Hemis. The survivor tents have very few Hemi E-bods and Winged Cars. Just saying.

I am realistic, though, and echo the sentiment that it's your car. Do what you want. If you're worried about the originality takes pics - lot of pics - of what things look like before you start making the changes. If you decide to sell then the next owner, who may or may not decide to undo the changes, has a lot of evidence of what it looked like.

 

[alf44]

Thought about using heads from a 273 on a 318 and a big cam from a 360? Cheap mans 340? Might get some mean low end torque- perhaps

273 heads on a 318 is not a good idea. the cylinder bore on the 318 is much larger than the 273 combustion chamber. think the compression and the quench area are to far off to make any power with those smaLL valves