Little late to the discussion but certainly you are welcome to the club!
Jim, I think I responded to your other post (re: engine and combo). While I can respect the desire to make the 318 work, you will always face the street "tough love" (or call it reality check) that there is no 'replacement for displacement', unless you take the turbo/boost route.
So from my perpsective:
1) my initial ride was a 318 powered coupe - nice, it was a starting point, I felt like I maxed out on what that little 318 could do: we are talking ported heads, valve job, bumped the static CR to 9.5:1, SpeedPro 214/224 @ 0.050" cam, with "massive" .442/.465 lift, ha ha, (get where I'm going with this???), 2300 stall speed mated up to a 904, with 3.23 out back
2) my next version was a move to a 360 motor - stock bottom end, but the heads were the 2.02/1.60 J-heads, ported (DIY), went up a couple of steps to a Crower 228/238 @0.050" cam, .480/.504 lift (man, I was playing with the "big boys" now LOL, I mean c'mon, over .500" lift here), 2800 stall mated up to a 904 trans, with a 3.55 gear
3) brand new 360 build came next, all fresh stuff, '596 factory castings, heavily ported, HughesEngines 238/244 @0.050" cam, .536/.540 lift on 108LSA, 10:1 static CR, same converter and rear end gearing, results, while still fun were a little dissapointing, meaning: the move from 112 LSA to 108 absolutely came through, but made the car a little harder to enjoy on the street, which is were it spent 95% of it's time
4) same 360 build, but moved to a 4k stall 9.5" converter: oh yeah, now we're cooking with GAS
5) same 360 build, but moved to 3.91 gears: yup, that's just "what the doctor ordered"
6) same 360 build, but moved to 4.10 gears: PERFECTION!!! (for my combo)
7) the next version is based on a stroker build, 408 short block has been all assembled and it's pending me finally being done with the W2 head porting, gone to 10.5:1 static CR, single plane intake, 240/248 @0.050" hydraulic roller cam, .580/.580 lift on 112 LSA) same 4k converter (which I expect to stall higher behind the stroker), kept the 4.10 gearing
...so what's the story here?
Well, pick a goal you are after, and I mean as in: is it 99% street focus with a good behaviour and crispy throttle you are after? Or is it wanting to put the fear into every ricer's heart when they pull up next to you at the light (don't get excited about the stereotyping, Subaru STI Turbo is my dialy driver - and I love it!!!). Achieve that goal, once there, re-define what the next step should be and pursue that.
My mantra has been "speak softly and carry a big stick", so I will tollerate a boat-load of annoying street manners for that rumble and roar of pedal-to-da-metal feeling!
BTW: yikes, sorry if I kidnapped the thread as this is about you and not me after all, you are most welcome to the forum of course and I think you'll find that everyone here is happy to share their experiences with you, even if that means you're going to get a digest of some 25-30 yrs of "trials and tribulations"...ha ha!
