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Mopar 318 Or Mopar 360

Posted in Perfomance Parts | Asked on Jul 3, 2010

So, I have a 1968 Dodge Dart and off to the side I have a 1970 318 Barracuda Engine. I still do not know what is on my engine because I haven’t seen it yet (it is at my mechanics). I was wondering whether I should keep my 318 and upgrade it or should I get a 360 and put that in there.

I am guessing my 318 has a 2bbl carb on it. Well anyway, on summit racing and jegs.com I found a set of headers, a set that contains: camshaft, 4bbl carb, 4bbl intake manifold, and the air cleaner; and an a/c water pump pulley system for little over $2000… That doesn’t seem like much to add on to an engine, but I heard that rebuilding or trying to get extra horsepower out of a 318 is a waste of time and money since they can’t reach that high level of horsepower.

Part sites:

http://www.jegs.com/i/March+Performance/655/40420/10002/-1

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CMB-03-0160/

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HED-78056/

Now, I found a guy on eBay Motors (who uses it for classified adds for his website) who sells the 360 for $3100. He says that all I will need are mounts, brackets, carb, fuel pump, and alternator. He claims that the engine should get 347 hp @ 5000 RPM and 388 ft lbs of torque @ 4000 RPM.

360 engine website:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Small-Block-Mopar-360-Crate-Motor_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem562c65f310QQitemZ370112066320QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Wouldn’t it make sense that for around $2000 I could get 50-100 more horsepower to my dart? I still have my donor dart and when I finish getting all the parts I need from the donor, couldn’t I sell my donor and the engine with some extra parts for an amount that would reduce my costs of the 360 to around the same price it would take me to upgrade my 318 engine?

Which is a better buy?

Thany You for all your serious answers.

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There are 3 Answers for "Mopar 318 Or Mopar 360"

  1. Rocket88 says:

    id say the 360 is a better, though more pricey idea. but it all depends on what you ultimately want to do with it. street/strip? 360 all the way… street only? you’ll have just as much fun with either motor.

    but as a side suggestion, as Ive seen it his way here… if horsepower is what you want you could get a 383 or 400 for around the same price and build as you go… but that’s just my opinion.

    but of the two id definitely go with a 360… it hauled butt in the warlock and express truck with a cam and semi hi-rise intake and roughly 350hp. and the dart weighs allot less.

  2. dodge man says:

    the 360 is much better and has a lot more room to add more power to it,the 318 is limited as to how much power you can get from it,why put a limit on how much power it can have when you can simply go to a 360 and get as much as you want from it,don’t waste to much money on a 318,their not worth it,good luck.

  3. 9th Wonder says:

    You could go either way. It’s kind of a win/win situation. The 360 is a bigger motor. But don’t beleive the bull about upgading the 318. It is not a waste of time. I have a 73 Roadrunner with a 318 and I was gonig to replace it with a 340. But I chose to keep it numbers matching. Remember that a vehicle is worth more when its all original. And there are things you can do to turn your 318 into a beast trust me. Mine is a monster. Do some research. I am going to post a few links below of some 318′s. Don’t forget that versions of the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Chargers, and Plymouth Roadrunners came with 318′s and those are some real muscle cars.