Thread: 360 heads on a 318...

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I was wandering. I know if I put 360 heads on a 318 it would boost power but lower torque. I also know if I shave the heads it will correct that problem. Does anyone know how much I should shave off?

You like running that expensive gas don't you? 'cause if that mopar is anything like a SBC, with 305 heads on a 350, your gonna send the compression though the roof. and milling the heads, say .030, will only increase that effect. Also when you mill heads, you really have to watch your valve to pistion clearances, which can be a problem with a high lift cam, over temp problems can arise also.

I don't know if that is something your trying to do or not, but if your not building a race only engine, you might want to reconsider that path.

No you misunderstood me. It's 360 Heads on a 318. Not vice versa. I was told the combustion chamber on a 360 head was much bigger than a 318 head. Which means it will drop compression. I was told that as a rough estimate it would drop compression from say 8.1 to 7.5 or something like that.......

What I wanna do is shave off enough from the head to regain this compression that way I will have the gain of bigger valves which I was told would mean more horsepower but torque should remain the same if it is done right.

I figure if I do this to the heads and replace the cam with something for low end torque, this could give me some seriously extra go with this 318. Does anyone have a suggestion of any other combos I could try without doing any boring and decking of the block?

Whynot just rebuid your 318 heads and put in larger valves?In the end it would cost about the same and less stress on the heads. Just a idea

your better off with the 318 heads for low end than standerd 360 heads. A better option though is casting # 302...used in the early to mid 80s cabs & cop cars... they have the same chamber size as 318, but valves & ports of 360s. they work great for mild performance 318s & 360s