And the 318 dodge opinions also

Yes I have always been into mopar and liked the 318 felt i got good service out of them BUT I have changed a lot of them too!! Reference my 300-6 Ford post also. Lets be cival.

I've got a 1964 old-version Red Ram 318 in a farm-truck Power Wagon, and another later version 318 in a 1969 W200 Power Wagon. Neither has ever had any engine trouble. Just about every other part on these trucks has been replaced many times (including the frame on one), but engines have been bullet proof. My 1969 spent years as a plow truck before I got it. Doors finally fell off and I stuck a 1971 GMC cab on it, and still use it as a wood and hay rig.

Also had an industrial 318 in a Champion motorhome. Again, no engine problems. Only got 7 MPG though.

Only problematic 318s I recall are during the "Lean Burn" version years.

Yup, Lean Burn was not very successful. Neither was Ford's variable venturi carb. In each of those cases to make them run right again, throw the lean burn or Ford VV carb away, put a standard carb and distributor in their place.

Everybody has an opinion based on experience or bias. I hate a Ford....but their 300 six is one of the best engines ever made.

Toyota"s 22R four cylinder is tough as nails.

Chrysler never made a bad V8, so far as I am concerned. Not always the fastest...but extremely reliable and trouble free. No other maker in the sixties could touch the legendary 426 Hemi..they tried, they came close, but no cigar. To this day...rail dragsters still run a form of the Hemi engine...thanks to the likes of Keith Black and Ed Pink....and those that followed after them.

Small block Chevies are cheap and easy to milk power from...the design dates from 1955....in the small block world, Chevy rules.

The Buick engineers created a work of art in the 3.8 V6....powerful and tough, they run forever.

The old slant sixes were the same way.

Some designs...regardless of who makes them, stand heads above the rest.

Back to the 318.....a 327 will run off and hide from it. But, the old 318 will get down on it"s knees and pull like a Trojan when the 327 is gasping for air. It"s all in the stroke and heads. And hence, where the power band is made. An example is the 426 hemi....you ever see a factory installation in a truck? Useless as t!ts on a boar hog in that application. The old 413 on the other hand was a brute in a pull.

I had a 1978 Dodge van with 318 2bbl industrial. Probably the best engine I ever owned. Our family had the 225 slant six in a JD windrower and that too was a no-problem engine.

Also have had several Ford 300-6. The 300 in my 1965 F-100 was great, the 300 in my current 1989 F-150 has always been kind of a dog, but hasn´t caused any problems.

I have a dodge dakota with the 3.9 v6 magnum. Never had a dodge before but my friend who works for a dodge dealership said, they are a slug, but they are bullet proof. I take care of mine and its got 134,000 miles in it,.Other than a little lifter clicking or ticking it runs fine. just my thoughts about dodge, I remember dad always saying dodge had a great motor in the 318, just like a chevy 350....j

Worst part about a 318 that I have seen is they dont have replaceable valve guides.So then you can get somebody to put bronze bushings in them,or drill them out and put new valve guides in not sure how they do it.Makes working on the heads a little more expensive.The blocks on the few I had apart had very little ring groove.They might not be as good as a 350 Chevy but they are probably as good as a 283 Chevy or a 289 Ford and will probably run twice as far maybe only needing rings and a valve job when you have to fix it.

As referred to earlier, the 318 was built in two very different versions. 1966 and earlier, 1967 and later. The 340 and the 360 are versions of the later 318.

I have a 3.9l in my Dakota too. 161k and uses no oil. It pings and clatters, but keeps going.

But remember this about the 3.9l........of course it's reliable - that's because it doesn't have enough power to break anything

Good one e, it cant break anything!

Well mark true on the 426 and 413 but in the 50's Chrysler had lots of v8 trouble Early on. They got straitened out with the 331 desoto and 354/392 that lee petty raced. Never liked 340 360 that much but the 340 ta (made one year) would go. I saw some 426 hemi's do some amazing things years ago and we put a lot of miles on the 225 slant 6!

Only thing tougher than a 318 is a slant six. 3.9's are a 318 minus 2 cylinders.

Had a 318 in a '63 Dodge short-wide stepside in '74. Real tire smoker.

Had a 318 in a '95 Jeep Grand Cherokee....All I wanted and more + 14 mpg in a full-time 4wd with auto climate control. Best vehicle I ever owned.

No problems with either engine. Hard use....lots of miles on both.

It's a real shame about the shape Chrysler is in.

(I know that I shouldn't end a sentance with a preposition.......English majors can send me a nasty note....)

Thanks,

Regarding Mark"s post. The 327 chevy was never intended to be a stump puller as it had a big 4" bore, and a short 3.25" stroke. Once you get them above 4K rpms they would run like hell to 8k+. The 318 dodge is an excellent engine for reliability, my boss had an "86 dodge d250 with the 318 with 390,000 miles, she was getting a little tired but still ran. The only engine that was factory that would out-perform the Hemi, was the early 60"s Ford 427 SOHC. That was the baddest of the bad, but they definately didn"t make that many of them.

Hello ALL: Interesting topic and it brought back quite a few memories. I didn"t see many comments on the Chev 396 & 427 engines. I bought a near new 1965 Corvette built late in 65 with the 1st big block ment to replace the 327 fuel injected engine. I think there were only 1,500 396-425hp engines sold. Some trouble keeping traction below 30 but 30 to 130 was never beat by any and that includes hemi"s. First Vet to make 0-60mph under 5seconds. Colector item now, $5200 new. The 427 425hp replaced it. True this was in a car and not subject to pulling a trailer for 200k miles but they were popular during the mid to late 1960"s muscle cars.. For long running pulling, my dodge 318 was very good standard engine for me. And my friends Dodge 413 could pull mountains without even breaking a sweat. Wish I had another chance to drive a few of those engines again... A few other engines I had for a while were: The 389 Tri-Powered (3- 2barrels from factory) Pontiac in a "58 Bonneville, I Pontiac overhead cam "66 Sprint six. 300 cube Ford six in a F700 flatbed. The rest of the many I had were the usual standard engines. The Corvettes 396/427s were the most fun. agpilot

Bought a used Grand Marquis with a variable ventui carb that would out run about anything going and still got good mileage while doing it. Fella that sold it to me took $300 off the price cause he said I would need to replace the carb cause they are all junk. 75k later it was still running fine (til it was stolen)

A lot better engines than the vehicles they came in

Had a real good-un. 1972 I think, pickup with 318. Only pickup I ever run wide open. Consistently. Seems like only 90-95 mph. After one run, heard lotta noise. Ripped off both motor mounts. Time to slow down. Dave