Motors

[markopolo]

I'd love to hear from anyone who knows anything about the motors. Good, bad, recommended, types etc. Even an explanation of terms would be helpful. What's a 318 or 360?

[Ty DeBelser]

318 and 360 are the cubic inch displacement (CID) of Dodge engines

[g1g]

I must admot when I worked on cars I never did like Chrysler/Dodge products but I have to admit their 318 is a good engine. I never had any experiance on a 360. In MPG the Dodge 318 does a lot better than Chevy or Ford.

[denman]

Hi Marko, ...318 and 360 are engine size in cubic inches, and in practice are used as engine names. 318 and 360 are Chrysler engines I believe. Mine is a 350, referring to the Chev 350 CI V8. I can provide more detail if you wish, and there are forums on all these engine types, usually divided into the Chev, Ford, Chrysler etc sections, .... Dennis

[leslane]

My 1988 Cobra Discoverer is on a Ford E250 heavy duty chassis with a freshly rebuilt 351 Windsor engine and a beefed up C6 transmission. When I rebuilt this engine I used the Mustang top end (heads, rocker arms, fuel injectors and plenum) and a torquer camshaft. I will add a set of shorty headers in the near future with dual exhausts. It runs extremely well and has no trouble on hills. As this engine has less than 500 miles on it to date, I expect greater performance on it when the rings are seated and the EEC-IV learns the traits of the engine and our driving habits. I put a 4 row radiator in it from an E350 diesel pickup just to ensure that we wouldn't have heating problems in the summer months when using it in Yosemite and the likes. I also installed a severe duty fan clutch at the same time. So far everything is working great. I am in the process of re-sealing all the windows and vents to ensure that there won't be any water leaks in the RV. We named it the Yosemite Express as our daughter will be the main user as she enjoys hiking Yosemite at any and every opportunity and it is only 3 or 4 hours drive from her house. It has most of the niceties of class B's with toilet, tub/shower, microwave, 3 way refer, 2 burner stove, TV, VCR, CD player, central heat, water heater, roof A/C, hitch mounted genset, etc. But the reason for the post is my opinion on the 351 Windsor engines: These engines are near bullet-proof in that 200,000 miles is fairly normal service for one of these if properly maintained. Set up properly they will pull right along with a big-block engine and be more economical in the long run. I expect 12 mpg out of it at the least. Being blessed with the fact that I bleed Ford Blue, I have about 55 years experience with their engines and my Fords will run with anything out there and more important ROUND-TRIP!! I will install a Gear Vendors overdrive in it sometime soon as that will give me a 6 speed transmission just to be able to run the engine in its torque curve for whatever terrain it may encounter. I totally recommend the Gear Vendors OD for this purpose.

[Mike]

I've got an '02 Chev 3500 Express van with the 350CID V8 (5.7L?). No idea how much HP or torque it has, and
the fuel economy is pretty good I think.
I was wondering how to get more power from it, or as a second thought, was there a larger factory engine
option in that year, that would fit under the hood, if I decided to change the existing engine for a larger one?
Who or where could I go to follow up on this idea?
I think I'd like more power for driving up hills in the mountains.

[Ron J. Moore]

Mike,
That 5.7(350) I believe has 255hp. I have the same engine in a '98 Chev K1500; I still get about 17 on the open road, and about 14 or so around town. Matter of fact, the truck will be making the run to FL in about two weeks, very dependable. That 318 has been a staple of Chrysler for years. Safe travels.