27th Dec 2020, 17:02

I own a 1973 Charger with a 318 2-barrel, and when I was young, I thought more like this, even went to a junkyard and picked out a 440 that I was going to drop in. Luckily, reality prevailed in time and now after owning the car for many years, I'm glad I kept the 318 2-barrel.

When these cars were still only 10-15 years old, everybody wanted the 440, or the high option cars. But now, people appreciate the originality of however they came from the factory because there are so few left. In fact, for people who appreciate cars, it can be more interesting to see a factory 318 car and not just one of an endless series of 440 clones with the fancy stripes that didn't really come on it.

Also, I used mine as a daily driver for many years, from 1988 to 2008, and for a 2,000 mile road trip, a 318 is just as good as a 440, and the 22 mpg you get on the highway with a 318 beats the hell out of the 12 mpg you get with a 440 with no added benefit to driving down the road. Sure, a 440 smokes the tires, but eventually that gets boring and you grow out of it.

And it's not so easy to just "drop in a 440." You have to change the K-frame for the motor mounts to line up, the drive shaft is a different length, you have to replace the A-904 transmission with a 727, and you also have to recognize that the big block likely came with larger diameter brake discs and drums, and also came with stiffer torsion bars or sway bars to prevent front-end plow with the heavier engine. Pretty much talking about rebuilding the whole car. And like the most recent commenter said, the 318 is ultra-dependable, gets decent mileage, and will generate good power just by adding a 4-barrel and matched mild cam if that's what you care about. Check out Uncle Tony's Garage, Project Bottlerocket and you'll soon see that a 318 can be a lot more than just a sedate cruiser.