Engine Block info on my new motor

Ok so I have a new motor for my van....I just can't find much about it. The guy said it was a race motor... I did some looking around on line but all I could find is its a race motor...

Can anyone else help me out? The casting number on the block is 410 4230 318 16

Here is some info

http://www.allpar.com/mopar/318.html

Your other post mentioned it was a late 70s police engine. IF it is, search for E58 info. Saying it's a "race" engine doesn't help. Mopar has sold quite a few different parts as High Performance or Race over the years.

A good book
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/How-to-Hot-Rod-Small-Block-Mopar-Engines/Larry-Shepard/e/9781557884053
more info from one guy's blog
http://www.squidoo.com/Mopar318

On the block the date is stamped on the drivers side and reads 1 7 83. The wife and I have been doing some research and it looks like its a high performance block. You are correct Rod they made several. I guess the "X" block is the NASCAR and drag motors. Most 318s came with a 2 brl and not a 4 like this one has.. Yeah I guess someone could have taken it appart and put on a factory 4 brl intake and painted it but its so clean. Looks all factory but who knows.

Either way its going on my van...... (INCERT EVIL LAUGH HERE) !

Ma Mopar used 318s in motor homes. The oil fill tube on your valve cover leans torward that it may have been originally used as such. All the ones Ive seen over the years had used a four bl intake. Some also had an oil cooler and a seven quart oil pan. Did you hear this engine run?

benwah wrote:Ma Mopar used 318s in motor homes. The oil fill tube on your valve cover leans torward that it may have been originally used as such. All the ones Ive seen over the years had used a four bl intake. Some also had an oil cooler and a seven quart oil pan. Did you hear this engine run?

Nope never herd it run.....

by the numbers you provided the block is cast in 1983 and for sure a 318. my books are for older stuff but the newest casting number in my book starts at 4104xxx in 1982. if it was an x block it (x) would be cast in the front of the block on the opposite side of the fuel pump. my bet is it came out of a diplomat police car and quite possibly with a gm q-jet carb. that would explain the wide spread bore of the intake manifold. there will be a number stamped into the block just below the drivers side head that could narrow it down a bit more. carefully remove the paint and it should be there. a race block i highly doubt it's one.

jkr wrote:by the numbers you provided the block is cast in 1983 and for sure a 318. my books are for older stuff but the newest casting number in my book starts at 4104xxx in 1982. if it was an x block it (x) would be cast in the front of the block on the opposite side of the fuel pump. my bet is it came out of a diplomat police car and quite possibly with a gm q-jet carb. that would explain the wide spread bore of the intake manifold. there will be a number stamped into the block just below the drivers side head that could narrow it down a bit more. carefully remove the paint and it should be there. a race block i highly doubt it's one.

here is the block numbers....

the "x" block was cast as a 318. the reasoning was to get into lower catagories for drag racing more than anything. it was cast small and rough at 3.90" bore, but you could bore the crap out of them to almost a 4" bore. a 360 dodge uses a 4" piston as a stock piece. these engines make the best stroker candidates.
the above pic shows the definate 318 cubic inch size of the engine as stock but the "x" blocks would have an "x" where the power steering bracket would bolt on on the front of the engine. also just below where the head gasket is and above the power steering bracket on the front there will be a series of much smaller numbers that will help to identify the engine a bit more. sorry my books don't cover them but if you check N.H.R.A. technical specs for dodge you might find more there.

The additional engine info is on the front of the block as noted, you can see where this is located on the righthand side in this picture of my engine:


The additional engine info should look something like this:


Hope that this helps. Scott...

Hey thanks for the picture Scott

Mine says 3M318 01190489 ???

Ok so a bit of an update....



I spent some time taking the motor appart. Took the exhaust manifolds off, intake off and got a look at the valley. REAL clean... Too the valve covers off and had a gander at the valve train also very very clean. I took the drivers side head off and you can still see the cross etching on the cylinder walls.

So...opnions? I know its hard to tell just from these pictures but what do you guys think?

Stock valvetrain, meaning hydraulic and not real big cam.Can't see any X or J between the plugs, probably the 1978 heads. The Yellow looks like it's not covering stock paint, so it's been rebuilt.

The Blue sure looks like permatorque gaskets. Stock was steel shim. Looks like it's been burning oil, check the guides in the heads. I'd hazard at least 20-50K on the engine.

Valves are not super close, so they are not 2.02" intakes. Casting number (4027163) says 77-82 1.78 heads.
http://www.waywardgarage.com/tech/SBchrysler.html
Magnums or even J heads would be an improvement.
Exhaust valve to far left looks leaner (lighter color) may be from heat. make sure the valve job is good. Check the intake for that cylinder to see if there is a possible vacuum leak.

Again, lots of oily deposits, but even. Looks like replacement pistons with the double reliefs. I think stock had a dish, so it may have a bit more compression. A quick check of deck height would help. Coolant looks good (bottom left)

Lots of silicone, some prefer to use all silicone instead of the cork end seals.
cam, lifters and pushrods look stock or close. Ports look untouched.

Sure wasn't a "race" motor with the heat risers open, stock valvetrain and low end stock heads.

Thanks for the info.....! So should I look for better heads or get these reworked?

That's up to you.
Here are some that are much better.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180626861091+&viewitem=

Problem is, you don't know what if anything is wrong with yours. They are not HP, but the question is how much power do you need, how often are you at half or more throttle in a van, and how much do you have to spend.

On a budget build, I try to work backwards. You know you need oil, filter, gaskets, coolant, paint, silicone, a couple cans of degreaser, belts and hoses are a good idea, along with a thermostat. Those are all pretty hard costs that you can add up.
Check the bearings by removing a rod cap (No. 5 on a SB) and one main cap.
Also look at the oil pump pickup for trash. Check the timing chain stretch.
Then you have a better idea on what else needs to be bought. Figure it all out and see if you can afford more HP.
Another thing, bolting on HP heads to a stock engine won't get you much. All of it has to work together.

I can only give my opinion, obviously, but if the engine that I ended up doing a complete rebuild on looked as good as this one appears I would have just cleaned it all up and throw it all back together again. Having said that let me be a bit more clear. The heads look good, they can be cleaned up but the you would have to still check the valves/seats out. Do you know if it has harden exhaust seats already? Decision then can be made. If you choose to pull the pan and the pistons (I would) then I would make more decisions based on the bearings and journals, after I knew how deep the ridge was and what kind of taper there is in each cylinder I would decided if I wanted to hone it out myself or take it to a machine shop. In my case the cylinders were quite bad and I had no choice but take it to the machine shop. My heads too did not have harden seats so decided to get the heads done too. Again, a lot of it will be up to you. Me, for the most part I was good with a decent running 318, I did go with the KB Pistons, Comp Cam (CL20-221-3) with a duration of 256/268 and lift of .447/.455 but I exchanged e-mails with Comp Cam to determine the cam based what I was looking for. Scott…

(Just as I was going to post this I just saw that Rod had replied, and for the most part I agree with what he said too. In the end it all falls back to what are you looking for and what will you be happy with.)

by the looks of it those are not a dodge piston. don't ever remember seeing a 318 dodge with valve reliefs in them. that might get the compression ratio up to about 8.75:1 if your lucky. now one thing you must NOT do when you put this engine back together is trowel on the silicone at both ends of the intake like the previous builder did. get either a direct connection or fel-pro kit and use the cork ends. if you take a center punch and put a dozen or so marks on the block and intake at both ends that will give the stock cork gasket ends something to bite into. there is also the hole at each end for a plastic retainer for the stock gaskets and make sure to use it. if they dont come with the kit make a couple out of something, anything. just use a short dab at the four corners where the intake, block, and heads meet and thats all. gobs of silicone like this engine has will make their way to the oil pump pickup tube and block it and starve the engine. trust me don't use gobs of silicone. i'v built many engines and some for stock cars and because the previous builder did it with silicone they came apart way to soon.
the lean exhaust valve is fairly normal as it is the cylinder that has the longest runner in the intake manifold and is not as efficent as the center ones. bet both heads look the same.

WOW this is great fella's keep it comming... I am going to be pulling the other head tonight and will post more pictures. I was just going to go thru the motor and see if there is things I need to replace ore make better i.e port and polish the heads? I hear that I need to put better heads on the motor...? I can get a set of rebuildable 340 "J" heads for $50

What I am wanting out of the motor is decent power and reliable. I am not a speed freak but I do want the van to get out of its own way.

I am not a motor guy at all

Ok here is the other side as well as both heads....I will flip the motor and pull the pan tomarrow.

Here is the bottom end......

i'm surprised that oil pump pickup isn't solid with all that silicone used on that engine. and a cork gasket with silicone is just an oil leak ready to happen.
but on a happier note the engine has a double roller chain on the timing gears and overall very clean inside.

jkr, I agree, the motor looks pretty good on the bottom. Sure not a race motor, but after checking a few things, I'd say it could be buttoned back up, cleaned and run.

RodStRace wrote:jkr, I agree, the motor looks pretty good on the bottom. Sure not a race motor, but after checking a few things, I'd say it could be buttoned back up, cleaned and run.

I really want to thank you guys for looking at this for me and telling me whats what. When I opened it up was thought it looks pretty clean and in good shape. Cylinder walls looks good, pisten heads look like new, crank looks clean as well. I like I mentioned before am not really a motor guy, I know the basics of what to look for but the tech side and all of the numbers and mesurements and crap like that.... NOPE not me can't do it.

i was really hopeing I could just thow some good gaskets on and clean 'er up and run it as is for awhile. I know how to take the motor out and put it in after all of this is over so if it goes south I can do it again.

So Kent - when will u get it installed?? GET BUSY!!

Before assembling it, please take the time to check the bearings.
You will need a torque wrench to retorque.
Remove a rod cap. You will note that it can go either way, but only one way is right. The small tang on the bearing halfs should face each other.
Shoot a pic or 4 of it and post.
After assembling that, remove one main bearing cap. Same deal.
I notice that the rods and caps are numbered, another sure sign of a rebuild.
Only thing is, the one visible should be No. 8 and it looks like 6.

Anyone have a good gasket set they can recomend to throw this motor back together? Feltpro, mr gasket, mopar oem? I was looking on Sumit and Jegs for a gasket set...they run like $60-90 bucks but not sure I need all of the little crap it comes with. I think I only need head gasket, pan, and intake gaskets....or yeah the exhaust gaskets too.