i have a 318 that i would like to add some power to. i have read the budget 318 build topic. but i dont want to go that far. im looking to add 50-75 horse power and some torque. not 150 like he wanted to. i want to put a cam in it and possibly a carb/intake swap but dont know what parts to use. its a daily driver and never leaves the street. so it needs to be reliable and hopefully not kill my gas mileage (about 12 on a good day now). what cam would add good power and torque across the rpm range? will i have to change any valve train components like push rods, rockers, etc.? i would also like to maybe put a 4 barrel on it. but could i get by with just putting a bigger 2 barrel like a 500cfm holley on my stock manifold and still make 50 more horses? or should i just go with a 4 barrel carb and intake? what intake should i use? i know that some will not match up with the intake ports on my heads. which one will? i have the smaller ports. and what carb should i use? a 600cfm holley or carter or what?  any input would be appreciated.  thanks.    -----matt  

Ok, the 500cfm 2-4 brl will work I prefer the 4brl eddy for this type of up grade.
The eddelbroke performer manifold has the small ports that you need.
The comp cams 256* duration hyd would work really well for what your doing check
out comp cam web site.
If you add headers to this I think you get a little more than the 50 hp increase your looking for.
hope this helps.  

should i change the coil too? will i gain any thing from that? with that cam will i have to change any other valve train components?         i found a cam kit on ebay   from Falcon Performance. it seems like a good deal. it comes with valve springs, cam, timing chain and sprockets, and all the necessary gaskets. all for between $250 and $300. i was wondering if you've had any experience with them or have heard about them. are they as good a deal as they seem or is it cheap stuff?  

what else can i do to cheaply but reliably and safely build a little more power?  

wont adding headers cut my torque?  

No it will increase your total torque output.  

what do i do about the EGR valve? do i have to spend the extra 50 bucks or whatever it is to get an EGR capable manifold or can i just block it off on the head and get rid of the air pump and all that crap? i dont have to worry about passing any emissions tests.  

Unless you have to smog it don't run an EGR/air pump  

will i lose enough vacuum at idle to make a noticeable difference in my brakes or anything else? will the cam you suggested give any "lope" to the idle? there is an article on here somewhere called "3-8-Teen Dream" they claimed an increase of almost 100hp and i think 55ft-lbs of torque. they used a comp 262 cam and lifters, an M-1 intake, headers, and a edelbrock 600cfm carb. will the set up you suggested be close to that? this will be my first time doing any kind of motor building and i dont really know what to expect.  

If you don't mind a little loss of vac a 260*-268* would work but you were asking for a 50-75hp increase with out -effect on milage & it didn't sound like you wanted to buy gears and all so since I'm not there tuning it my self I did not want you to end up with a dog off the line setup. If you do choose the 260*-*268 cam consider 3.55 gears, or at least 3.23 w/ 1900-2100 stall which probably won't help your gas milage. The m1 dual plane is a performer. The set up I suggested is good for a reliable as stock 55-65HP
if properly tuned.
Heck I'm for going fast *** sure lets do a solid, port the heads, 4.30 out back ect
But I don't think you that.
Don't worry dude. It'll run bitchin.  

what about the air gap intake? theres a company that sells them on ebay for about 170 which is about 25 cheaper than just a performer. they dont soay edelbrock on them though so im guessing they are a "knock off." they call them the "crosswinds." do they have the small ports i need. are they as good as an edelbrock? is the air gap really any better?            as far as the cam goes i dont know exactly what i want. im not sure if i want it to start pulling at idle or not until i start movin a little. i've been looking mostly at different cams that claim ranges on the lower end 1000-1500 up to 4500-6200 on the top end. i want a cam that will help out on as wide a range as i can get.  whats the highest lift i can go with on all stock valve train components?    or should i get a full set that comes with springs, seats, cam, lifters, and timing chain and sprockets like the Comp Cams CRS 268H-10?        sorry i ask so many questions but i am a complete rookie.        thanks for the input.  

I've done this many times before. As to when you want the car to pull is up to you.
Cross wind or air gap or rpm all have 340=360 ports, you have 318 ports end of story.
There is really no true best of both worlds it's gonna be more of 1 than the other.
I would rather over cam 1 step than under cam 1 step cause you can always get gears.
I think you need to commit to a cam and build around that cam complimenting it with well matched parts like the 1's we went over.
Remember unless you re program your transmission, 6000 rpm shift will only be made if you manually shift it there, and trans will not live long doing so.
You can increase the power & rpm but there is a point where you have to bring the rest of the drive train up to par with the HP&RPM.
256*-268* cam, performer intake, 500-600cfm carb, headers, dbl roller time chain, and 2200 stall converter which is optional depending on how much stop light racing you do. Don't worry It'll run bitchin.  

My 2 cents. On my 318. 260*- 268* cam. Works good. I'm thinking salvage yard heads, so...  You didn't say what year motor. I went with 1989 318 heads from a yard. $90 a pair. These are the so called swirl port heads. ( 1988 to 1991 or so ) Disassembled them. guides seemed O.K. Cleaned with soap and water. Then used a wire cup brush in a drill. Lapped the valves into the seats with compound. Plugged the air recirculation holes with epoxy. Reassembled them with new seals and put them on.  Next came 1987 Dakota 318 4 bbl. intake with a 600 cfm Edelbrock carb. I went with headers but would do it differently next time. Too many leaks. Next time I'll use 1994 to now  318 Magnum/ Dodge truck exhaust manifolds from a yard. Better flow than the old manifolds without the header leaks. No dyno numbers but seat of the pants says way better than 75 h.p.  

a rear end gear swap will give you the best bang for the buck 3.21,3.23 are very streetable gears with no lose on gas milage if driven under 60 mph the 268 comp cam is very good if you upgrade to headers.To put a larger 2 barrel carb will require an adapter that resricts flow very much a factory cast 318 4 barrel intake would be a simple cheap way to go with the correct port size i ran this combo with a 4 speed years ago and had good power and about 18 miles per gallon under thje rare normal driving conditions  

318 is a great platform to build on, I would go with a factory 340 automatic cam for best results if you degree it 4 degrees you will have improved bottom end power, be sure to install 340 valve springs as well. A performer intake and a holley 600 carb, or [650 double pump] if you plan on up upping the rear gear or converter in the near future.
Headman headers are cheap, made in America and fit as well as any header on the market.
The above upgrades will get you a solid 60-70 h.p.
Lets see, 230 plus 70= 300 horse 318 sounds like a lot of fun.