RE: IML: More Power from EFI 318 or Big Block Swap ?

["Rob McCall" <Rob_Mopar@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Kyle,

The Chrysler big blocks ended in '78 in everything, the J-bodies came out in
80.  They never had a (factory) chance.

Yes 400's & 440's have been stuffed into J-bodies.  It's a little more
common in their F-body ancestors.   Years ago Mopar Action covered the swap
in a J-body Cordoba.  They also had an article on a 440+6 in an M-body
wagon.  They articles might be available on their archives.

For the Cordoba article, B-body headers were used, and the rag joint needed
to be modified.  Flaming River offers a piece that has similar function to
the rag joint but it is much narrower in diameter than the rag, plus it is
more secure.  I don't remember what they used for motor mounts but today you
can call Schumacher Creative Services for conversion motor mounts.  I
believe there are some F-M-J-Body sites out there that cover the swap.

Another option that was mentioned was the 360 swap.  Reading your original
note, I would suggest taking that a step further with a stroker crank to get
in the neighborhood of 406 inches in a motor that will weigh around the same
as the 318 in there now.  If you really want to do this, I would recommend
shelving the original 318 EFI, motor, etc. incase you ever wanted to go back
to stock.  

If you want fuel injection go with an aftermarket unit like one from
Edelbrock.  Putting the original EFI air cleaner lid back on top would be a
nice touch...

Yet another option would be to get a wrecked late model 2WD Dakota with a
360 and scavenge the drive train, fuel injection system, etc.  A '99-01 R/T
would be the ideal one to use.  You would get an overdrive transmission in
the deal, and a limited slip 3.92 9 1/4" rear.  The axle would be the wrong
wheel bolt pattern (not sure on the width), but I believe an M-body 9 1/4
was produced that you could swap in.  There is a strong aftermarket for the
Magnum fuel injected motors from the Dakota & Ram.  You could combine this
with the stroker kit above and in theory make the same horsepower that the
big block stroker combo would.  That would keep some modern performance and
some civility to your sleeper Imperial plan.

If your Imperial is a clean, running, 33K mile car, I would have a tough
time pulling the motor out.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all about modified
cars, and have a stable full to prove it.  

Comparing a modern turbo diesel truck to an early 80's luxury cruiser really
isn't a fair comparison.  The early 80's weren't a particularly happy time
when it came to performance cars.  Things were different by mid decade.  The
EFI system in your Imp is the grandfather to what the later Chrysler
products use.  As someone else mentioned, it was a very small production and
most were retrofitted with carbs by dealers.  Ma Mopar got a better handle
on it with the turbo 2.2 cars starting in '84, but that 318 EFI system was
pretty revolutionary in its day.  It's just that day didn't include 300
horsepower out of it.

Since this is on the edge of Imperial content, if anyone wants to continue
it, I'm willing to carry on over in the Salon.  It's been pretty empty in
there ever since I signed on.

Rob McCall
'67 LeBaron, no rear A/C (I think I'll be keeping it around for a little
while longer)

And a few hot rods too.




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