340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

[8|just a thought,sort of in a pickel now that the new concept challenger might come out
always wanted to put a 426 crate in my 71 challenger IM RESTORING NOW and shelf the
340 for now, but if they make the new challenger exacty like the concept i know im
gonna have to have one.so whats a guy to do?/ stay with the 340 keep it original
and can the 426 idea for now. cant aford to do both:(you guys have any thoughts on this
or anyone else in the same dilimma... mopar fanatic......

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

I would stick with the 340 for now, you can always get a 426 later, and wait for the new Challenger. If you don't like the new one after all, you can just go ahead and get the 426. How does that sound?

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

while the 426 hemi is awesome, i wouldnt devalue a stock 340 car for a hemi, especially considering the current price of the mopar crate hemi. my 340 is only 9 to 1, as opposed to the stock 10.5 to 1 compression, and im around 463 crank horsepower...

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

Yeah, even though a HEMI is more valueable than a 340, in this car the original engine makes the car worth more. You can mod it easily for less money than a HEMI. The 340 is a sweet engine to use, it is nothing like a slant six that would have no original value to it.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

thats another good point...parts for the hemi are VERY expensive...hell, even simple things like valve covers cost 2-3 times what they do for a small block.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

HELLO, MIRADA, WONDERING WHAT COMBINATION OF PARTS YOU USED FOR THE 439 HP OUT OF YOUR
340??? CHECK OUT MY TOPIC IN NEW MEMBERS AREA UNDER YELLOW ALL NEW.
AM I ON MY WAY THERE TO GET ANYWAY NEAR 440 HP?// ALSO ANY RECOMATIONS FOR A GOOD STREET STRIP COMBO???

THANKS, 71 CHALLY MOPAR FANATIC-------

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

:eek:OOPS , MIRADA, MENT TO SAY 463 HP NOT THE 440 iE 439, DIDNT MEAN TO ROB YOU
OF 24 HP. THANKS, DAVE

71 CHALLY--------------

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

well, its a 70 340 block...30 over, stock crank and rods. when i bought the engine, it didnt come with pistons, and being only 16 at the time, i got the only pistons that i could afford, so it has an emission style piston, with compression around, or right below, 9 to 1. the heads are from a mid to late 80s 360 truck motor. 1.80/1.67, heavily ported...mopar performance cam..edelbrock airgap intake, also ported. roller rockers...proform race carb...functional ram air hood...hooker super competition headers. MSD ignition...

im sure that im missing things.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

;)THANKS, MIRADA.WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE COBINATIONS IM USING SO FAR
FOR MY BUILD UP.SEE OTHER FORUM
THANKS AGAIN
71 CHALLY

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

How much did your mods add to it (what was the original dyno output)?

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

i honestly have no idea. i could estimate and say that a 70 340 4bbl was around 275 hp, but i do not have the correct 10.4 to 1 pistons, or the "good heads"...

for the record, my "dyno numbers" are from a computer dyno, but ive talked to a few people who have been to alot of dyno events, and 360-370 at the wheels should be about right for my car/numbers, and with a 20-23% drivetrain loss, the 463 would be correct. ill try to find the site...

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

Did you build this engine from scratch or did someone do some of this stuff before you got it? Why don't you have the 10.4 to 1 pistons or the "good heads?"

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

HELLO MIRADA, YOU MENTIONED YESTERDAY ON MY 340 FLAT TOP
PISTONS COULD HURT A LITTLE ON HP.
I THINK I HAVE THE TYPE THAT HAVE THE 1/8' OR SO CUP STYLE DONT REMBER FOR SURE ITS BEEN AWILE SINCE I SHORT BLCKED IT OUT. ON STAND NOW AND RAPPED IN PLASTIC ALSO WILL HAVE TO FIND MY INVOICE TOP SEE EXACTLY WHAT I PUT
IN IT. YOU MENTIONED MILLING THE HEADS SOME????HOW MANY THOSANDS DO YOU RECOMMEND?????
WHAT ABOUT GSKT TYPE AND THICKNESS????/
I RAN INTO A GUY AT ROCK FALLS RACEWAY IN WISCONSIN A COUPLE YEARS BACK AND HE DID THIS
AND ACTUALLY LOSS ALOT OF POWER IN HIS 340..
WERE BRACKET RACING AT THE TIME WITH MY BUDDY AND HIS 440 70 DUSTER.WERE INTO IT QUITE
HEAVY UNTIL HE GOT MARRIED[:@][:@]/OH WELL LIFE GOS ON.
ANY SUGGESTIONS??????????/
OH I WILL SEE IF I CAN GET THE PT#PISTONS AND POST SOME MORE

71 CHALLY MOPAR FANATIC

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

my dad is a dodge mechanic who has spent lots of time around muscle cars, and he put the motor together. when i bought the engine when i was 16, it didnt come with pistons or heads. J or X heads go for a premium now, and the higher the compression the piston, the better quality/brand the piston, and the higher the price. at 16, i simply couldnt afford to shell out big money for J or X heads and good pistons...so we bought the cheapest pistons and rings that we could find. my dad didnt want me to get into street racing like he did, so he put the motor together to not run all that great, but once i proved to be responsible with it, the real build began. its nice, because i can run 87 octane, and it still runs well. my engine runs as well as it does because my dad is smart with the engines, and i try to pick up things from him. without him, i would probably drive a yugo or something...:D

71 chally, the problem with cutting the heads is that you then have to cut the manifold, or it wont line up. also, depending on the type of pistons, the size of the cam, and valve to piston clearance that you have, the amount that you can safely chop off the heads changes. before we chopped my heads, we consulted a friend who works in an engine shop, and he told us what he felt that we could safely chop. alot of math involved...

for head gaskets, we are running the thinnest copper gaskets that we could find..i think that they were from MP, but its been a while.

here is how low the compression on my engine was with the old, unchut heads. at the time, i was running high 13s. we were working on the car at the shop, hurrying to get it ready for an event, and one of my dad's buddies was "helping"...:eek:

he took the air cleaner off, and told us that he dropped the wing nut under the car somewhere...when we couldnt find it, he told us that he knows that he heard it hit the suspension, it must be caught up under the car somewhere. well, once the work that we were doing was complete, we fired it up to load it onto the trailer. he had started the engine, and it ran just fine,and had pulled it out of the bay when a different (more competitant) friend told him that something didnt sound right. with it running, he got out and listened, and quickly shut it off...we tore the engine apart and we found the wing nut...in the number 1 cylinder. it was sitting on top of the piston, and the compression was so low that in the few minutes that it ran, it didnt even crush the wing nut flat! it didnt damage the valves or the piston, and it barely scratched the top of the piston. now, that was with the old heads, and the new ones are cut, but i dont recall how much.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

;)HELLO AGAIN MIRADA,
YEAH I KNOW ABOUT THE VALVE LASH AND SUCH, THE DISTANCES ETC.YOUR RIGHT IT IS ALOT OF MATH.
MY BUDDY IS A MACHINIST BY TRADE SO I GUESS WHEN IM READY TO DO THIS I WILL
CONSULT HIM. I APRECIATE ALL YOUR IMPUT ON THE SUBJECT SO FAR TERMENDESLY.
I TKINK WHAT I'LL DO IS PUT IT TO STOCK TO BEGIN WITH AND SEE WHERE IM AT WITH IT.
TEARING DOWN A TOP END IS NOT THAT TOUGH TO DO ANYWAY AND CAN ALWAYS DO IT AFTER
IF I WANT MORE POWER. NEVER HAD A SMALL BLOCK BEFORE, ALWAYS HAD BIG BLOCKS
SO TRYING TO GET A LITTLE IMPUT FROM YOU GUYS ON THE SMALL BLOCK.

POSTING TO SEE WHATS WORKING FOR THE REST OF YOU'S

AGAIN,
THANKS

71 CHALLY ;)

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

Interesting story about you and your dad building your 340. My uncle is rebuilding a Dodge Royal with the original 241 HEMI small block. The interesting part is he claims the racing pistons cost about the same as the normal pistons, so he is going to put in the racing pistons anyways. My uncle hasn't work for any automotive manufacture, he just does this as a hobbie and he is really good at it too.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

you have to understand that as pistons go, you have performance brands like JE, then you have "performance" ;) companies like speed pro. for a 30 over chevy 350, you can get a "performance piston" from speed pro with a CR of "about 10 to 1" for 12 bucks. so you could get a set for 96 bucks. now, from JE, a set of "performance" 30 over chevy 350 pistons with a CR ranging from 11.4 to 9.4 depending on the combustion chamber size, is 608 bucks...

now mind you, stuff for a SB chevy is a dime a dozen, and stuff for mopar small blocks cost mopar, presumably because they have to use better stuff to stand up to the power...;)

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

Naturally, the 350 is used more widely than any Chrysler small-block (espically the original HEMI small-block). You will find 350s in Fords, AMCs, and even Chrysler, but finding a Chrysler small-block in a GM is more rare. This is why it is easier to find 350 parts cheaper.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

they just put it in so many vehicles, and didnt change it for SO long...

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

That too. The Chrysler small-block was no longer used in cars after the M-body. Their truck sales were very weak until 94. They have had fewer SUVs that used them. They didn't use the small-block in any sports for years. All this time GM keep using their small-block in their car line in both the Caprice/Impala SS, the F-body twins, in their many SUVs, in the Corvette, and their much higher sales than Dodge in trucks. These sales were also higher than Fords so that explains why there were so many of them.

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

yeah..the mirada was the second to last RWD V8 car before ChrysCo went to the all FWD (k-car invasion) lineup. i believe that the diplomat was the last of the dodge RWD V8 models, but it was no sports car...:D

i think that the biggest factort is that GM refused to give up on the camaro and firebirds for so long...as well as all of those corvettes...

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

Yes, the Diplomat was the last RWD mass produced car until now with the LX cars. Of course the Viper doesn't count since it isn't mass produced.

The truth about GM is they refuse to give up on anything. Look at the W-body, the Cavalier, or the SUVs they refuse to give up on when they are obviously not popular. GM doesn't like to be innovative, they prefer to hold on to stuff forever, sometimes it pays off like the Corvette, other times it doesn't (too many to list).

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

like Geo? :D

RE: 340 VS HEMI VS 6.1HEMI,
 

LOL!!! Yes that is a excellent example. That is a sign of poor investing.:D