Mopar 318 Connecting Rods

The Mopar 318 had 2 styles of connecting rods over the years. Until 1973, the 318 used a light weight forging with full floating wrist pins that was similar to the connecting rod used in the Mopar 273. In 1973, Chrysler changed the 318 connecting rod to a stronger, heavier rod with pressed pins, very similar to the rod used in the Mopar 360. Normally it is considered good practice to replace a weaker connecting rod with a stronger one. In some cases though I would advocate going the opposite way. The early 318 rod is made of good material, and while I wouldn't used them in a high rpm screamer, the lighter weight would be welcome in a mild to moderate build. I would have them rebuilt with stronger rod bolts from ARP or Pioneer though. Other then that, they should be fine.

Quest for a Mopar 318

It used to be easy to find a Mopar 318 - heck, people used to give them away for free. When looking for a replacement engine for my 66 Barracuda though, I had a difficult time finding one. When I did, I had to pay $400, more than the going price for 360 cores. I'd like to find 4 more because there are at least 4 different ways to build a Mopar 318 that I'd like to try. If anyone reading this knows where I can find reasonably priced Mopar 318 please leave a comment. Guess I should mention that it needs to be within a 4 or 5 hour drive of Reno, Nevada.