Possible performance gains from a 218

[Dan Babb]

Let's say I decide to pull the stock engine and do the following to boost performance:

Mill heads

Dual intake

dual exhaust

What type of performance gain will that pickup? Would that be strong enough so I could leisurely tow 5,000 lbs?

Would that be enough or is there just no way to squeeze enough ponies out of the 6 to do what I want?

Wonder if anyone makes a supercharger to bolt onto this thing?

[greg g]

Well if you did those things to a 201 you might match the performance of a stock 218, similar treatment to a 218 equals a 230 and warming up a 230 makes a very satisfying engine.

But if you can source crank and rods from a 230, your 218 would become one. I have a

56 230 with dual carbs .040 off the head and .010 of the block, (makes about 8.5 to 1CR) and a .030 over sized pistons. the 56 230 with the factory 2bbl put out 132 HP. I am happy with it in my business coupe. but pulling 5K I'm not so sure, maybe with a granny 1st of the 4 speed truck trans to get it rolling maybe ok. But I would be more concerned about stopping that load.

I would think you might need to go to a 265 chrysler motor with those mods for towing aything over 2K. Or a V8.

I have a studebaker truck with a 259 v8 and 4bbl with a GM 4speed auto. I don;t have it on the road yet, but I would not think of towing my 2200 lb travel trailer with it. Maybe I'm being a little conservative.

On the other hand if you go over to the car side I posted a pic of a 48 Dodge car with what looks like a 22 or 24 foot trailer on a dirt road up in the mountains of Washington state. So folks have done it. Do a search using key word tow.

A fellow I know with a Studebaker 1/2 ton 289 auto, pulled a 1 ton Studebaker Dump Truck on dual axle trailer for 200 miles without a problem, except for braking distances.

[MBF]

I think asking a 218 or 230 to pull a 5K load is asking a lot. You might be all right for really short distances on the flats, but as soon as you come to a hill you're going to be done and driving in the right lane. I'd imagine you'd find driving such a rig to be very aggravating too due to the lack of performance. Stopping will be another issue. I'm going through the 230 in my 52 1 ton now, and its going to be a tight engine when I'm done .020 over, new valves, etc. I'm looking for something to tow my John Deere LI to shows, and the combined weight I'm looking at is less than half of the 5K you're thinking about. I'm only doing local shows using back roads. Mike

[wayfarer]

5K is alot of dead weight to drag around with a 218, or a 230. Yes it can, and has been done many times, but consider the risks and rewards.

If you really, really need to tow this much weight with the particular vehicle sitting in your shop, consider swapping to a 25" Chrysler/DeSoto.

Consider this: http://www.dodge.com/hostc/towing/capacities.do?ccode=CUD201013DS1L41A&lowLevelPackageCode=2TA&vehicleEngineCode=EKG&vehicleTransmissionCode=DGV&vehicle=Ram%201500&modeType=T&towingResultsDescription=Ram%201500&modelYearCode=CUD201013

[JBNeal]

Fixin' up the motor to get more 'go' is all right I reckon, but ya have to do somethin' bout the 'whoa'...the long stopping distances with the drum brakes makes me drive extra cautious when approaching intersections or merging with traffic.

Since I'm running on bias ply tires and the roads 'round here are on the bumpy side, I definitely keep my speeds down as going over 50mph might toss me into the ditch. I took a lady friend on a ride in my '48 & she commented on how bad my driving was as the ride pitched us to & fro, so I told her to watch the steering wheel. I held it straight & true doing about 40 on a straight back road, and both of us were holding onto our respective doors to keep us from sliding off of that bench seat. With a li'l explanation about bias & radial ply tires, she asked me why I would bother putting those bias ply tires on: "cuz this makes the Blue Bomber (my Ram Cummins 4x4) seem like you're riding on air"