How to Make your 1988 318 Mopar Purr Like a Kitten

Posted on July 20, 2011 by jmalcolm

The 1988 318 Mopar is a well-made engine that provided solid and reliable performance when it was in its formative period. Like all older engines, if you want to restore a 1988 318 Mopar engine and give it the kind of power you want from a serious muscle car, you will have to break out the tools and do some work on it. The challenge is that because the 1988 318 Mopar engine did not find a niche in the aftermarket world, parts can be hard to come by. However, there are still workarounds so that you can boost the power and performance of your 1988 318 Mopar engine and get the feel for the surge of power that these great engines delivered when they were new.

Start out by taking a look at the cylinder heads. A good way to put some additional punch into the performance of your 1988 318 Mopar engine is to swap out the old 318 cylinder heads with parts from a 340 or 360 that were made in the same year. It is tough to find these kinds of cylinder heads on the aftermarket, but you can get lucky at salvage yards, finding some excellent parts to perform this upgrade to your 1988 318 Mopar engine.

If you perform a similar upgrade to the carburetor, the result will be that your 1988 318 Mopar engine will deliver a much better flow rate, which results in more power coming from the engine. Look for a carburetor that is rated at 500 cfm or better. However, set a cap on that rating at no greater than 600 cfm because the outcome can be less power which is counterproductive to your goals. You should be persistent in finding a replacement carburetor from the aftermarket because a rebuilt carburetor will not perform as well as a new one.

Performing similar maintenance on the exhaust headers is the last basic step to get more power from your 1988 318 Mopar engine. These three steps should be treated as a single project. If you replace the cylinder heads and the carburetor but you cannot finish the job and upgrade the exhaust headers, that can result in more trouble than it is worth. Do your research to locate the parts you need, either from junk yards or the aftermarket, so that when you start the project to punch up the power of your 1988 318 Mopar engine, you can finish it well and enjoy the outcome of a great 1988 318 Mopar engine that purrs like a kitten and delivers all the power you want in your restored muscle car.


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1972 MOPAR Muscle Cars Were a Lot to Get Excited About

Posted on May 4, 2011 by jmalcolm

While there were already several muscle cars out by 1972, the MOPAR options that were introduced this year were really exciting. It seemed that everyone was talking about them, including dealerships, consumers, racers and even young kids that had a dream of one day being behind the wheels of these cars that they had been seeing around town.

Too often, people don’t recognize all of the great MOPAR vehicles that Plymouth offered during 1972. Plymouth wanted to make sure they had tons of options to appease the needs and likes of just about everyone. Such diversity certainly did pay off for them.

The Plymouth Roadrunner was first introduced in 1968, but there were plenty of upgrades for 1972. This was more of a basic muscle car that was built for speed and power than for physical appearance. The E-body style was introduced on the Plymouth Cuda in 1970 and by 1972, it was a hot commodity. The reputation of this particular muscle car was exciting.

Many other manufacturers were impressed by the MOPAR options, too. There is no denying that what they saw out there also paved the way for them to later introduce some of their own muscle cars with variations and upgrades. They knew they had some stiff competition and they didn’t want Plymouth to leave them in the dust.

While the legends of muscle cars continue to circulate, the 1972 MOPAR muscle cars are still among the best. They were exciting when they were first introduced and they continue to offer plenty today. If you get the chance to see those that have been fully restored, then you can be taken back in time to when they were brand new on the market.

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The 2011 Chrysler MOPAR Delivers for the Money

Posted on April 30, 2011 by jmalcolm

If you want to own a 2011 Chrysler MOPAR, get in line. There will only be 1,000 of them offered, so you want to put your order in fast. It is going to offer a powerful engine along with many high-performance parts. Chrysler is offering the base value at about $37,500, which is very reasonable for the overall cost.

The unveiling of the 2011 Chrysler MOPAR was done at a New York auto show, and the response went very well. By the end of the day it was all over the Internet, including videos and still photos. Comments from viewers showed that people love the look of it and they are happy with the price. They don’t feel that it will be something ridiculous to afford like so many of the high-performance vehicles offered in the past few years.

The 2011 Chrysler MOPAR will offer the driver the chance to go from 0 to 60 in about 5 seconds. The disc brakes allow for great stopping abilities. The tires that are offered on this car are large and they offer exceptional handling. This vehicle will only be offered in black with blue racing stripes for the 2011 year.

The interior of the vehicle isn’t going to disappoint, either. With leather seats that are very comfortable for those long rides, you will want to spend as much time in this vehicle as you can. The dash instrument panels are well designed for optimal view and give the dash area a premium appearance. The 2011 Chrysler MOPAR has plenty to offer, and so you will want to get one before they are gone! The price is only going to increase due to the demand for them on the resale market.

 

 

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The Definition of MOPAR

Posted on April 13, 2011 by jmalcolm

Just about everyone in the muscle car world has heard about MOPAR, which stands for “motor parts.” The shortened version has been around for so long that the name has just stuck and is now used to refer to the broad Chrysler brand. What most people don’t know is that it actually started out as a phrase that referred specifically to parts for Chrysler vehicles. The name has been in place since the 1920s so there is a great deal of history behind it.

Today you will still be able to get these Chrysler parts for a variety of vehicles. MOPAR covers all models of Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, DeSoto, and Imperial. Chrysler purchased Dodge in 1928 and that is when the MOPAR term was started and used for marketing and branding purposes.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the term MOPAR became well known and freely interchangeable with various muscle cars on the market. MOPAR vehicles include the Charger and Challenger. These muscle cars were heavily used in the racing circuit. The ability to get quality parts that car owners could use to keep those vehicles at high performance levels were key selling points over other brands of muscle cars.

In 1987, Chrysler bought out AMC and Jeep, so those brands are now part of the MOPAR group as well. The idea of creating the term was for consumers to feel that they should be loyal to the Chrysler company. It was to give them peace of mind that if they ever needed any parts for their vehicles, they would be able to find them. As this enterprise of vehicles grew, so did the number of parts and the number of distributors around the USA and Canada.

Today the use of MOPAR is going very strong. They offer more than 250,000 different parts for the umbrella of vehicles that fall under the name of Chrysler. They also have a full line of accessories that allow consumers to make some customized modifications to their vehicles.

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3 Classic Mopar Muscle Cars

Posted on March 11, 2011 by jmalcolm

During the years when muscle cars dominated car culture, some of the classic muscle cars were put on the road. Every major car manufacturer of the time had an entry in the exploding muscle car market, including Ford, Chrysler and Chevy. Of the many kinds of muscle cars that became popular during the muscle car era, Mopar muscle cars were some of the best. The diversity of Mopar muscle car styles meant that there really was something for everyone to pick from who wanted one of these powerful vehicles. Here are some of the most popular Mopar muscle cars of all time:

  • The Dodge Challenger TA

The Mopar muscle car version of the Dodge Challenger was given the designation of TA. The TA stands for Trans Am. Mopar put some teeth into this particular model. This particular line of Mopar muscle car saw a very limited life, with only a year of production in 1970. That makes this classic Dodge Challenger a real find on the collectors’ market. In many ways, the design of the Dodge Challenger TA was unique. The exhaust pipes were positioned to expel to the side of the car instead of at the back. That meant those exhausts were visible just in front of the rear tires. The Mopar muscle car also came with a different kind of stripe than the standard Dodge Challenger and it carried very cool-looking spoilers in the front and on the back as well.

  • The Plymouth 440 GTX

Chrysler found a new slant on the standard Mopar muscle car marketplace when they released the GTX through their Plymouth division. Make no mistake that the Plymouth 440 GTX was all muscle car with a V8 440-cubic-inch engine that boasted a serious 375 horsepower under the hood. The Plymouth 440 GTX also stood out because it was all about style and class. It was such a sophisticated ride that it soon became known as ‘The Gentleman’s Muscle Car.” A car with all the power and the refinement for a night on the town is a classy ride, indeed.

  • The Plymouth Roadrunner

When it comes to a muscle car that was “down and dirty,” the Plymouth Roadrunner set the standard. It enjoyed a long production run between 1968 and 1980 for the very simple reason that this car was all about the basics of power and performance and not about frills and packaging. Plymouth put all of the enhancements and development into the basics of building a serious muscle car with an emphasis on the muscle. The end result was a car that even standing still looked like it could leave the competition in the dust while providing the Mopar muscle car-loving world with a serious contender for under $3,000. On the economy, power and performance fronts, the Plymouth Roadrunner delivered.

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Hello world!

Posted on January 17, 2011 by admin

Welcome to American Muscle Car Sites. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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