318s vs 350s

[Christian]

Hi Guys,
As I have mentioned in a previous post, I am looking into buying a 36 feet tri cabin fly bridge. I have “visited” a few so far. Some are powered with 318s and others are powered with 350s. What would be the pros and cons of each? Would finding parts for either be difficult? Finally, would the 318 be anemic for this boat keeping in mind that top speed is not necessarily a top priority.
Thank you all for your insight.
Christian

[prowlersfish]

I would worry more about engine condition if top speed is not at the top of your list . What speeds are you looking for expect ? Its easier to get parts for the 350 . Both are good engines the 350 could be repowers and newer . I would judge each one its condition Many also could be 360 ( same parts as the 318 in many cases ) Also there where many with BB Chryslers 383/400/440 and some repowerd with BB chevys (454)

[canuckkb]

Hey Christian,
I noticed in your other post about shipping, that you are from Ontario. I bought a 1976 36' Tryfly late last fall. I knew that was the boat that I wanted so I looked at 3 of them before deciding. At the time, they were only three that I could find in southern Ontario. All three of them were powered by chrysler 400's (280 hp) with closed cooling. Based on that, I assume that this engine package was the typical offer. My 400's purr like kittens and the one time that I tried, the boat got up on plain easily. However I would think that anything smaller would not due. We cruised the boat from Lake Simcoe to Midland and spent a week cruising the 30,000 islands. During that cruise, I never had the engines over 1500 rpm and we were completely happy with our time on the boat. Which is amazing because I had 2 teenagers and 2 puppies on board. The boat cruised beautifully at about 7 knots. I have only had the boat up on plane once, and unless we are in trouble for some reason, don't plan on ever doing it again. It will be used as a trawler. My guess is that there would be no real difference between mileage in any properly propped V8 package when running at low speeds, so I would choose the larger engines so that I can plan if needed. As for parts, I could not find any over the shelf chrysler parts in the half a dozen marinas that I enquired at. Everything needed to be ordered and took 2 or more business days.
I hope this helps.
Kevin

[Christian]

Hi Kevin,
I am indeed from Ontario. Ottawa to be precise. Thanks for the additionnal info. More food for thought...

Christian

[K4282]

I have experience working on and owning both. My opinion is the 318 which is 225 hp is more fuel efficent, extremely reliable but more expensive for parts which are available but generally need to be ordered, the 350 is 255hp and parts are more readily available