318 Detroit

They leak oil alot, They are very loud, and they gutless.

 

To properly drive a 318, when you get in the truck slam the door while you hand is still in the frame. Then you will be in the right frame of mind!

 

My oldman had an old 318 in his diamond reo back in the day. It did leak oil and couldnt get out of its own way. But other then that he said it was an overall good motor for him.

 

In the 1970s, the advantage of a 318 was its light weight. Pulling power was comparable to a small Cat or a 270 Cummins. The 318 was a simple engine and some owner/operators could do an overhaul under a shade tree. The 318 achieved about 4.7 mpg. The 318 would not lug, and had to be kept wound up to produce power. We said the driver had to slam his thumb in the door and get mad before driving a 318. We also said the 318 is like a teenage girl: promises, promises in town. Get her out in the country and she won't do a thing. I earned a living with one for nine years. I notice 318s at the antique shows today.

 

A 318 is a very tuff engine, they have the same power characteristics as any other engine full torque at 1200. and you drive them between 1300 and 1550. They are an oil cooled engine and oil level is very important, in the early eighties they had a large chunk of the market. They are not fuel efficient, compared to the Cummins. There were oil leak problems, on the rear housings nearly as bad a an "E" model cat, on the front housing. the heads would leak if not assembled properly, Not as bad as an "E" model Cat.
And yes you could do an overhaul under a tree. They were rated as a heavy heavy heavy duty engine, they are tough as nails and when set up properly worked very well.
The Jake's were comparable to a "B" model Cat.
Many marine units still use them, you can run it all day, at low RPM 1000 and never hurt it, or rev it to 2500 in a fire truck and not never have a problem.
You have to know how to set it up, what to look for if there is a problem.
They still use lots of them in oilfield. because they will start when it is cold. and never die if treated right.

 

Years ago;....MANY years ago, when I was driving for my dad; he purchased a fairly new, (1973 I think) KW K100, with a turbocharged 8-71 Detroit rated at 350 hp. After driving it for a couple of weeks, I told pop I wanted to get back into a faster, better pulling truck, my old 1971 White Freightliner with a 270 Cummins. BIL moved into that KW for a while, then back into his old truck, which also had a 270 Cummins.
We often joked about running that "two stroke Yamaha"; "use it if you weren't in a hurry." There was always something wrong with that motor, most times it was nothing major, but it just never seemed "right", and definitely should have pulled way better than it did. In addition to being one of the newest, it was the nicest looking truck in my dad's small fleet, and still most didn't care to drive it.

Long story, but someone actually stole that truck off our parking lot early one morning. In the small town I grew up in, it was biggest crime to take place in years! After the truck was discovered AWOL, the night watchman had even awakened the Chief of Police. I still remember gathering at the cop shop, and us drivers ROFLAO, at the look on the Chief's face when dad asked him if he would wait a week or two before searching for that truck.
(No it was never found)

 

A decent running 350 detroit would run away and hide from a 270 cummins all day long...My old man owned a couple of late 1960's era car haulers that happened to have those exact same engines.
Neither one ran worth a hoot compared to todays trucks.

 

Back in that time frame, quite a few trucks in our area were equipped with the 8-71, most were either 290, or 318 hp. Only 2 of the group we worked with (hauling grain) were turbocharged & 350 hp, neither could run away from a dog trying to pee on their tires. Many of the 318 hp trucks actually pulled better, and out ran both the turbo 8-71 trucks; and a shimmed 250 Cummins would often put them to shame.
For what it's worth, I was NOT a Cummins fan at that time, but those old 855s were hard to beat if set up right.