318 to 440 swap 1966

[DaveWrex]

Just wondering how hard it would be to swap my 318 engine for a 440?
The car is a 1966 dodge polara 440 (model)
318 engine canadian car.
I thought it would be cool to have a 440 engine seeing as it's a 440 model and it says 440 on the dashboard.
Does the engine just swap in or do i need to upgrade some things? (K member? Torsion bar set up?.. obviously a disc brake set up)

 

[SportFury70]

We plan to also do a 318 to 440 swap this winter on our ‘67 Fury wagon. I plan to post what we will do and how its done when we plan to do it if you would like to follow it. There is no k member in a c-body. Torsion bars are fine from a 318 but you may want to add a sway bar since 318s did not come with one and it will handle better. As far as I know you have to swap out the core support if you want to put in a bigger radiator, the transmission, the engine mounts, the power steering pump from a big block or at least the pulley and brackets to use on a small block one, and an alternator. Hope this helps.

 

[Badvert65]

Well, for one thing, the transmission behind the 318 will not bolt up to a 440 block. Radiator inlet/outlet may be different, you'll have to check what you have against a big block (outlet is usually on driver side). I am uncertain about the engine mounts as I have a 65 and the big block mounts differ from the small block mounts but I believe the front stub frame is the same (I could be wrong).

 

[Davea Lux]

We plan to also do a 318 to 440 swap this winter on our ‘67 Fury wagon. I plan to post what we will do and how its done when we plan to do it if you would like to follow it. There is no k member in a c-body. Torsion bars are fine from a 318 but you may want to add a sway bar since 318s did not come with one and it will handle better. As far as I know you have to swap out the core support if you want to put in a bigger radiator, the transmission, the engine mounts, the power steering pump from a big block or at least the pulley and brackets to use on a small block one, and an alternator. Hope this helps.

As noted, you will also need to replace the transmission as the small block and the big block have a different bolt pattern. Also a good idea to rep;ace the driveline with the big block unit as the u-joints on the 318 are smaller. You can use the convertor u-joints to avoid having to replace the differential yoke.

Dave

 

[volksworld]

even some small stuff like transmission kickdown linkage needs to be sourced...the 440 block is taller than a 383 so just cause something came off a big block doesn't mean it fits a 440...and manifolds and engine pipes are not the same big to small block

 

[CBODY67]

I know the allure of having a RB block is eye candy to some (as sights of giant smokey burnouts drift between their brain cells), BUT there is a episode of "Nick's Garage" where he proves a stroker LA can make 426HEMI rated power on his dyno.

Doing the stroker route would take a LOT of the noted issues off the table and can ease the situation a bit. For best output, though, a set of AFR or TrickFlow aluminum cyl heads can be needed, though, which ups the cost. As would a beefed 904 TF.

Either way . . . HAVE FUN!
CBODY67

 

[bronze turbine]

I think your best bet would be to find a big-block donor car and buy the whole car so you can easily see the differences and you'd mostly have all the parts you need, especially if it's a 440. I don't think it would need to be a Polara, probably any 1966 c-body would do.

 

[Ripinator]

We plan to also do a 318 to 440 swap this winter on our ‘67 Fury wagon. I plan to post what we will do and how its done when we plan to do it if you would like to follow it. There is no k member in a c-body. Torsion bars are fine from a 318 but you may want to add a sway bar since 318s did not come with one and it will handle better. As far as I know you have to swap out the core support if you want to put in a bigger radiator, the transmission, the engine mounts, the power steering pump from a big block or at least the pulley and brackets to use on a small block one, and an alternator. Hope this helps.

Is your engine an LA 318 or is it a Poly 318? If its a Poly, keep it as is. You can do a lot with a Poly.

 

[DaveWrex]

Is your engine an LA 318 or is it a Poly 318? If its a Poly, keep it as is. You can do a lot with a Poly.

Pretty sure it's a poly

 

[SportFury70]

Is your engine an LA 318 or is it a Poly 318? If its a Poly, keep it as is. You can do a lot with a Poly.

Its an LA

 

[SportFury70]

I do believe that ‘66 was the last year for a poly in some if not most cars

 

[CBODY67]

EASY to tell by the valve covers. Pictures of what is in the OP's car?

IF somebody uses the "Red X" of non-agreement, PLEASE indicate WHY so it can be discussed! No "Red X" and leave, please.

CBODY67

 

[DaveWrex]

Ill post a photo for you guys in a little bit here

 

[DaveWrex]

Here's a picture of the 318 engine

 

[DaveWrex]

..

 

[Big_John]

Its an LA

Are you talking about your car or @DaveWrex 's car? His car is a Poly.

 

[SportFury70]

Are you talking about your car or @DaveWrex 's car? His car is a Poly.

Mine , I thought Rip was talkin about my car since he quoted my post and asked if it was a poly or not. I X’ed the wrong person, my mistake.

 

[SportFury70]

IF somebody uses the "Red X" of non-agreement, PLEASE indicate WHY so it can be discussed! No "Red X" and leave, please.

CBODY67

My mistake, I X’ed the wrong post. I accidentally X’ed the OPs post when he said it was a poly, i meant to X Rips post cause he thought our car was a poly when its not. Again, my mistake.

 

[SportFury70]

..

View attachment 693167

Yep, thats a poly 318

 

[Big_John]

..

View attachment 693167

Yep, Poly motor.

If it were me, I'd keep it, but it's your car. It's not a real complicated swap to a 440, but it depends on what you want to do, how much you want to spend etc. It's not going to be cheap to do... Depending on what you want for an engine. A basically stock 440 is going to be easier, but it gets more involved and more expensive as you up the horsepower.

At minimum, transmission will need to be changed and that's assuming it's a 727 and not a 904 in the car now. Torque convertor and flex plate. Motor mounts. Probably a radiator too. Then there's all the little parts that are getting harder to source like the throttle linkage to the trans, some pulleys, along with power steering and alternator brackets. There's other stuff that I'm probably not thinking of. None of it is cheap anymore either. If you start thinking about a modified engine, then you need to get into beefing up the driveline.

Again, your choice, it's your car and your money. I'd strongly suggest that if you want to do the swap, you gather ALL the parts first. It sounds to me like you haven't done this before (no offense meant if you have) and you'll want to keep what you have running so you can still have some fun with the car.

Again, if it were me, I'd keep the poly. It's a great reliable engine that can be built to make some power or fine left stock. Visually, it has a unique appearance that some of us kind of like. There are plenty of big block cars out there... Not a lot of poly motored cars at the Saturday morning cars and coffee at the local Dairy Queen. You could just do a 4bbl manifold swap along with a dual exhaust too. Just some food for thought.