Engine conversion help!
- Thread starter Vinsanity
- Start date
Go with Gen 3 5.7 Hemi!!! It would be awesome in that car.
BigBen
Member
Why not accept that a 318/ 5.2 L can be upgraded and kick ***, yeah it doesnt sound as cool to say as 440 six pack but so what...you said its a 4 door car, were you planning on drag racing ... and what about your budget Mopar parts are expensive you planning on spending 10k on rebuilt 440 and 727TF and another 3-4K on part/ labor for the conversion.. Or plug up your garage for years telling yourself you can do it by yourself.
This is my " 318 " now closer to 331ci and trust me no STOCK big block wants any of this screamer. Best advice drive it enjoy the hell out of it and don't worry about what other people think. BigBen
This is my " 318 " now closer to 331ci and trust me no STOCK big block wants any of this screamer. Best advice drive it enjoy the hell out of it and don't worry about what other people think. BigBen
Go with a 360, enjoy the larger motor and more power, build it a bit if you wish. But why go with a big block and the need to swap everything else?
james bernard
New Member
My car has the original 318/727 power plant. I put a quik fuel carb, open plenum intake, cam and some head work. I ran 2.5 exhaust with shorty headers out the back as well. It is very RESPECTABLE! Absolutely not worth the money and hassle to big block it. Especially being a 4 door car. Drive it the way it was designed to be driven. Cool and smooth!,
james bernard
New Member
Hello Ben. I was just curious about your headers? I used Hedman shorties but still had to modify to clear the steering box? Just was wondering if you found something specific to C body?
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
LA block engines can be built with quite a lot of power, even withOUT stroking. If one has a polyspherical head A block motor, that block will have PLENTY of extra iron around the cylinders, permitting some interesting over-boring, and my understanding is that much of the rotating assembly ports from LA to the older A motors. There is a "poly purist" school of Moparian out there. If I had $$, I KNOW where I can score about half a dozen A block motors, dirt cheap. Nobody down here knows what can be done w them. Anyway, Light A blocks gave a better power/mass ratio, if not more raw power, and thus were adopted in 1967. The last poly blocks were sold in 1966 I believe....
The last hotrods made in the 1970s, the Dodge :Li'l Red Express Truck featured a 360 w a TF 727 behind it, and was the fastest, baddest factory hotrod sold in 1978-79, as the namby-pambies of the day moved to make the country run on fruit juice and rainbows.... The 360 had a 340 cam in it to help it breathe well, and it did! This was Old Mopar's Swan Song machine....
Unless one needs to pull large trailers or some other heavy duty application, a 318 should do a nice job moving a C-body around. I prefer B or RB blocks myself, but have a healthy respect for LA motors.
Note that Virtman used the LA block as his starting point when he opted to add 2 more cylinders, bringing displacement up to 8 litres. Little thing him and Carroll Shelby knocked around on in their sunbdown years called a "Viper."
The last hotrods made in the 1970s, the Dodge :Li'l Red Express Truck featured a 360 w a TF 727 behind it, and was the fastest, baddest factory hotrod sold in 1978-79, as the namby-pambies of the day moved to make the country run on fruit juice and rainbows.... The 360 had a 340 cam in it to help it breathe well, and it did! This was Old Mopar's Swan Song machine....
Unless one needs to pull large trailers or some other heavy duty application, a 318 should do a nice job moving a C-body around. I prefer B or RB blocks myself, but have a healthy respect for LA motors.
Note that Virtman used the LA block as his starting point when he opted to add 2 more cylinders, bringing displacement up to 8 litres. Little thing him and Carroll Shelby knocked around on in their sunbdown years called a "Viper."
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Vinsanity
Member
Where you I find a 360 engine?
Yeahrightgreer
Senior Member
It was introduced in ‘71. You can find it in almost any Chrysler/Ply/Dodge/Jeep offering up to the early 80s. And even after that depending on the model. You’ll most likely be able find it in say a ‘72 B-Body that was switched out for a B/RB Block.
Lots of pickups used them up into the '90s. You should be able to find a few in some local junkyards. From '92 on they are the "magnum" style; a little different animal from the carbureted one introduced in '71.
I've had three, all good motors: '87 Ramcharger, '79 Cordoba, '96 Dodge 1500 Pickwick - but that is a Magnum.
What are your plans with your car? What shape is the current motor in? As others have said swapping to a big block gets expensive fast. Personally if everything is in good shape I would hop it up a little and enjoy it. Maybe swap to a 360. I would keep it a small block myself. The frame side of the engine mounts are also different.
M-bodies offered it; Chrysler LeBaron, Dodge Diplomat...
R-bodies(79-81 ``big`` Mopars); Plymouth Gran Fury, Dodge ST.Regis, Chrysler Newport and New Yorker.
I think that at least 81 Dodge Mirada was available with it, so J-bodies.
@Yeahrightgreer
1971 Chrysler Newport Royal had a 360 as standard. Basically it was like the Newport and Newport Custom, but the rear bumper was smooth like what was installed to the two latter models back in ´70. It also had less side trim, no vertical trim strips on the tail lamps and plainer interiors. In 72 only the Royal and Custom were offered, both of which with a standard 400. 73 Newport came back and replaced the Royal.
On the Newport and Newport Custom a 400 was standard with a 440 being optional and the Newport Royal cold have had even the 440 installed by the factory.
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You have a thread with more detail on this motor and car? Sounds interesting.
You could also just buy a crate engine that's all done. You'll probably be money and time ahead to do that. You'd have a warranty too.
This place sells them, but I have no experience with them. I only mention them because of their presence on this forum. There are others too.
Chrysler Compatible Crate Engines
Hello from BluePrint Engines!
no personal experience
Remanufactured engines, transmissions and differentials | JASPER Engines
Remanufactured engines, transmissions and differentials | JASPER Engines
Concur with this assessment ... and a year available block so direct bolt in
BigBen
Member
Wow. I didnt see your post, my apologies for not getting back to you in timely manner. The Sanderson DD-7 p headers I ordered were listed as best choice for A body Car with 318.
But I took a chance and ordered them figured if a tight spaced A body would accept them then surely the biggest Dodge of the day should be an easy fit. As the man once said " I love it when a plan comes together"
BigBen
Member
Wow. Another year old post I never saw before.
I never started a thread. My car was basically a rolling unibody with a hole in the block. Shattered front suspension from what appears to be hydraulic hopping, ruined interior and half the mechanical parts missing.
The only reason I saved it was the body had absolutely no cancerous rust. It has a little surface rust from some nut sanding and never priming spots. But I hit those with rust convertor chemical and put an end to that.
My friends and others that worked on it or parts for it are all people that I grew up around.
The engines rotating assembly was done by Mr. Gene Hurst who built engines for my Dads repair shop. We started with 318 block .060 overbore.
With Keith Black hyperkenetic pistons, the block was zero decked to the pistons a forged steel 340 crank. Late model rods block line bored. Balanced and blueprinted.has a comp cam extreme energy cam. Gene guarantees its good for 7000 rpm. Gene is still hot rodding and he is 82 years old.
The heads are magnum style heads by engine quest out of Australia. They rework the valve angles open the ports and eliminated the cracking problem inherent to magnum heads.The valve train and minor port work was done by my best friends son( Jordan Betts of Betts custom fabrication Anaheim CA) Who learned flow benching and porting at a school for NASCAR mechanics. The transmission was " Bulletproofed by my friend Keith Betts of Kenne Bell Buick. He used to make The Turbo 400 switch pitch transmission for them. He is a walking transmission Genius. The rest of the repair.replace. rebuild and fab work was done with my great friend Jim Betts.
From front to rear bumper EVERYTHING..EVERYTHING! under that car is new or rebuilt down to the smallest rubber suspension bushing. It haa 4 wheel disc upgrade, Custom built exhaust. Coilover rear shocks. 2400 rpm stall convertor. Quick silver shifter. And lightened considerably. Carefully chosen 17 in rallye wheels on 275/40zr 17 sumatomo. Tires all the way around.I took the time to make sure every part was custom matched to compliment each other and provide trouble free power. This is a sleepy looking Super cruiser.
Designed to own and embarrass big block cars of the era.
I dont know if you wanted to read all that
But its fun to reminisce how it came to life.
Still have lots of work to do on the exterior and interior but no hurry the hard part is done.
Thanks for you Interest it still means a lot
Even if it took a year to get back to you.
Cazman
Active Member
Some pictures?
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