Dodge 383 vs. dodge poly 318

Ok its time to get a motor for 29 dodge pile of parts I tell people will be a lakes mod style rod one day. The options are Dodge big block 383. or poly 318.

I have a wierd but cool bud with a stack of rusting phoenixes in his yard and he says I can have an engine and tourqueflite box for almost nix. Some of the phoenix's have polys others 383 both ae runners but he ays they'll probably need a rebuild one day.

I am leaning toward poly cos they look cool however if someone has experince with both an knows the pro's and cons of each and could let me know that would be awesome.

 

both cool motors but i'd go for cubic inches in this case. just a personal preference

 

I've always been a big block man myself. Had a bunch and still got a few.

 

383 - more common, easier to got parts for, cheaper, bigger, more power.
poly - looks cool, different (not like everyone else).

 

383.

poly 318 are more or less industrial motors. had one in my pickup for about a year. lots of torque, not alot of speed

 

If you want cheap power go with the 383. If you like to be different, or the nostalgia look go with the Poly. Plenty of threads here. If you have the money they can be stroked & bore 349-400 cubes. If you like chromed valve covers, they look good too. I think I'd go Poly!

 

I have a 383, love the motor, parts are available and cheap. However, if you are wanting something really nostalgic and something that has a cool look, go for the poly. Personally, I would try and get one of the Phoenixs as well, can't have too many cars, right?

 

383. It' easy and cheap to make power. They take up about the same space, weight is close and big block Chryslers are not all that common outside of the muscle car scene.

 

383 more power,way easyier for parts and most of all the transmission. Getting early TF parts and someone who can really rebuild them properly can be a real chore. Late model TF are plentiful, way better and converters are a dime a dozen. Even the standard trans are harde to come buy with the entire setup. No doubt 383 --FEDER

 

'63 & up Polys use the 273-360 trannys. BB ones are getting harder to find.

 

Poly's are boat anchors......use a 383.....

 

Both great motors, but, I'd go with the B (383)

 

...Jason must be on the pot again...lol

First off, you did not indicate what model year car you are getting the engines from. This is important for Both engines, as Mopar changed all of the crankshafts for the 62 models and the pre-62 engines will require pre-62 trans/bellhousings. The good part of this is only for the 318 as you can use an EarlyHemi trans adapter on the pre-62 poly and bolt-up post-62 trans/bellhousing. On a B-RB engine the only option is to change the crank.
Since you are 'downunder', you might base the choice on local availability of parts.

Cheers

Gary

 

My vote is for the B or RB 383. Disty up front where it should be. Plugs underneath but reasonably easy to get to. All Polys require crackers to keep them happy! Cheap man's hemi substitute! 383's made good power for less money than the early hemi's, that's why they went that way. Or you could just get a 426 Hemi and really be done.

 

Now you're just hurtin' my feelings, man...

BOAT ANCHOR?
Now seriously, would you anchor a boat with this?



~Jason

 

"Industrial motors"? WTF?

And no, running a 2-bbl intake pretty much defined "lots of torque, not alot of speed". You'd crap yourself with a cam and a 4-bbl... or a dual quad!

~Jason

 

I know a few guys down there that can hook you up with parts for the 318 Poly - in fact, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

And nah, I actually wasn't on the pot this time.

Man, if it's a Lakes-Style rod, I'd go for the 318 Poly... especially if it'll be exposed and folks can see it. Dare to be different.

I'm not gonna whiteant ya, mate: if you're actually racing it, undeniably the bang for the buck is in the 383, with the main downfall on the 318 being the scavenger hunt for intakes. Of course, you could buy a P600 3x2 (rare as hell) for the Poly from Swifty down there... he has a few on the wall of his shed that I've seen and been taunted by in pictures...

So my final answer is to get one of each. Run the 383 until you build the Poly up, then switch. With a 4-bbl, a dual quad, or a 3x2 on that Poly, it's not going to have much "seat of the pants" difference when driving on the street, in traffic... and if you're daring enough to be different enough to keep a 2-bbl on top, you can squeeze 25 MPG out of it!

~Jason

Here's Swifty's ride:

 

The poly 318 is a great traditional Hot Rod mill. They make lots of power and there is some period speed equipment out there. Those shark tooth valve covers look krazy! Better yet you can cheaply and easily stroke a 318 to around 400 cubes by using a common LA Mopar SB 4.0 inch crank. I've had a few 383 powered rides, great motor, but for me I'd run poly power!

Boner

 

And you know, it really helps to keep things in perspective to think of the 318 Poly as a "big" smallblock. After all, it shares everything with the LA motors (273/318/340/360) but the heads, intake, and exhaust. The blocks aren't interchangeable, but can be modified to be (but it's one big BS hassle). The cams are a different profile, and you can't use LA motor pop top pistons in the poly (for obvious reasons - the valve recesses won't match - flat tops swap okay), but EVERYTHING else swaps. Make sure you get a '62 - '66 block and the LA transmissions will bolt up, too.

You can stroke it with any LA stroker crank. You can use LA cranks, rods, push rods, windage trays, ignition (dizzy, etc), beatings, oil pans, freeze plugs, water pumps, water necks, timing sets & covers, and pulleys. It sure makes finding parts easy as hell... especially in a race-type situation where you thrash it for fun and occasionally break stuff.

For all-out, balls-to-the-wall power though, the 383 still wins. But in the looks department, it's pretty bland.






~Jason

 

Hi. I'm a 383. I'm so bland I could shit.

 

I have a 318 poly with 3 2's on it and it flys down the road....It is in a 38 plymouth truck..I ran just a 2 barrel for a long time and the truck ran great and got good mileage..

It is fun watching people try to guess what the motor is at car shows... Jason.

 

That always tickled me... one of Chrysler's bread and butter V8s for almost ten years, and nobody knows anything about 'em! WTF?

~Jason

 

All the Poly guys come out and rally around!. If you want anonymous power the 383 is OK,but if you want to say " hey check out my amazing looking powerful engine which aint a SBC ,look at this! " . I haver poly parts to be the same price as regular LA parts,and you use :A distributors etc anyway. I have bolted LA to Poly torqueflights before,theres one bolt different and the LA needs a balanced convertor but it all bolts together,not that is on topic or anything...

 

Yes....but it would be a NICE boat......with a 440.....if that makes ya feel better.

 

My boat would have a 318 Poly:



Clearly, much prettier than a 440:



But like I've said before, if fast is your game, there's not a damn thing wrong for going with the cubes!

~Jason

 

Thanks everybody, I did not know people would be so passionate about poly's (Jason I'm lookin at you). I am still thinking poly for two reasons

1. I understand they probably dont make easy/cheap power compared to the 383 however the dodge is going to weigh doodly squat compared with a big fat 60's phoenix so should still be able to scare a toyata drivin newb like me.

2. The car will not run a hood so looks make a difference.

That being said if I get out to the property and I hear the bigblock running sweet I might get swayed.

I will PM this swifty person you speak of and see if he'll part with said manifold

 

Depends on how ya dress it up.....
Yer right....them Big Block Mopes are UGLY....
Sometimes fast isn't pretty.....but I'll take it over a slow pig.....

 

Talk to his boy FlatOz, too.

Passionate? Me?

~Jason

 

Ugly and nontraditional . . .