This will be my second and more ambitious build of a vintage motor. The first was a 315 Dodge Poly converted to a 325 Hemi. A very satisfying exercise that has yielded 40K miles of reliable fun. Fun and satisfaction that would not have happened without the help of many others, like vendors, friends and a tolerant wife. I always liked the Poly valve covers because no one knows what they are. I put the covers from the first motor on a SBC and had everyone scratchin their heads. Too much fun. And while building the first motor, I heard many opinions that the Poly heads were still a pretty efficient design and not a bad choice for a cost reduced option,.....so I bought a 270 cheap, a few years ago. Previously I also was given a junk 2x2 manifold and just happen to have a sweet little roots type blower from a Lightning pickup. A friend had put several of these on Baby Hemis and Flat Heads. So guess what I'm thinking. Talk about a funky setup. Well sometimes plans have to be adjusted,.... re the Hemi. I'll "get on" with that story in the next posting. I'm looking forward to sharing this adventure with a diverse group of friends and with anyone on this forum who wishes to contribute or question. I'm also challenged to write a good sentence, so bear with me.
I like this already. I don't know too much about the "Poly" engines so I am looking forward to learning about them and how they relate to the Hemis.
good info going on here: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/de-code-my-dodge-red-ram-engine\
wstory: That looks great and as long as you can deal with the height of the finished engine, you're on the right track. That 2-2 manifold is perfect. Is this going into an open car (no hood)? What is the displacement of the Lightning blower? I have a Magnuson on my Poly 318 (same manufacturer as your supercharger I believe) but had serious height constraints for my 65' pickup (pic below). I'll enjoy watching your build. Have fun. - EM
142 inches I think. Will get to that a little later. Yes, I may have a height issue given the inter-cooler I hope to incorporate. Thinking Model A. Oh well, I'll just have to go hoodless. The blower subject is getting a little ahead of sequence I planned for this thread. But here's a little teaser Did this about 4 years ago anticipating building the Poly motor.
Soooo,...back to my story. Round 'bout March I decided to get busy on the Poly. Seemed like a good "stay at home" project, Covid 19 ya know. Tore down the engine and it seemed in pretty good shape for its age. Scooped a lot of sludge outta the valley and pan. Internals look serviceable. Took the heads to be cleaned and Magna-Fluxed and SHIT!!!!! the water passages were so rusted that just the cleaning yielded pinholes from the spring seats into the water-passages. ( I have since learned that area is typically very thin on both Polys and Hemis and that machining the depth of the spring pockets is a no-no.) The heads went in the trash. Confirmed that the motor had been in a boat and in salt water. Also that the block was already bored .040" over. Machine shop noted that salt permeates the cast iron and would likely continue to be a problem. SHIT!!!! AGAIN. Block went in the trash next. Since I was infected with the HemiVirus years ago, I have options. Stay tuned!
I’m subscribed. Followed you over from Hombres thread. Looking forward to following along. Thanks for sharing all this. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
For those readers who do not know 'Mr. Bill' stay tuned for some very nice work. Nope, I don't know exactly what he has planned but he is a fine craftsman and 'it' will be nice. .
It's been bastardized by photo bucket and still was well worth the look see! Thanks 73RR, you know more links please post more, can't get enough!
At or near the end of that voluminous thread is a video you may enjoy. It's a bit long but I'm learning.
Thanks Gary and others for the kind words and the links. I love this stuff!!! A whole lotta years ago I had a thing for Baby Hemis,....even before I had a car to put one in. At the time folks were giving them away or selling dirt cheap. Mostly via swap meets I acquired several motors, Polys and Hemis,....241s, 270s, 315s a few miscellaneous heads and parts, and a complete stock bore D500. That's the basis of my "stash" which I now enjoy re-discovering. So,....the 270 Poly went in the trash and I retrieved the stock bore 270 from my "collection". That block has recently been boiled, Magna-Fluxed and bored for the .040 over pistons from the original engine. I have it back now so's I can fuss with detailing, deburring and chasing threads, before returning it to the shop for cam bearing, "facing" and another round of boiling and cleaning. In the process I discovered that the "secret oil galley plug" had not been removed. It was frozen so badly I was unable to break it loose, even with an impact wrench. Experienced advise was, Coca Cola, 1/2 teaspoon over night should do it. Didn't work,...so the machine shop will drill and tap if required. The original crank has been Magna-Fluxed and ground .010" under. Also, I polished the rods and did a rough balance before sending the rotating assembly off to a real balance shop.
Bill , Thank you for posting the video . I read the link this morning that Gary had posted with your build . But,,,because of photo bucket,,,I was unable to view the video . You do great work,,,,,and are obviously a skilled craftsman. I was very impressed with your modifications to the stock timing cover,,,,great job . Tommy
Hey Tommy, I am just now cutting into the current timing cover. Had to study the blocked PhotoBucket images to help remember what/how I did it.
Lol,,,I guess it was a few years ago,,,,,it’s hard to remember all the details of a modification. I can’t stand photo bucket,,,,,so many older pics have been destroyed by that site . Nevertheless,,,you do outstanding work,,,I am very impressed with your skills . Please keep posting here,,,,it will help all the guys,,,including me,,,,to have ideas to keep this thing going . I am starting a build of my own soon,,,a Desoto 291,,,,,i just got the block back from the machine shop . I’m doing detail prep work right now,,,,also taking some pics,,,,,and getting ready to assemble the short block soon . It won’t be on your level though,,,,,I don’t have the fabrication skills you do . But,,it will still turn out fine,,,on a low buck level of course . Tommy
The internal galley plug can be a pita at times and I have had to drill them out on several occasions...but I only drill as large as the 5/16 square drive (maybe a little bigger) so that the sq drive remains available. The drilling process usually creates enough heat to help break the bond as well to reduce the hoop tension. Use a good quality sq plug socket. .
I've been re-reading all the Hemi reference accumulated prior to the previous build. Sure forgot alot. So afraid I'll overlook something. The craftsmanship/fabrication skills accusations are unwarranted,.... 'tho I'll admit to being stubborn and a bit anal. Most of these projects I've undertaken have been "a first time". And, they've been pretty successful because of the patient help and advice of others.
This is the socket I purchased,,,,it worked a miracle. The plug came loose instantly with this,,,,no problem . Tommy
I'm always learnin,....first thing I learnt on this project was,...."don't try building an engine from a block of salt!" second thing was,..."there is such a thing as a 5/16" socket pipe plug and, an appropriate tool" Still learnin!
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