Dodge 383 vs. dodge poly 318

I had a mechanic mate rebuild the poly in my 66 pheonix about 5 years ago the down side is the availability of parts for them, the up side is not many people know what they are. You may have seen this already check this link www.1962to1965mopar.ornocar.com/poly318
Gary pavlovich in th US bored & stroked one out to 401ci he can supply all the gear needed now.

 

This is my Poly

 

Go with the poly. You won't be able to go as fast so it will be safer. Besides, who said hot rods are about going fast?

 

Tough choice. My first car was a 57 Plymouth Fury with a 318 Poly and dual quads. My sister got a 58 Fury with the 350 Golden Commando engine and my 57 would take her. I've also had a 64 Fury 383 and a 69 Road Runner which were both great runners. But I can't help but remember an article I read about the 56 Fury at Daytona Beach with a little 303 CI Poly that the factory put a dual quad manifold and a warmed up cam that went over 147 mph. which was faster than the 300 or the Dodge D 500. So the little Poly is by no means a boat anchor.

 

It's a lot cheaper and easier to make a 383 look cool than it is to make a 318 run like a 383.

Offy valve covers are available, as are multi-carb intakes for the 383, the most plentiful being 3x2 and 2x4. Parts aren't Chevy cheap, but they're out there and often over the parts counter. They make enough power to turn the Earth on it's axis and do so in basically stock trim. The engines go together easily and were engineered with common sense. Enjoy swapping an intake without disturbing your timing or cooling system. Burly stamped, shaft-mounted rockers never need adjustment unless you install a radical cam and need adjustable rockers. Run either the strongest automatic ever, the 727 Torqueflight, or bend over for a manual that can hold up behind the 383. I stuffed one of these in my Ford and it may have been the best decision I ever made

 

Can anyone help me with where to get the adapters to fit a 59 318 poly to a 66 727 trans in Australia. Any help would be appreciated. I have 2 66 Dodge Phoenix's one with the poly,original done a big end so the 59 is going in, and the other one with a 383. When the original poly is rebuilt and both are on the road I'll see what the diff is between them. The poly will have some performance bits in it.

 

Newport, welcome to the Hamb. The adapter you want is the same as the EarlyHemi adapter. Recall that the A blocks, up to 1962, share the same bellhousing arrangement as the Hemi engine. BUT, this only works if you still have the 8-bolt crank in the poly. If you want to check freight costs, my adapter, for example, has a shipping weight of about 16 lbs.



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Newport also needs to do an intro @ the proper place. He mentioned a 383, the adaptor works with the sb box, not the bb box.

 

That will be perfect for Newports application as he wants to bolt a pre-62 318 poly up to a 66 sb 727 in his 66 "Dogs Penis"

swifty

 

Hi fellas---moparod Lonnie here-----I'm a mopar guy from years back. I love the 318 Polys. I have one built, 60 over mild cam, 2-4's and built 727 trans cable shift. LOVE IT!!! Thinking of putting it in a '84 Dodge Rampage, what do you think? I have been looking for a 3 duece manifold for my next 318. I LOVE THOSE VALVE COVERS on the roadster.

 

Hi George,
Where would be the proper place to do an intro? Thanks 73RR I will check the crank in the 59 poly. I have a mate in Knoxville ( Sprintcars ) who is sending back to Australia a sea container of engines and parts can you give me an idea of shipping to Knoxville. Thanks.

 

George may be offline. Go here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=18

Check your PM

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Dude!!! So cool you're puttin mine up as defence!!! Yeah!

Wana hear it running??

http://s266.photobucket.com/albums/ii265/29Jay/?action=view&current=enginestartup141.flv

Jay

 

If you changed cranks you'd still have the bell/locating pins problem, wouldn't you?

 

Hi George, Yes, the locating dowels would still be a problem. However, if the crank is changed then 'the really big problem' will now appear.....the block still requires an adapter but the crank flange/bolt pattern would not... so you have added 'distance' (thickness) at the block and reduced distance at the crank. Now, to put the flywheel/converter in the proper location you will need a new, very fat, spacer on the crank to not only compensate for the reduction in the crankshaft extension but also include the small amount amount of thickness in what would have been needed in the original crank flange adapter. If, for example, you used my block adapter, then the 'new' crank spacer would be nearly 0.750" thick! Can it be done? Sure. There are plenty of old time trans adapters with very fat crank adapters in the package (B&M comes to mind).
Personally, I am not too keen on having a large overhung mass flinging about just under my feet...

Gary

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That's about what I was thinking myself!

 

Hands down I'd build the 383. I've had poly 318's and I've had big block mopars. Your talkin' about two different worlds here when it comes to power. Sure, the poly will drag your car around reliably forever (if ya ain't in a hurry), but why leave all those cubes and horsepower on the table when ya have a choice of either one. Another couple things about the 383 is the distributor is in the front so ya can tuck that motor right back against the firewall and also the intakes are dry (no water passages) so ya can swap intakes without any mess and the oil filter is out front too so no header clearance prblems. You'll need a lot more than a cam and a 4 barrel to match the power that a good 383 makes. Been there, done that.

 

Two words that just don't go with poly head engines; CROSS RAM. Some of those polys look OK, but compared to a 383 with the long ram manifolds there is just no comparison. And as someone mentioned, set up your dash for the pushbottoms.

 

You could overhaul the Poly for the cost of those long rams!

 

Jason, whats up with that waterpump in the top pic? it looks raised! could be a solution for my roadster!

 

That's the "truck" version water pump and timing cover. The timing cover extends above the block top face unlike the "car" version where the timing cover finishes just below the top face of the block.

swifty

 

Go with the three-eighty-three. 318 Poly is like a forklift motor.

 

Just like to say thanks to the HAMB only been here 5mins and already learned about early and late Poly motors. Saved me a few headaches.