Hey Guys, I just recently purchased a 1957 Dodge KD-500 Hemi Engine which was partially dis***embled for a very, very good price. It has the heads, four barrel intake, block, crank, and most everything else but here's the rub, it is missing two of the five main caps (has the rear large cap and two of the smaller) and three of the eight rod caps! The rod caps are numbered so that seems like less of an issue but the missing main caps have me worried. All the main caps were removed. Is there any way to tell which journal and orientation the two smaller ones came from? Can anyone tell me just how screwed I am potentially, or is there a way to straighten this out? The person who did this should be shot if they aren't already dead, but I just couldn't p*** it up. If I can find some more main caps I am guessing it is a given that it would have to be line bored. Are the main & rod caps fitted and drilled as an ***embly or could I get some corresponding caps and make them work? Obviously I would need to check 1st if the mains and rods have ever been re sized to begin with. Thanks in advance for any help & advice you can give. -fitty_2
If the original main caps are MIA, then any replacement caps will need to be line honed. I have heard of motors being put together with random caps and staying together, but with as much money as you're going to have in that, it's worth the peace of mind to get everything straight and sized the first time. More likely than not, the rod caps that you are missing mean an end to the rods as well. It's way easier to find rods with caps then caps alone, and I wouldn't go mix and matching them either without being honed and checked for straightness. I would seriously consider going to billet main caps if I were you, simply because you are going to have to track them down in one form or another. I've seen them go for fairly cheap on the bay. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=118764
Hey Boris, Thank you for the reply. I like your idea of the billet main caps, I didn't think of that. Your take on the rods makes sense as well. Cool. I am feeling better already.
I have a few early dodge 315s and 325s and all the main caps have a corisponding number cast into them for their position. 1,2,3,4, but not 5. pretty obvious whear that one goes. 315s use the same size mains as the 325, to widen your search. I do agree about mixing and matching. I would get the new billet ones
Hey 23reotim, I appreciate that. So lets see engine is upside down front facing left, 1st main has #1 cap w/raised 1 towards or away? Super cool thanks man. Can anyone answer my question regarding drilling of the caps & mains and whether this is done initially together or standard parts are used. My guess is that they are done initially together at the factory. But I would also think that they would need to provide replacement caps so the tolerances would have to be tight to allow an interchange. If my mains are std., and I collected an ***ortment of the std ones I needed, then measured, maybe I could find some suitable candidates? You guys say billet and I get it, and I know these are made for Chrysler, but are they also made for Dodge? It's a '57 325. thanks allot, fitty_2 keep it going i have ***orted (more than I need) '52-'58 ford parts pm me any requests
There's no interchange without machining the caps on any engine, rods or mains. They are ***embled to the block or rod and then machined. You can find some from another engine the same, and have them fitted to yours. Don't try it on your own.
There bolted down and drilled and thats there home for life. NO such thing as interchange for maim caps. Go with billet and get it line bored and you should be OK. Ive seen good blocks s****ed because one of the caps was MIA.
Gotcha both. Ok so if they were the correct std size orig style caps from a correct doner engine then have them checked for fit & line bored? I do hear "skip it go to billet" and again do they make a billet set for these or do I need to find someone who can do it, then line bore. And they cant be purple anodized. thanks, N
if your going to go the original main and machine to work route, the main cap placemant # points to the left side if the engine.
Billet caps don't look so good - I didn't take into account the rarity of the baby hemi stuff due to their much smaller performance following. ProGram caps are readily available for the 331-392 series. So after that bit o' research, I'd be contacting this fellow and seeing if you could work something out. If the Dodge Polysphere series is anything like the Chrysler stuff, the caps should interchange.
Awesome guys direct and to the point thanks for taking me seriously, I appreciate it. I want to bring this one back to life if do-able & only if correctly, given a not inlimited budget & thus not much margin for error. I am a realist and if it has some major issue I'll have to deal & adapt. cheers mates, n
23reotim, you just earned yourself a spot on the hemi tech list with that photo if it isn't already there~ awesome, & lucky you! n
yup the 325 dodge polys use the exact same block, crank, mains, rods, and intake as the dodge 325 hemis
23 again thanks, Sounds like some cannibalization may be in order. I owe you something. What are you still looking for pm me. n
Looking into that reo & paying attention to fng's. With the right stuff you'd have to envy having these kind of problems. cheers, n ps i've been downgarded from from FNG to newbie ow
thanks. you dont owe me nuthin. just glad i finally have something to contribute. now i just hope my info is right. cheers
As stated, if you are replacing missing caps, the block should be align honed. To do this, the shop will grind the mating face of the caps, bolt them on the block, and hone so that the crank bores are within o.e.m. specs. The same with the rods. The bores will never be made larger than the o.e.m. std size., as there are no Mopar bearings made with a larger than std O.D. (except for the 5.7/6.1 hemi which uses cracked cap rods) Have no fear with replacing missing rod caps, as resizing is (should) be a standard procedure when rebuilding 50 y/o rods. PM or email me if you need caps for either. ****ers@together.net
For parts try hothemiheads.com. THere is also a 325 hemi build online. I will look for it and post the link on site. Congrats on finding a KD500. It;s a great motor. I have a kd500 and a 315.
Hey! Reo, seems like your pic/info is holding well good job! TR thanks for the de-lineating info on the mains much appreciated! Mopar'd certainly I am scouring Hotheads just so long as I don't have to look at purple billet! Not the look I am going for at all, rather a strong not-over-the-top build that has the appearance of being a period pull & swap. thanks all, n I have '52-'58 ford merc car parts all types extra pm me need, I'll be reasonable/trade/some is free.
Before building 354 I'm currently running in the coupe, I ordered a 392 oil pump which was the pump the industrial engine I was using had. I ended up using a different block which was an automotive block. When ***embling I found that it wanted a different oil pump. Foolish or not, I pulled the rear cap from the industrial block and tried it, using plastigage to check the fit. It was perfect! I don't recomend this sort of thing as a rule but I lucked out. If you do swap stuff like that measure the daylights out of it!!! Make sure it will work and don't make ***umptions.
Kerry no doubt!! I can measure the hell out of anything no problem. Thanks that's exactly the kind of hands-on smart info I am looking for and that could help us all out. I appreciate all the good input I've had so far what a blessing this site is, lucky us! Keep this thread going with good new experiential info! thanks, n
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