planning on doing two small blocks, one 318[for a 52 dodge wagon, with 727]later a high rever 273, for a50 ply bz cp. what would be the best book,[books] for what works together, and parts ID.. any suggestions?? waterboy.... ..
Get the small block engine building book that mopar puts out thru direct connection.I am very familar with small block chysler have been racing them in some form or another for 20 years.I would not invest the money in a 273 because they can only stand so much over bore and no other small block head will bolt on to it with out notching the block.They are good motors but there are better combinations out there for less money and more power.I would look into the Mopar LA 360 short block.I have one in a super street Daytona 10.90 car.I put alumn eldebrock heads out of the box on it,flat tappet cam change and in my car at 2700lbs runs 10.55 at 121 mph and I have less in it than some people have in there heads.You should be able to pick up this short block for around 1400.00 or close to that.If ya need any more info pm and i will get it for as I work at a large metro Chrysler dealer. Hope this helps Shoe
Larry Shepherd's How to Hot Rod Small Block Mopars, Volumes 1 and 2. Also, the Mopar Engines ("LA" Family) available at any Dodge or Chrysler dealership. If you STILL have questions after that, hit Moparts.Com and tell 'em Primer sent ya!
Not true. 318 2 barrel "302" casting Swirl Port heads from '85 on will work quite well. Closed chamber, so compression stays good, and they have the smaller 318 valves. Gasket match 'em to an iron 340 intake. My buddy Art did this with a set we snagged at Pick-N-Pull for $35 and I gave him my old '73 340 intake. He kept the solid cam and reused his ductile rockers. It's not the world's fastest car, but in his '65 Barracuda it sure moves! It was also dirt cheap with nothing exotic, and the block was NOT notched. I wouldn't go building a 273 either, or trying to use 340 X heads and a 4 inch stroker crank in one, but I know people who have solid combos using the 273 they had laying around in a light car, with a bit of junkyard engineering.
Also, what type of cam do you want to use? you have options with the LA engine. Solid? Flat Hyd.? Hyd. Roller? 318's are often free, so are 273's. 360's can be found at any wrecking yard, and have more potential for less $ than the smaller motors. All of them can be downright potent. Both of us reponding to this thread have over 15 years experience with these motors. So do thousands of guys on Moparts. Right now the aftermarket for them is better than it's ever been, and there are 40 years worth of these motors in junkyards, with great interchangability.
And if you wasn't afraid to tell us where you lived, we could maybe help you on a 360 for cheap. Gene
Hey guys thanks for the replies..I live in north central wa.[near wenatchee] I have access to several small blocks, 273 318 360 I think for my application a 318 in pretty much stock form should do, for my 52 wagon....the bz cp is project # 3 plenty of time to talk my self out of a 273. just always liked the little high winders..with a 4 or 5 speed thought it would be fun.. will pick up a book soon. Waterboy.... ..
High winder? What about de-stroking a roller cam 360 using the 3.31 crank instead of the 3.58? Hot Rod magazine had a Petty Blue 73 Duster in some tech articles in the early 90's using something similar. Basically a poor man's 340. If you want a 5 speed many Toyota trannies will bolt to the modern Magnum Dodge truck bellhousing, Which shares a pattern with the LA motors. Including the 87-92 Turbo Supra's R-154. Marlin Crawler's website has some great tech on this from the 4x4 guys. Lakewood's scattershield would also do nicely for junkyarding a modern Mustang's T-5. McLeod maked a Hyd. throwout bearing. Want to keep a Mopar manual trans? Check out Brewer's or Passon.
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