I PM'd and was totally honest on the price. Not one to cheat anyone out of anything, but can always hope for a deal (read: pity). Well, anyway, now back to the regularly scheduled program..... ~MyDeSoto~
Anyone know how to take the rocker arm shafts off a 318 polyhead engine? Any help would be appreciated, Thanks Cam
I could tell you right off, but that would be giving a man a fish, not teaching him how, wouldn't it? Go to http://www.geocities.com/polyman64 Join the Yahoo Group linked to at the top of the list, and ask your questions there... You'll find all that and more. Fyi, if you search the group for this, you'll find your answer. ~Jason
Well shit! When you put it THAT WAY! My goal was more of teaching him to find 318 Poly answers for anything, not just one answer. I'm still not home yet, and am reduced to a cel phone web browser at the moment, as I was last night. Not being able to copy/paste really finds me playing with a handicap today! I'll copy/paste an article or web post about it later tonight. In the meantime, seriously, join the Yahoo Group - those guys seriously rock! ~Jason
Kinda like if people would put "Hemi' or "Poly" in search instead of starting a new thread on the same subjects!
Im not very smart when it comes to the term ( poly ).. Im seeing the term being used for both styles of engines.. 1. the first as being used as the one that can be converted to a Hemi.. ( I think this is the side humped valve covers ) 2. the other that is a big block 318 that cannot be converted to a hemi.. (this being the seraded side valve cover..) this style having the use for a P600 tri power intake.... am I right or wrong? Maybe a picture of each style of engine with a explanation of what these are interchangible with would be cool.. Plymouth and Dodge are confusing when it comes to what fits with what on these V8s. even the parts stores are useless when it comes to aquiring the right parts for these engines..
You are doing good so far! Both have scalloped valve covers. the hemi based ones have separate intake & valley cover, the "A"s don't.
There's two locking pins/pegs. One on the front of the shaft, and one on the dowel towards the middle. ~Jason
Actually, of the of the entire A-engine family (277, 301, 313, 326 & 318 - all Polys), NONE will take a Hemi head. NONE. See: http://www.allpar.com/mopar/a-engines.html The Single Rocker Shaft motors (SRS = Poly - 241, 259, 270, 301, 315, 325, 331, 354) will accept a Hemi head, and usually require an intake adapter or the use of a Hemi intake, due to the Hemi heads being spaced differently than the Poly ones. See: http://www.allpar.com/mopar/poly.html
The big factors in putting LA heads on the A block are clearance for the intake pushrods and the oil return system, the two engines have a totally different passageway system for oil to go back from the valvechest to the pan. As for the benefits or otherwise, we've yet to see a Poly head get the kind of attention the LA head has got over the years, but I believe it will shape up well when properly treated. The reason for that might well be, of course: Who would put the effort into something so heavy? Well, I know it's an old post, but I feel it's a good thing to correct this. I have weighed the comparative pieces. The block weighs about 22lbs more than the LA block. Of course, a lot of that could be removed with some hand work if you were patient, or had a good mill. But the 'up top' weight, the heads, only weigh 3lbs each more than the LA heads in the same condition (rockers and valves included). Again, there are areas where weight can be removed, but that's not a huge amount of weight. The big weight factor, I believe, is the intake manifold. Because the intake port faces are so much further apart, the cast iron manifolds would weigh a lot more than an LA manifold. This, of course, is not so much of an issue with an aftermarket aluminium manifold.
Wow, an old thread comes back to life, and for once it has some value. I was one of the skeptics about swapping poly heads onto a LA block but a few months back I saw a 360 with head/cam swap. Classic story of the guy not necessarily 'knowing' that it wouldn't work so off he goes and deals with the few issues that are present and gets it done. The engine was in a Duster with a 4-speed and headers made from an LA set. With the advent of the cheap stroker cranks there is only the slight advantage of the 4" bore so in practical terms of building a big-inch poly it is probably best just to use the 318P as is and go for 400ci. .
I totally agree. There's been talk on the 318 Poly Yahoo Group of late about replacing the header flanges on Ford 390 headers with 318 Poly ones, too. Figure I'll toss that out here too, in case anyone hasn't heard of this. I've seen it done more than a few times. ~Jason
The Jalopy Journal
