Good or Bad choice?

[kkaiser001]

I have a chance to get a 60's 318 Poly and trans for less than 300.00 (Running). I have a 46 P15 Bus coupe that needs a new motor. Good choice or bad? Tell me what you think.

[oldodge41]

I like it!

[kkaiser001]

Hear anything good or bad on these motor's? Pros/Cons

[greg g]

strong engine, not a lot of aftermarket performance stuff. Unique look, but not an easy install due to interference with stock steering box. Need to offset engine to pass side of the car. Doable with good mechanical skills. Transmission choice my also be a bit of a problem.

[kkaiser001]

Motor has a tranny but dont know anything of it other than being automatic. I plan on running a 91 explorer rear end and changing the steering up a little maybe a R&P setup. I am also changing over to the F1 shock mounts for a better ride.

[Young Ed]

Transmission should be an early torqueflite. Depending on how early you may find it doesn't have a park position. A push button shift would be cool and unique in your p15 though.

[Andydodge]

I have had a little experience with 318 polys since one has lived in my 1940 dodge sedan since 1973., whilst they are a neat and uncommon engine now they have some idiosyncracies.........what exact year is your engine?.

The ideal ones to get are post 1962, with the alloy trans, simply because the alloy 727/904's are much lighter and easier to get parts for. Hipo bits are not easy to find either, the 57/57 Furys had a cast iron twin 4 intake, a single 4 cast iron intake was availble up to 1960/61 but after that till the dropping of the Poly in 1967 it was a single 2 barrel intake only.

Afermarket intakes were available but apart from the Weiand single 4 intake the others such as a triple 97 and twin four are very hard to find.

If your engine has the alloy gearbox then its a 1963 onwards and is a worthwhile thing, if its the 62 & earlier with the cast iron box then I'd be a little hesitant........as for installing in a 40's mopar they ARE A WIDE engine due to the head design, and it would be MUCH easier to install a later version, ie, the 273/318/340/360 LA Series as these are MUCH narrower BUT will still require to be offset by a couple of inches to clear the steering column.

As I mentioned I have had a 1962 318 poly in my car since 1973 and have become used to its foibles but I would not hesitate to swap it for the later, 1963 version if I could find one here in Oz.......have attached a couple of pics of the original twin 4 intake setup I had on it in the mid 70's and what it has now, a Weiand single 4.........regards, Andy Douglas

[1941Rick]

Andy...your brake booster is on the wrong side....lol

I had a 62 dodge dart with a 318, 2 bbl carb, 3 spd trany.....good power.

Good enough to cost me my drivers lic for a few months...me was bad..

Edited March 28, 2012 by 1941Rick

[Young Ed]

Andy...your brake booster is on the wrong side....lol

I had a 62 dodge dart with a 318, 2 bbl carb, 3 spd trany.....good power.

Good enough to cost me my drivers lic for a few months...me was bad..

Yes for sure. Dad has a 64 Fury with the 318 automatic. It propells that fury faster than either his 66 or 69 furys with 383s.

[Rusty O'Toole]

I don't see the point. Any Polysphere motor is now at least 45 years old. It will need to be rebuilt just like your old flathead.

To me the sensible choice would be to rebuild the flathead (good) or install a newer engine that does not need to be rebuilt (bad).

However, the Poly 318 would make a very cool nostalgia hot rod. It would be a lot of work and expense to pull off but if you were after a sixties hot rod effect it would be perfect.

[65rbdodge]

any LA trans will bolt to the later poly 318 with the exception of one bolt does not line up. all LA parts will interchange with the exception of the heads, intake, cam, exhaust manifolds.

[kkaiser001]

Thanks! A great bunch of replies. You know the old story "this motor was in my grandfathers car and doesnt have but maybe 40,000 miles on it" Well thats pretty much the same story on this engine. It's not in the car of course so cant hear it run, Big Surprise! UH. I guess for less than 250.00 bucks I cant go but so wrong, but hey if nothing else the parts from it are worth somthing I guess. I will find out this weekend when I check it out and update everyone on how it went.

[kkaiser001]

Here is a Pic I had send to me of the engine. Maybe this will help.

[1941Rick]

I used to chase 289/271hp mustangs and 383 roadrunners much to their surprise...

[Andydodge]

KK........I can see the tailshaft handbrake sitting on the end of that cast iron torqueflite...............If it were me I be very hesitant because as mentioned, the better bet is to find a 63 or newer Poly that will have the alloy gearbox which is must easier for parts. basically all poly internals are the same from 1957 to 1966-67 when they were replaced by the LA series 318.

As for it being 45yrs old, yep but its something different.......which is nice but its a bit of work to do.

If I were doing it all again and know what I know now I would have found the 63 or newer Poly or chased up a 340/360........nothing beats cubic inches......lol.

BUT if it was here in OZ, within 500 miles travel of me I'd happily give $250 for it, no questions asked.........andyd

[greg g]

63 and newer would have a disposable spin on filter. So I would guess its older. But What the heck? Yer not building a racer are you?

[kkaiser001]

Just looking for Mopar and somthing diffrent. Tired or seeing the same old thing in all the builds. Know what I mean! Just a rebel without a Motor!!

[Young Ed]

If that's your goal this 318 seems like the perfect choice. And you get those cool wavy rocker covers.

[Andydodge]

On my 318 Poly I have an LA series oil filter plate that the LA series used to bolt onto the block to run the oil lines up to the bracket on the intake manifold where the filter bolted UPSIDE down and dumped oil everywhere when it was changed...........lol........

What I did was use that LA plate, it bolts onto the 318 Poly and run a pair of oil lines up to a Ford type Z9 Remote filter bracket that bolts onto the engine bay side panel, then the outlet from the remote filter bracket has a line going to the front mounted Engine Oil Cooler that is from a British Morris Mini(same cooler that the racing mini's mount when they remove the grille to go racing).........an oil line runs from the other side of the cooler back to the LA block plate........so I have both a remote Oil Filter and Cooler.

Also I have a Remote Trans fluid Filter on the trans line that goes to the Remote Trans fluid Cooler that mounts under the US drivers side running board it has a sheetmetal scoop to assist in airflow.

Also make sure that you definately use a thermostat in the engine, the original radiator should cool it o/k but definately run a fan, if the 318 fan won't work, get an electric aftermarket one, mount it with a manual switch that allows YOU to turn it on when needed......much better then turning it on after its boiled

Also the stock small block mopar engine mounts are a pain to fit into anything else.........make up a pair of plates that bolton the block and have a plate between then with a hole in the middle of this horizontal plate. Then get a set of early Ford flathead "biscuit" type mounts and use them to mount the engine onto plates coming off the chassis. Also the rectangular gearbox mount that the cast iron Torqueflites used are a POS........my opinion anyway........make up a plate that bolts onto where the gearbox mount bolts onto the trans but WIDER, then get a small block chev style mount and bolt it onto the plate.......works just a well, has the rubber molded around the steel and is MUCH cheaper to replace and easier to find.

......hope this helps........andyd

[kkaiser001]

Thanks, A bunch of great information. I am sure I will hit you up for a answer or two before the engine install is complete. That is if I get it! I am going Sat morning to check it out. More than likely I will bring it home unless I see somthing bad. I will update on this over the weekend and let everyone know.

[Andydodge]

Well I'll have it......lol.........postage might be an issue tho'.......andyd

[kkaiser001]

Well I picked the Poly up today. I could not resist, Super clean turns nice and smooth. It turns out to be a 64 318 all there except for the alt bracket and alt, and a fuel pump. Hope to do a compression check on it in the next few days. I hope for the best since I have been a blind squirrel for a while, maybe this is my nut! Who knows!

[Andydodge]

KK........are you sure its a 64?........is the gearbox cast iron, ie, alloy bell housing, cast iron gearbox & alloy tailpiece with the handbrake on the rear?........My understanding is that the all alloy 727/904 box was used from 1963..............happy to be wrong tho'..........lol..............andyd

[kkaiser001]

The numbers on the block are as follows.

2468230

12.29.64

I cant find any numbers on the Tranny but did use a magnet on it and the only thing it stuck to was the brake drum on the tail peice.

[Paul Hoffmeyer]

Apparently not everyone knows that Mopar used the transmission mounted parking brake drum on all its cars up through the '64 model year. I had a '64 Dodge Custom 880 years ago with a 361 and Torqueflight and the attached parking brake. It also had a separate , horizontal lever under the push buttons for the Park function, thus the third cable you can see in the left side view coming from the tailshaft section.

My 4 cents(inflation) worth.

Paul H