Hi all, I have a 1959 two door dodge suburban. It has dropped a valve. My question is: what sort of motor could I fit in front of the polyflite push button trans, how much power will the trans take? Should I just go for an engine/ trans package? I was thinking big block hemi. 2nd question: I will be in the U.S. in august,S.F/ Reno/ Bonneville/ N.y.where or who should I go and see for engines/transmissions. New or rebuilt. Any input would be greatly appreciated, Cheers all. WOODY
What sort of motor and transmission are fitted now? There was a flathead 6 and a choice of V8s that year, all took different transmissions. There were 2 auto boxes, a 2 speed and a 3 speed known as Powerflite and Torqueflite. In the US, a "1959 two door Dodge Suburban" would be a car based station wagon. Under the circumstances I would try to rebuild the engine. If this was not possible I would try to find a replacement in Australia.
Woody, do you have any connections with a freight forwarder/consolidator. Normally, when we ship a built engine to OZ, it goes to a consolidator in LA and he puts it in container bound down under. We've got a few old Mopar polysphere cores we could discuss a build with you. jack vines
If it's a flat 6 I believe to only thing would be another flat 6. If it's an "A" Poly then the early hemi & hemi based Polys, plus any '61 & earlier of the "A" Poly family 277, 313,318 ect would bolt up. If you mean 426 hemi by big block hemi that would take a post '61 big block box. So if you want a big block 383, 440, 426 you'll need both, same with a post '61 small block 340/318/360 you'd need the engine & SB Chr box.
thanks for the replys, It has a two stage auto with 318 poly I am tossing up whether or not to hot rod her, I know this is a rare wagon. I have already fitted 4wdiscs as the orig. brakes were poked. I think this wagon is a plodge, it has a Plymouth rear and dodge front.
Your car was most likely built in the states for export. If the rear of the car looks like a '59 Plymouth, it will have a Plymouth engine. Here we nickname those cars 'Plodges'. I am not sure what Mopar did in the assembly plant there in Oz, but this holds true on most export or domestic Mopars of this vintage that I have seen. ---John
For tax purposed cars were usually built in Canada(part of the Empire, you know!) & sent down, unless Chr Australia was building cars then.
It could be an Australian made Dodge which is based on the 1954 US Plymouth. It could be a Canadian made Dodge which is a Plymouth with Dodge trim. Or it could be a US made Dodge. I still say it would be easiest and cheapest to rebuild the engine you have. Next best would be to buy another engine locally. One problem is that they changed the engine/ trans interface in 1962 so newer engines will not fit your transmission. The wide block or Polysphere engine is under rated. They were always overshadowed by the big brother Hemi and later the B and RB big block engines. This does not seem to be the case in Australia, I have heard there are hop up parts and specialists down under who have made a specialty of this engine with gratifying results.
They got mainly the 318 A & LA, very few 340s. To keep up with the Clevos they had to get into stroking & boring the As & stroking the LAs.
What I am driving at is this. It would be easier and cheaper to rebuild the old engine than to import one from 12,000 miles away. If the rod went through the block, it would be easier and cheaper to buy an engine in Australia than to import one from 12,000 miles away. Fortunately that engine was used in thousands of Australian made cars. There should be engines and parts available. There should also be mechanics and speed shops who know how to work on them. Or, you could fly to the USA, buy a 360 V8 and matching transmission and rear axle, fly them to Australia, have them installed, and have something slightly better for 5 times the money.
Well, I am on the way, just had tranny rebuilt and painted...looks fabulous! I am going to stroke the engine and boring it out new valves head work four barrel etc. I'm not sure if the trans will mate up to the stroker crank because the bottom end is the same as the LA? If this is so , no stroker. does anyone know? I read about a poly build in the mopar muscle mag they got her out to 402. I am hoping I can do similar. Does anyone know where I can get a four barrel manifold? twin fours would be great! Thanks for your comments! WOODY.
No, the '59 trans will not work with the new style stroker cranks. Since you have rebuilt the trans then you are stuck with the pre-62 block and crank. There are many threads here on the Hamb that could be searched, there are multiple forums that deal with the car, the engine or both, and they could be searched. Not trying to bust your balls on this, just suggesting you do plenty of homework before spending any more money. Contact Gary Pavlovich for engine details and parts. .
The stroker crank only works with '62(US) & later 318s. www.moparmarket.com forums has Threads on the strokers. New 4 bl Poly intakes http://chryslerpower.com/webstore/Exhaust/Manifolds/Poly-SS-Manifold
Is there no way to adapt the stroker crank to the old torque converter, or the later torque converter to the old trans?
The flange on the 61 & earlier A Poly is the same as the early hemis, 8 hole vs 6, and there's a difference in length. With the OEM crank you use a 392 bell adaptor & 426 flexplate to bolt up a modern 727. The old style TC had 8 studs that went through the flange, no problem tapping them for flexplate bolts. Going the other way I can't remember if the flange would have to be shortend or a spacer of some sort fitted, of if the flange holes are such that the studs of the early TC would fit through them & if there is room for the nuts on the back side of the flange. Off hand I can't remember if you can use the new TC on the old tranny.
I know the old crank sticks out farther so you have room to put the bolts in. Newer style does not need the room because you screw the bolts right into the crank flange.
Yes, you could design and build a flange adapter as you have 'about' 0.700" to work with. The reality however, is that this one part will be worth (in real design time and machine time) about $1k....assuming that the designer actually finds a reasonable solution before wasting too much of your money on the search. You could also incorporate the needed changes into the crank and modify the flange itself but the final costs will be about the same. Now, if your son-in-law is a mechanical engineer and your brother-in-law has a machine shop... .
thanks guy's for the advice, I had read about the stroker poly engine build but didn't know there was an early/late poly engine so just went ahead and got the trans done, 2900aud. if I can't find a way around the stroker I guess I just use the std crank, I' sure I can get substantially more H.P. buy upgrading the original motor. Valves, inlet, hydraulic cam/lifters etc. I have time so any other advice would be greatly appreciated, cheers WOODY.
Build the 318 Poly you have - great engines. New manifold coming out for it: http://chryslerpower.com/webstore/Poly-SS-Manifold
There are many things you can do without changing the crank: higher c/r, reground cam, bigger valves, electronic ignition... I can supply most of the pieces if you need a source. .
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