325 Dodge engine in my 55 Ply bodied Desoto - This kept the original style Poly rocker covers with extra oomph! Motor is cammed with 4 barrel manifold
How about the original 277 poly motor? By the way, you wouldn't have a good 3 speed manual transmission would you?
Down under we got the 277 in the 56's and 99% of our cars were auto's. All the 55's sold new here witrh a v8 got the 259/260 Plymouth Hifire poly motor. Again our market had the Desoto export models which were the ply bodys with Desoto trim/grille etc. There are a few here with later model LA engines and quite as few get the BB treatment yet with these conversions you need to change diff and brakes at the same time to accomodate the bigger horse power and handbrake location
Originally a 277 Poly car, mine is soon-to-be a 440 4-bbl. Got it sitting on the stand right now. All I have left to do on that 440 now is finish bolting it together, since the carb, dizzy, valve covers, intake and exhaust manifolds are just sitting on the long block, waiting for me to put the gaskets on and bolt them down!
where do i find 259 ploy rebuild kits or will the hemi kits interchange ive done some looking and cant find any im sure this isn't the right place to put this but i though i would give it a try thanks
Egge and kanter have poly rebuild kits last time I checked. Watch out though - they are pricey! I have actually gotten custom forged aftermarket pistons made to my specs cheaper then those guys sell some cast replacement pistons, so do your homework before you order!
383 all done up waiting to be fitted....any suggestions regarding the oil filter fitting...looks like I will have to cut deep into the motor cross member to get it to fit. Can anyone send me pictures of motor mounts for a big block mopar in their 55 or 56?
Nothing in mine yet, but a 318 poly automatic with 53000 miles is sitting on a pallet next to it waiting for me to have time.
I had a Red Ram Dodge hemi in a 55 Plaza tudor post that I had when I got drafted. Dad's landlord had it hauled off one day while I was in Vietnam along with a 57 Plymouth tudor post that wasn't mine. There are so many Mopar choices that work that it boggles the mind a bit. 318 Poly engines that look like they were born there. 318, 360 that can be found all over the place (340 being in the too cool but too hard to find and a tad spendy group) 383/440 if you want power or lots of power. The engine kit for the 330 Desoto hemi I have in the shed is over 1000 bucks and that is just a couple of boxes of parts. Even just farming the machine work out and doing the assembly myself that is going to be expensive for a mild street motor. Unless you have really deep pockets the hemis are out of reach for a lot of guys these days.
I have said this before. Long ago, at Bremerton Raceway, were the Bertolli brothers. One had a very nice, BBC powered, Ford Falcon (early style) Hardtop; the other had a 55 or 56 Dodge 4 door sedan, known as the "Quad Dodge"; 340-Torqueflite powered drag car. Real low dollar, but effective combination for the bracket class it ran. Never knew what happened to either of the brothers, let alone their cars. The Quad Dodge was a really odd combination to say the least. I am Butch/56sedandelivery.
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