I have the oportunity to buy a 55 dodge royal lancer at a good deal. The old car is a solid body. Two door hard top, runs and drives nice. My question is what size engine would this be? I didn't have anything to write down codes with when I was looking at the car and it is about a 3 hour ride from me. What kind of hrsepower did this little hemi have and what hot rod parts are available for it?
It's a 270 cubic inch, but not all of the V8 cars were hemis, some of them, like mine, have a poly head 270 inch motor, so keep that in mind. There were 3 different combinations, a 175 hp motor, a 183 hp motor and a 193 hp motor, the difference was the carb and what heads it had.
1955 would be a 270 if it's still got the engine it was delivered with. Dodge probably sold more flathead 6's than v-8's though. Like others have said, it could be a hemi, or a poly. If you know what a hemi looks like (spark plugs in the middle of the valve cover), you'll know which one it is. I've built a couple of these now. The 270 is referred to as a low-deck motor (the 315 and 325 were high deck). The advantage of the low-deck is that the distributor out of any 318/360 will work. I have a Mallory Unilite in mine right now (A Pertronix would be excellent as well), and it drives an MSD box. The MSD box drives the coil. This is so reliable, and so hot, you can run just about any spark gap. I like the Mallory as it is a mechanical advance, so there's no vacuum voodoo. There's no parts available, so keep your eye out for spares. You can get pistons at Egge, but only low compression and at a few sizes of overbore. I had to go with Ross forged pistons because of an odd bore size. Hydraulic lifters are the same as the Chrysler motors, so you can get those. If you have to deck the block and/or mill the heads, you can also get adjustable pushrods. Hot Heads sells a lot of stuff for old Dodges.
crider, even if its a "poly" these engines are becoming very cool and mildly sought after, and you can make them a into a Hemi fairly easily, not that its necessary. I have a Super Red Ram 270 Hemi or two around, I am a big fan of the "baby" Hemis, smallest in size and lightest in weight of the 3 Chrysler, Desoto and Dodge. I like using them for my builds just for that reason. There is a wealth of info here, good luck with your decision.
It is a hemi and runs very well. I did drive the old car for a few miles when I went and looked at it. Actually is a pretty tight car, for being over 50 years old. I just didn't think to get any codes and wasn't sure what size it is, and if anythin was available to get some more power out of it. it was just a little sluggish in a big car with the 2 speed tranny.
Getting it stopped would be the problem MP Brakes sells disk brake kits for the front-end. If you pop the valve covers off, you'll probably see a lot of sludge. The old leaded gas and non-detergeant oil really made for ugly engines back then. Hopefully the guy has converted at some time to detergeant oil. You can get oil filter adaptors to convert it to spin-on filters, but you have to drop the crank to pull the old bypass ball and spring, and replace it with a full flow bypass (Hot Heads). Offy is making a 4-bbl manifold, and you can put an edelbrock carb on that. I'd get a gasket set right off the bat, and get a couple extra intake gaskets. Pop the heads and get a valve job. New valves, valve guides and removal of 10 pounds of gunk, along with a new intake will probably get it flowing again. I didn't get my rockers rebuilt, just had them cleaned up, and they worked fine. I had to go with adjustable pushrods though, as my heads needed milling by .010 to get them flat. The Dodge heads take 85 pounds of torque, versus the Chrysler 100 pounds. You can go 100, but if you crack a rocker stand, it may be 3 years before you find another one. Sanderson sells some block hugger headers that along with a nice 2" exhaust will let the engine breathe. Hot Heads also sells tranny adapters, and a TH350 or 700R4 will get you into something that can be repaired in some two horse town going cross country...
I had a 270 and took it apart- the intake ports are quite small around 100-110 cc's only- as compared to a Chrysler Poly intake port at 150 cc's. The heads would need some major porting to even hit 300 HP on a 325 block. The engine is worth buying for around $300 to get the rocker shafts/valve covers. The cam is different than the later 315/325 because the 270 is a "low deck" motor, and the 315/325 is a "high deck". If you had a 325 poly block and just wanted to make a cheap Dodge hemi, the 270 would be worth getting for the top end- but you'd still need a cam. Don't pay a lot for it- I paid $300 plus $250 shipping for a 270 Dodge hemi and looking back I paid too much ! Save the money and buy a 315 or 325 top end. If you could get it for $200-$300 then it's worth it for the to end Hemi stuff.
The '55 Royal Lancer came with a 270 2 bl Hemi. Performance can be increased with 315/325 heads. On www.webrodder.com there is a 315 build & an unfinished series on the 241.
crider, any PIX of the '55 ??? The bodies, trim & paint were cool in '55 and '56, as MoPar transitioned toward the wild fins of the late'50s!!!
Incorrect on the crank info. Only the main cap would be removed. Re: rocker stands...how many do you want?? If there is a 'shortage' it is contrived. Over-torque can cause problems but not with the stands. Wilcap make the shiverlay adapter. We make the adapter for the Mopar manual and TF trans. Keep in mind that a trans swap envolves more than just the trans. Follow George's advise, grab a six-pack and start reading Scooters Hemi Tech...it will keep you busy all day. .
Yes, you're right. For some reason I remembered it being under the crank, and not off to the side. How many Dodge stands you got?
this brings up an interesting point: the Dodge poly heads will make more power than the early Dodge hemi heads. I cc'd the intake ports on the 270 Dodge vs. the 325 polysphere- the Hemi is 110 cc, while the poly had 125 cc same holds true for the big Chrysler- the 1951-53 Chrysler hemi heads had 115 cc intake ports, while the later 331/354 poly heads have 150 cc intake ports- quite a bit bigger/better, the poly has a 30% larger intake port than an early Hemi the only reason to use an early small-valve, small-port Dodge or Chrysler hemi head is for looks- from the power aspect, they are severely flow limited
Scrounger, INTERESTING data, dude. Any idea what the stated hp ratings (@ what rpm) these enignes rated at? Sure got ME curious!
Not a rhetorical question, either here. Didn't Lee Petty win the NASCAR championship in '54 with a Doge? Was that a Hemi or a Poly head engine?
I have a 241 Red Ram in my 1935 Ford..It sure gives me enough power..I wouldn't install a 340 oil pump, use the stock one. I ran into lots of issues when installing the pump. I have adjustable rockers, I didn't want to use adjustable push rods.. I had the rockers modified by Rocker Arms Specialty, Gary..I wanted to use my embossed valve covers not dimpled. The dimples are for the exhaust rockers and Gary tricked them for me.. There is nothing like a HEMI, BABY or full GROWN.. Duane
Sweet -- it could look like this..... This one belongs to SapienKustom....few body mods and it has people walking around it once or twice before they ask what it is.
.55 270 Hemi 7.6 183 HP 55 270 Poly 7.6 175 HP HP rating @ 4400 It should be noted that things are nominal. The 241s are rated @ 7.0-7.5 CR where Doc was saying the 241 in the series measured @ 6.19 CR!
my girl just got one for 3k- it is a beauty -270 red ram- Just drove for about 3 hours no problem. Ive never seen one on the road before
Ok I bought a 57 Desoto. I think the engine is a 270. Is this the engine that can be converted to a Hemi by changing the heads?
from what I can see of the LH valve cover, it is a B series engine, not A or hemi. If it is, it's not a 57. At least take the wash tub off!
@Old wolf '57 Desoto used Dodge 325 inch polysphere head engines. Or, if hemis, they were Desoto 341 & 345 inchers, depending on application. In '58 models the 325 Dodge poly was replaced with a 'B' series (mentioned above by @KenC ) of, I believe, 350 cu in. Ray
I now think its a 58 instead of a 57. It has a two bbl carb. rather large carb for a 2 bbl. I put the washtub to keep rain oout of the carb. I already removed the hood and brought it home. Yep I looked and on page 42 of my 32ND Hollander book it shows a 58 grille.
its not a 270. Top in my 55, 270 Hemi. Bottom photo 270. Note the bolts holding valve covers on. the photo you show is more like a 361 or 383.
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