Hey Jack Thomas, how about posting a pic of your Offy valve covers. I've never heard of or seen a set. I thought Edelbrock was the only one who made covers for the "A" series Poly back in the day? swifty
That looks like a pre-'62 318 Poly all right - it was made between late 1956 and late 1959, making it come from a '57 - '59 Plymouth (known as the V-800). Of course, this assumes the generator bracket wasn't taken from a '57 - '59 318 Poly and put on another one from '59 - '62, which I doubt. The V-800 was used in Dodge trucks in 1959. Before that it was a Plymouth exclusive. The alternator was brought out by Chrysler in 1960. Hope that narrows it down for you. Oh, and I saw your post on the 318 Poly Yahoo Group, too! ~Jason
Thanks Abomination. I was able to find the casting number and verify that it is a Poly A 318. Now, if I could just get keys made so I can see if it runs... : )
If you have AAA, they'll come out and make 'em for free - lots of old timers still have the blanks. If you don't have AAA, have a friend call - you get what, 3 calls a year? Most folks don't even use 'em. They'll even make sure the glove box locks. As for making it turn, just grab a battery and some jumper cables. Put the battery on the ground, hook the cables to it, and crawl under the truck. Hook the cable from the ground on the battery ot the frame or starter bolt, and tap the cable that goes to the positive on the battery on the hot wire on the starter solenoid (you'll know it's the right one because the cable is HUGE and can be easily traced to the positive terminal on the truck's battery. It'll turn it over, but not start it. Make sure your brake is on and it's not in gears and it's chocked, etc. Alternatively, you can put the truck in first gear (assuming a manual transmission) and pull it with a lawn tractor (in low gear). If the brake is off and it rolls, the motor's free. Might not be too bad an idea to pull the plugs and spary some PB Blaster in each of the holes real good. Hell, waste a quarter can on each side, wait an afternoon, and repeat. That'll break 'er loose! If it's loose and you're real anxious to get 'er going, you can always wire in a rocker switch (so you can get power to the coil) and a momentary contact switch (for the starter) and fire it up. Just about any backyard mechanic can help you with that, easy peasy. Feel free to ask any questions - even about that Stromberg WW carb. ~Jason
Last cast iron stock intake I sold went for $400.00. Those puppies are rare! Apparently they quit making 4 barrel poly's in 62. I had a pair that came out of an old Chris Craft boat. Seek and ye shall find.....
In stock 2-bbl form, the '57 - '66 ('67 in Canada) 318 Poly is a relatively easy find. All parts are readily available, as most of 'em but the intake and valvetrain/heads are the same as an LA 318. But if you're looking for speed parts, those are hard to find. They only made so many of the factory cast iron 4-bbl intakes, and ditto for the aluminum ones. The factory or aftermarket dual quad is getting harder to find, and folks want stupid money for 'em. And don't even get me started on the tripple-deuce or Edelbrock finned valve covers! That stuff is out there, though. Hell, Weiand made a 4-bbl intake - essentially a repop of the factory cast iron one in functionality - clear up until the Holley buyout a few years ago! There are roller calvetrains to be had, and newer finned aluminum valve covers, too. Rare? No, not these motors - they were the bread & butter for like 10 years! From performance V-800 in the Plymouth in the early days, to the later days as a run-of-the-mill base V8 in the 60s, these are all over. It's the speed parts that'll drive you nuts - especially if you don't know where to look!
Been looking at your pics here, Kirsten: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=510769&highlight=318+poly&page=2 If that push button transmission panel is what I think it is - a '59 Dodge - you could be looking at a Red Ram 326: the biggest A motor there is. They look visually identical to the 318 Poly and other A motors. If that's the transmission that was mated to that motor, that's what you have. And since the block numbers are the same I believe, about the only way to see is to measure the stroke.
So the casting numbers would be the same? The number I pulled off the block is 2468230. I have been trying to identify the push button panel but haven't had any luck. How can you tell it's a 59? And, what do you think it came out of? Also, what does it mean to measure the stroke? I just added a close up of the push buttons to the album in my profile... Thanks!
On later inspection, the panel appears to be from a '59 Desoto: Brochure: http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/stat...o/1959_DeSoto_Brochure/1959 DeSoto-12-13.html http://www.chooseyouritem.com/classics/photos/79500/79812-4.1959.DeSoto.Deluxe.4-Door.Sedan.jpg Another pic, showing the pattern on the panel: http://www.webridestv.com/photos/1959-desoto-fireflight-sportsman-2d-33046/1 Based on deduction, you have a pre-1959 318 Poly (that's an OEM generator bracket - they started using alternators in 1960) bolted to a TF727 from a '59 Desoto (with the corresponding push-button linkage). Because it's bolted to that transmission, it's definitely a pre-'62 318 Poly. ~Jason
Anytime, man! That's an interesting setup. It should be posted on the main board as "Frankenstein truck - How Many Pieces Can You Identify?" It would be great fun for all! ~Jason
There's only about three heads that I would like to see be made into MODERN heads. And the 318 Poly is one of them. Imho, MOPAR musta really been counting pennies when they didn't modernize the poly-head.... Another is the Jag May head's combustion chamber in a SB Chevy configuration and next, the Chevy Z-11 427 "W" head. I'd make the 427 "W" head like Mr. Fueling's aluminum truck torque head and use matching dished pistons so that it fit on a 454 BB. pdq67
Up here in Canada we got 313's! Something to do with exporting them to Europe or Australia and the licencing laws being based on displacement...? Anyway, the 318 was a late comer up here. We had a '62 Dart with a 4-bbl and T-flite that went pretty good. Wish I still had that intake! A neighbor had a '58 Fury, 318,or possibly a 326 (American car) dual fours. Black, and fast!
This law? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_Pact I know in '65 (until '67) Canada got the US 318 because of that.... ~Jason
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