Ok so for my 30th birthday my good friends went and rescued my 1956 dodge truck from the southern california desert and surprised me with it on my birthday. The truck has a V8 however I am having a heck of a time identifying exactly which motor I have in it. Block #1737929 Intake #1828103 (has a 4bl Carter) Head Gasket #Fel-Pro 7734pt Cylinder Bore 3.95 inches. I want to know what engine obviously so I can order some parts. I have previously worked on many fords and some chevy's but this is my first mopar. I plan on getting this engine running. The engine turns over. I had a stuck valve but that issue has resolved. I plan to next clean up the heads, intake, and get a new carb. Any help would be appreciated. Teroy
A 318 has a 3.91 bore and a 3.31 stroke. Is the valve cover scalloped along the bottom? A saw tooth design indicates a 318. It sounds like a 318.
1737929 is a shared casting number, it could be a 57-301 or a 59-326 the list for 1737929 includes dodge-60-62-318,dodge-59 - 326 dodge trk .59-64,318-plymouth -57-301-plymouth 57-60,318.<!-- / message -->
The valve covers are scalloped on the bottom. So I should check out the stroke of the engine tomorrow I suppose. That is crazy how many combinations it could be. I was thinking it was either a bored over 318 or possibly the the 326. Would the cast 4bl manifold point me any direction?
Don't let that manifold out of your sight, the A engine guys would love to have it. FWIW, all A series engines, 1956 to 1962, interchange as a unit. In 62 there were some changes that complicate swapping to a newer engine...not impossible, just adds some work. .
So I tracked down the previous owner of the truck and was told it has a 318 bored 30 or 40 over. The plan is to clean up the heads and intake get some new gaskets ordered find a carb and a few other things to get it fired up.
Cool...and then put that sucker in a cool, light little 27 T roadster with the stick tranny. Seriously, I had a 55 low-box stepside and loved it.......all except for the weird brake setup. Seems I was rebuilding/replacing wheel cylinders every weekend. Mine was the little guy ..a shortbox and it had the flathead 6/ 3speed that was reliable as an anvil. C3 must be the 3/4 ton model, eh? Show a photo of it here. Here's the only photo of my old 55 I have. Too bad it's hidden behind my old 57 Pontiac in the photo.
We had five '56 4 X 4 two door Dodge Carry-All type rigs used by the Forestry Timber Cruisers and those had the 326 in them. Four on the floor and great on and off road performance too. I wish I could find one reasonably priced to restore. Normbc9
i did a full resto on a 55 c3 v8. the motor was a 259 ci. poly motor. from what i found out, there were a bunch of poly motors with the scalloped valve covers. pylmouths apparently had a 270 poly around the same time. dont know the motor specs and measurements thought.
The intakes on the A Polys seal the valley, the Hemi based Polys have a seperate intake & valley cover.