I recently picked up a 1960 Dodge Pioneer in Arizona. This car hasn't run in many decades and I'm going to make a custom out of it. It has the stock 318 poly in it. I haven't checked to see if it is stuck or not. I have a buddy who has a 413 that he wants to sell. I was considering making the swap. Does anyone have any helpful information? I was curious if the rb 413 would easily swap into the Dart considering it wasn't the big body Dodge in 1960. Will I have to make special provisions under the hood to support this swap? Also, does anyone have any input on the 318 performance? Thanks.
Dodge offered a 361 in the Phoenix, so big blocks were an option in the Dart line. I'm pretty sure they had a specific torsion bar only used on the big blocks, but I'm not sure if the K member is different or not. If it is, you might want to source a big block K member to swap in instead of cutting up a 318 one. Also, what year is the 413? Pretty sure the earlier ones and later ones have a different bellhousing pattern, meaning if yours is a later one, you'd have to swap out your transmission, too. Poly 318's are not powerhouses but they are long lasting and surprisingly efficient. My '60 Fury would get 24 mpg with the 3 speed Torqflite in it. Factory 4 barrel intakes are around but not exactly common.
The factory parts obviously exist and there were some '60-61 Dodges running the 413" in FX classes. One bit of arcane trivia, some were running the old Borg-Warner T85 3-speed. Didn't shift quickly enough on the 1-2, so that's what lead to the 'typewriter-shift' Torqueflites being used. Also, there's a faint memory of Norm Thatcher running a '60 Dart with several different RB at Bonneville. He got up to 191 or so. http://www.forwardlook.net/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=7092 So, as advised, the best way would be to find a big block 361"-383" and compare the differences between those and your 318". IIRC, there were some special exhaust manifolds required also. jack vines
"Chryslerpower.com" is making an aluminum 4 BBL manifold for the early Polys. If you order before Saturday, you can get one for $399; after that, it's $599!
^^^^what they said -an 318 poly should not be to costly on a rebuild -they went to about 1966 or so....there is a crank difference from early 1957 to I'mnot sure....the 3x2 set up comes up often at swap meets and usually because of demand is to costly....good luck....a buddie has a more door sitting...
318 poly takes a different trans than any R or RB block. Early 413s had a different crank early vs late trans have some differences to match the cranks. I wouldn't fool around with a 413, go right to a 440! (later model parts were more plentiful and are easier to find)
yes there were a lot of changes made in those years. I put a 63 383 into my 58 Plymouth and I had to get a later torgueflight and lost my emergency brake so I had to change my rear end etc. etc. It's not that hard but it can get complicated. It's not exactly a drop in but not too bad either.
You will need different motor mounts (floating power) for the 413. These people make them: http://www.imperialservices.net/Cparts.html You didn't say what you would do tranny wise, but as someone mentioned, the 318 bellhousing will not bolt up.
one thing to consider-the crankshaft flange on 1962 and later is different so you will need to use the later trans if the 413 is 62 or later as it will not bolt up. I am not sure if the k member is different but I don,t think so. the slant six cars used a different k though. jim p s you might visit forward look.net as there bare a lot of people who have done this over there.
I've gotta agree with Squablow here. A few years back our car club went on a roadtrip to Iowa for a car show. My friend had a '65 Coronet with the 318 poly in it. At every gas stop he was putting in way less gas than everyone else. We thought he was trying to pull a fast one on us and was underfilling his tank. Toward the end of our trip getting to Iowa, we were all watching him gas up, and sure enough, he was filling it all the way up. Once we got there we checked all his gas reciepts and mileage readings, and it turns out that car was averaging just under 27 MPG! I couldn't believe it. It made a 318 poly believer out of me! I know having a big motor is a blast, but nowadays with the price of gas, maintenance and the cost of living, driving an old car can get expensive. If a guy can have the cool style of an older car with liveable gas mileage, I say go the route of the 318..........E
Hahah Scotty T we probably will. I was just curious considering a neighbor down the road at a rebuilt 413. Being the car is all original it would probably be best to use the 318 I suppose.
As mentioned, the 318P is dead reliable and in stock trim is rated in the 210-230hp range. With a proper rebuild (bump the c/r, decent cam) 4-bbl intake and electronic ignition it will likely surprise you. You will not be able to use any of the stroker cranks available as they are for the post-62 blocks...yes, they would physically fit but that is a whole new can-o-worms. .
Yeah it's home in the garage, but we're putting it on ice for a while. The Mercury is just such a fast project so we decided to do that one first.
The Jalopy Journal
