toss the poly 318 for 360?

ed9diaz · Jan 6, 2014

Im torn between keeping & rebuilding my poly 318 on my '66 charger or building and swapping to a LA 360.

its a 2bbl with factory a/c. But theres a factory poly 4bbl intake and carb available in my local craigslist which i can get ahold of.

Although it has seen better days & it smokes a bit, my poly still runs great. runs like a swiss watch.

i can say i have a little bit of purist in me but i also love performance on a budget.

the poly block just looks cool & its original. but performance parts are pretty expensive compared to the LA series. & to boot i am on a college student budget.

big block is out of the question, as that gets a tad more involved.

Would my car loose its value swapping to a 360?

any imput is greatly appreciated

thanks :unitedstates:

Blackheart · Jan 6, 2014

Forget the 360 and keep the Poly, much cooler engine, but most of all, it's original to the car. The internals should cost about the same to rebuild. If you can find a 4bbl intake locally you would be good to go. There is a new intake and new valve covers being made for the Poly which are very nice.

A383Wing · Jan 6, 2014

360 is externally balanced engine, which will require welding weight to proper location on the torque converter. Mounting lugs on engine are in different location as well.

Photon440 · Jan 6, 2014

Before you toss your semi-hemi 318, check out the last couple of issues of Chrysler Power magazine for some of the potential of this engine. You'll probably stick with it.

terzmo · Jan 7, 2014

318 with a mild cam and 4 barrel wil give a nice ride. Could stroke it if money allows.

Cranky · Jan 7, 2014

When does it smoke? Could just be valve stem seals. That was all that was wrong with mine when I had one. Also, if you use a 360, you can use a weighted flex plate instead of doing the welding. The 360 has more torque since it has a longer stroke plus it has the benefit of more cubes and if you're worried about numbers matching, save the teen.

Plucked Chicken · Jan 7, 2014

Blackheart said:
Forget the 360 and keep the Poly, much cooler engine, but most of all, it's original to the car. The internals should cost about the same to rebuild. If you can find a 4bbl intake locally you would be good to go. There is a new intake and new valve covers being made for the Poly which are very nice.

X2 Poly SS Manifold: http://chryslerpower.com/webstore/Poly-SS-Manifold?filter_name=poly ss

Darter6 · Jan 7, 2014

You will be very suprised what adding a 4 barrel will do for a poly.Really wakes it up. I did it to my 64 Belvedere.Enclosed are a few pictures.
FYI, I had a 500'' big block all ready to go in this car but the poly ran so good I never did the swap.
That new intake from Hot Heads is well worth the money.I used a Weiand intake that I bought years ago when they were still on the market.A 600 Edelbrock AFB went on top.
The car also has TTI headers and exhaust.Like a dummy I sold the car, a big regret. The only other thing I was going to do was valve seals and new valve springs.The engine was low miles but 50 years old.Even with a stock cam wow did it run !
If yours runs good you might want to stick with it. Just something to think about.....

kb67mopar · Jan 7, 2014

go with the Poly. My experience was that if you find a 360, there is a good chance its junk. most of them have already been rebuilt and bored to 0.040 over already. Not to mention you have to move some motor mounts around and worry about the external balancing unless you build a blueprint motor and make it internally balanced.

The Poly is a great engine in factory form and capable of producing power like the 360. You can increase the displacement if you really want but with cubes also goes $$ and fuel $$.

Darter6 · Jan 7, 2014

Other good points about a poly,Full floating wrist pins(like a 340) solid lifter cam, and I think (though it has been debated) that the heads breath pretty good. I know I'm goofy but look at the photo, , Can you say HEMI?

415Satellite66 · Jan 7, 2014

ed9diaz said:
Im torn between keeping & rebuilding my poly 318 on my '66 charger or building and swapping to a LA 360.

its a 2bbl with factory a/c. But theres a factory poly 4bbl intake and carb available in my local craigslist which i can get ahold of.

Although it has seen better days & it smokes a bit, my poly still runs great. runs like a swiss watch.

i can say i have a little bit of purist in me but i also love performance on a budget.

the poly block just looks cool & its original. but performance parts are pretty expensive compared to the LA series. & to boot i am on a college student budget.

big block is out of the question, as that gets a tad more involved.

Would my car loose its value swapping to a 360?

any imput is greatly appreciated

thanks :unitedstates:

Hi ed9diaz, am in the bay area San Francisco. If you still get the 4-bbl intake and carb on craigslist you should do it. They dont come up to often and most the time they want big $$$. I to was in the same boat as you. 1966 satellite 318 poly 2-bbl. When I bought mine the PO said it was rebuilt and ran good, good on gas and didnt smoke. I changed the 2-bbl and added a factory 4-bbl and HEi ignition. Car runs great and has great torque. Either way enjoy your ride. 66 Chargers are cool.

theman440 · Jan 7, 2014

I vote POLY!

Dako · Jan 7, 2014

Blackheart said:
Forget the 360 and keep the Poly, much cooler engine, but most of all, it's original to the car. The internals should cost about the same to rebuild. If you can find a 4bbl intake locally you would be good to go. There is a new intake and new valve covers being made for the Poly which are very nice.

As one who has been down this road I agree, prices for machine work & internal parts are comparable for other small blocks. If someone quotes you otherwise they are falsely jacking the price. Many parts interchange with the LA motors. Search Gary Pavlovich on this site and contact him with a PM. He has built mild to wild versions and is more than happy to 'talk Poly'. I ended up buying my parts from him, then having a shop here in Maryland do the machine work & head assembly.

Deleted member 214 · Jan 7, 2014

If you go with the 360, keep the 318 and store it properly. Then you can always go back to it later if you want to. You won't get much selling a poly motor anyway.

Plucked Chicken · Jan 7, 2014

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/4235154377.html

ed9diaz · Jan 7, 2014

Plucked Chicken said:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/4235154377.html

aha yup thats exactly the 4 barrel intake that im wanting to get

thanks guys, i just needed some reassurance in keeping the poly. im not looking for major HP, just a good 300 whp cruiser which im pretty sure its not hard to obtain with the poly. just gotta do a little more homework on it.

im really liking that hot heads intake manifold.

& here is old faithful hah.

A383Wing · Jan 7, 2014

you can find an intake only for around $100.....the carb on that old intake is not the best

moparcrazy · Jan 8, 2014

440 all the way !

Keep the stock poly for now, and save up your money for a 440 Big Block, although your poly is original, it wont add any value to your car, "Dont waste your money" a 440 would "Add Value", like a 426 Hemi would add even more value, i've made that mistake befor. my 2 cents

Plucked Chicken · Jan 8, 2014

A383Wing said:
you can find an intake only for around $100.....the carb on that old intake is not the best

I will buy all the 4bbl Poly manifolds you have at $100 each. Where is your Mopar parts time machine?

:violent4:

Blackheart · Jan 13, 2014

440 all the way !

Keep the stock poly for now, and save up your money for a 440 Big Block, although your poly is original, it wont add any value to your car, "Dont waste your money" a 440 would "Add Value", like a 426 Hemi would add even more value, i've made that mistake befor. my 2 cents[/QUOTE]

I just don't get this mindset. This is what the followers do. I walk down the show car lines at Carlisle looking at the mid-sixties Mopars that have been redone. 95plus percent have done as you said, replaced their Poly for some gas guzzling big block that they can hardly drive due to needing racing gas or getting 10 miles a gallon. If you want a nice driver engine for your car fix the Poly. I don't get doing what everyone else has done, dare to be different. Look at the majority of the advice on here, which thought the best solution was to keep the engine that came in the car.

Moparcrazy I wouldn't trade my poly for two of your common as fleas on a hound dog 440s. To each his own.

toss the poly 318 for 360?

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