Need some advice 318 POLY vs 318 LA
FWIW, the new timing chain and the Mallory distributor are LA pieces that just dropped right in. LA fuel pumps OK, too, although I'm running a NOS 318 poly fuel pump - a rebuildable Carter that looks like today's Carter street/strip pump except for 5/16 inlet/outlet instead of 3/8.
And here is a 57 301 poly (which has a 318 bore, 277 stroke, i.e., 3.91 x 3.125):
Edit: Looks like the timing cover on this is cast iron, too. Not sure when they went to aluminum. Also note that, like my 277, each valve cover has three bolts. I believe it was 58 that the center bolt was dropped and A motors from then on only had two bolts per valve cover.
Yeah, I was seriously considering swapping to an LA aluminum timing cover until I found out that wouldn't work. Well, it would fit the motor OK, but the fan would end up in the wrong place, maybe even hit something.
FWIW, the new timing chain and the Mallory distributor are LA pieces that just dropped right in. LA fuel pumps OK, too, although I'm running a NOS 318 poly fuel pump - a rebuildable Carter that looks like today's Carter street/strip pump except for 5/16 inlet/outlet instead of 3/8.
And here is a 57 301 poly (which has a 318 bore, 277 stroke, i.e., 3.91 x 3.125):
Edit: Looks like the timing cover on this is cast iron, too. Not sure when they went to aluminum. Also note that, like my 277, each valve cover has three bolts. I believe it was 58 that the center bolt was dropped and A motors from then on only had two bolts per valve cover.