318 poly in 68 cuda

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TheTecher

TheTecher

Evan the jeeper.
Joined
Oct 18, 2009
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Hey yawl, I have a 318 poly that Id like to put in my 1968 barracuda. I know the mounts wont work, any body know where I can get adapters? Will a regular drive shaft work or do I need a custom one.

Thanks, Evan
 
You might want to check over at the poly forum - [email protected] for more info on your poly. It will bolt up to a 727 - I used an early 70s 727 behind the poly in a 65 Coronet I had. Bolted right together and no special driveshaft needed.
 
I've never had any problems bolting 273/318 LA motor mount brackets to a 318 Poly block. The Poly was the original A engine and made it's debut in 1955 as a 301 in the Chrysler Windsor. The 273/318/340/360s are in fact members of the LA family. They are not A engines, but there is a lot of interchangeability between the two. Enough to allow you to bolt your 318 Poly into your '68 Barracuda using 318 LA mounts. The real challenge is finding an exhaust system that will clear the steering.
 
Actually, I think there is something you have to do to bolt a LA tranny to an A engine, cant remember what it was, but have heard abou tit.

My question is, why?
 
Don't the polys weigh a ton compared to LA engines? I also was under the impression that HP parts for these are expensive and hard to find.
 
The early poly's, pre 64 cranks don't have the correct sized register for the torque convertor to sit in. The crank would have to be machined out.

Chuck
 
Drivers side exhaust is definitely an issue as I tried this once when I was 17. The engine was a 66 so no probs with crank but...
 
The tranny came with it and was bolted together. I took one of the motor mounts off the motor and it doesnt line up with the mounts on the frame. i bought the cuda without an engine. I bought the engine on ebay and thought it was an LA. Im new to the muscle car work, I can tell you every thing about a an early jeep. The A engines are about 80lbs heaver than LA blocks. I was wondering about how long the drive shaft would be.
 
green1 said:
Buy a LA. You are looking at a big headache. With lower power. And a lack of parts.
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Big 10-4 on that.

Evan Pratt said:
The poly is just tempory, I plan to get a 340 and do a compete rebulid. Maybe stroke it.
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It seems like you'll do it anyway and money is no option since this will cost a good headstart on the 340. But we told ya so. (I had to say that now so I don't later when your having fits with things)

Ramcharger! Performance parts for the POLY engines are not hard or to expensive. The hard part is intakes and exhaust issues. The only game in town is TTI headers @ around $600+ buckaroo's or exhaust manifolds.

Swap meets can yeild factory iron 4bbl.'s and even the Weiand 4bbl. unless your very willing to wait for a Weiand or Edelbrock triple set up which would be almost as hard as a dual quad intake the factory had.

Racer Brown has a great many camshafts on a list just wating to be ground. Somewhere around a 100 or so was sent to me once.

Many LA parts swap over. Look to the land of the Aussie's for a RPM style intake that may yet be produced by enthousaistatsteadnkw, MoPar crazies!
 
green1 said:
Buy a LA. You are looking at a big headache. With lower power. And a lack of parts.
Click to expand...

I second this, but the good news is you found the place to get straight answers! You may just need to wright off your losses and find a LA 318, if you were in Oregon, I'd give you one! Try an add in craigslist offering a trade or what not.
 
There is a reason the factory never did this!

The LA engine is superior in every way and Mopar phased out the poly motor as fast as they could convert the engine plants.

"Because I already have one" is a pretty compelling reason to use a certain part, but "It won't fit" weighs in pretty heavy sometimes too.
 
I would listen to these other guys, I just spent 3500 on a poly for my 66 fury. Camcraft cam, Bumped up compression to 9.5, the weiand 4 bbl, shorty headers. It runs good and it goes good for what it is, but it was also original to the car. I wouldn't build another one. Get an LA, they are cheep to find if not free, and the parts and power will be easier to get.
 
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