We are trying to get 1959 Plymouth Fury mobile for the first time in 40 years. We picked up a low mileage 1972 318 from an RV. We disassembled it for inspection, pistons were clean, can still see cross hatching in the cylinders and all the bearings looked good. I understand these industrial motors are a tad different from the car motors. I noticed it has flat top pistons, a goofy cast iron timing cover, the heads are a little different and it has a double roller timing set. The motor did sit for awhile and the cam developed some rust. Figured we may as well do a cam and intake on this thing while it’s apart. Will regular 318 parts work? I’d rather not put a 2bbl intake back on this thing. We have some headers as well but aren’t sure if they will fit in this car or motor at the moment.
Parts swap on industrial 318
- Thread starter Furious59
- Start date
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SS Lancer
Well-Known Member
Smart move on cam !
Yes all conventional 318/LA parts will work for your recipe.
Yes all conventional 318/LA parts will work for your recipe.
As mentioned the car timing cover and water pump will swap over, heads will probably have rotators on the exhaust springs which will limit the amount of lift you can run on the new cam unless you swap them out. The heads also have a coolant passage between the intake ports instead of the regular exhaust crossover - grab some shim stock (around 0.015 /0.02" thick) and cut out some block of plates and RTV them over this coolant passage and run a thicker composite gasket like the felpro 1243 to avoid leaks with the aftermarket intake.
Thanks for the replies, it’s much appreciated. We did just verify the headers we have will fit the current heads, still unsure if they will fit in the car though. It has that torsion bar suspension that may be in the way. One issue we are having is the piston rings collapsed from sitting so long and won’t come off 2 of them. We soaked them in atf and currently have them soaking in a parts washer. If we need to replace those pistons, how would I go about getting new ones? Places I have checked only list pistons for regular 318’s that have valve reliefs in them.
SS Lancer
Well-Known Member
If nobody chimes in
Ebay is your friend and
318 stuff is relatively CHEAP
Ebay is your friend and
318 stuff is relatively CHEAP
I ran a ported set on my car for years with a edelbrock performer & a weiand action plus manifold. Block the coolant passages as per post #4 and your good. I also ran coolant through the manifold for a while at the start but it eventually leaked and dropped some coolant in the oil. No leaks after blocking them off.
Good point on the ballance though - would be worth checking the weight on the factory truck pistons.
Speed pro H814CP hypers have no valve releifs and a slightly taller compression height than most standard replacement pistons. They take the magnum ring pack - I think the oil control ring is a different width to the regular LA stuff.
Hey Dan. Welcome aboard!
A 318 is a 318 no matter what label they put on it. The only significant changes to the engine throughout the years is really the pistons used. Earlier 318’s used slightly more compression and later years used less. It’s all in the piston height.
All the parts that bolt onto the block are swap-able from the first “Poly” years, the “LA” years and even the 5.2 Magnum engines. Though, not the roller cam. Amazing longevity with that A engine platform.
A 318 is a 318 no matter what label they put on it. The only significant changes to the engine throughout the years is really the pistons used. Earlier 318’s used slightly more compression and later years used less. It’s all in the piston height.
All the parts that bolt onto the block are swap-able from the first “Poly” years, the “LA” years and even the 5.2 Magnum engines. Though, not the roller cam. Amazing longevity with that A engine platform.
Got an update on the engine. We did manage to get the rings off those 2 pistons, we tried evapo rust and even heat but ended up using a dremel tool to grind them out. My friend did some extrude honing on the heads and we already had new valves. We have new piston rings, an eBay airgap style intake and I got a melling stage 1 cam. Hopefully this weekend we can get this thing assembled and ready to test fit in the car. We have 2 oil pans so we will have to see which one fits in the car better.
If you can get us some good pictures of the engine we can tell you for sure. SOME industrial applications used the standard 318 passenger car engines.
The long block will be the same other than jolt ons like that double roller chain
And on the earlier LA engines having more CR, weren't the chambers in the heads in the earlier ones a bit smaller as well?
I will say this... Quite often if you actually measure things out actual compression comes out less than what was published back in the day. Lots of "8.x :1" advertised motors actually measure out in the 7s :1.
And on the earlier LA engines having more CR, weren't the chambers in the heads in the earlier ones a bit smaller as well?
I will say this... Quite often if you actually measure things out actual compression comes out less than what was published back in the day. Lots of "8.x :1" advertised motors actually measure out in the 7s :1.
cudamark
Well-Known Member
The long block is not the same. The 318-3 engines use different heads than a 318-1, and other minor details already mentioned.
MOPAROFFICIAL
Oogliboogli
All the parts will swap use the industrial heads take a thin sheet of metal and our TV and over the heat crossovers on both sides and run it. Those are good hats clothes chamber and equal flowing exhaust parts
I think the compression height on the early pistons were different. All the heads have s cc range listed so it's hard to tell what they are supposed to be. Just like the compression ratios you mentioned.
PRH
Well-Known Member
The few sets of HD heads I’ve had in the shop used 18mm spark plugs.......so that’s an easy “tell” without having to take anything apart.
However, I don’t if they’re all like that.
However, I don’t if they’re all like that.
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