Red Ram Hemi.......

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Red Ram Dude

Red Ram Dude

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pacific northwest
in an EARLY D-100 Sweptline.....

Just bought this truck and am really happy with it....

Some old guy put it together YEARS ago....runs and drives like a champ.

Was told the engine is a 54 241.

Date code on intake (2bbl) looks like 1955

Trying to figure out what it really is....

Oil fill tube is curved....

Any input is appreciated.....

I'm NEW to Dodges....but NOT old cars....
 
Dodge hemi was called a red ram (on the valve covers) and was 241 in 53 and 54. In 55 it was called a super red ram and was 270 cubes. The car in my signature pic is a 55 with the 270. Look for a stamping on the block, on the top surface near the valley pan near the distributor I think. Mine reads D55-3 (thus my signature d55dave).
 
d55dave said:
Dodge hemi was called a red ram (on the valve covers) and was 241 in 53 and 54. In 55 it was called a super red ram and was 270 cubes. The car in my signature pic is a 55 with the 270. Look for a stamping on the block, on the top surface near the valley pan near the distributor I think. Mine reads D55-3 (thus my signature d55dave).
Click to expand...

So...I can read this with the motor in car still and all parts/accessories in place?

My valve covers have nothing stamped on them and plug holes and wire are covered....
 
It's been a long time since I looked at the stamping.......like more than 20 years and I am not near the car at the moment, but I am fairly certain that if you look around the top machined surface of the block you should see it.
 
Last summer was the first that it was on the road in several years. Yes, all stock and thanks for the compliment. I plan to do a disc brake upgrade in the near future. No, didn't have time to get it out to any shows last summer. Would love to see some pics of the truck.
 
I agree, let's see the truck. Love those Sweptlines. I had a 241 Hemi once, was going to put it into an early Valiant but figured the power to weight ratio wasn't quite worth it.
 
Call Bob Walker at Hot Hemi Heads in North Carolina. He can tell you which numbers mean what and where too look.
 
I sold a 270 Hemi this summer. I am still hanging onto my 354 for the time being. Always wanted to build a 32 Ford or something similar with an old school Hemi in it. I can build better HP cheaper, but the looks of the Hemi are hard to beat!
 
Here is is......the "ultimate" red neck pick-up.....
 

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Cool!

Dodge 241's were made in 1953 and 1954. The number you're looking for to identify it is stamped on the block rail in front of the intake valley cover, between the valley cover and the timing cover.

Numbers on the Dodge hemi's start with codes like this. The 241 numbers really didn't change 53 to 54. These aren't all of the codes, there are more out there, just the ones I know and what they relate to.

Dodge Hemi__________________________________________
D44.......1953....... 241....... Red-Ram ....... 2-bbl
D48.......1953....... 241....... Red-Ram ....... 2-bbl
D50.......1953....... 241....... Red-Ram ....... 2-bbl
D55.......1955....... 270....... Red-Ram ....... 2-bbl
D55.......1955....... 270....... Super Red-Ram....... 4-bbl
D56.......1955....... 270....... Super Red-Ram....... 4-bbl
D500......1956.......315....... 4-bbl
D500......1956.......315....... Power-Pack....... dual 4-bbl
KD500....1957......325....... 4-bbl
KD500....1957......325....... Power-Pack....... dual 4-bbl
D501..... 1957.......354....... Chrysler engine....... dual 4-bbl


Dodge 'Poly'___________________________________________
D55 ....... 1955 ....... 270 ....... 2-bbl
D63-1.......1956 ....... 270....... 2-bbl
D63-2.......1956 ....... 315....... 2-bbl
D63-3.......1956 ....... 315....... 4-bbl
KDS ....... 1957....... 325....... 2-bbl
L325....... 1958....... 325....... 4-bbl
LD2 ....... 1958 ....... 325....... 4-bbl

There were other codes depending on what the engine came out of. I included the Dodge "poly" numbers because its not unusual for hemi heads to be found on a "poly" block, the only difference between the hemi and poly engines are the heads and pistons, the block is the same.

Here's a picture of the number you're looking for. You can see the valley pan, timing cover, and oil breather tube to figure out where you're looking. But yeah, no removal of anything needed to look at this number. The first one is a Plymouth 260 (which is basically a Dodge 270 block), the second is a Dodge 270 hemi.

IMG_3028.jpg
 

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Awesome.....

We are on a mission......just went out in the drizzle and fog...dodging malicious racoons

The stamped # appears to be 1 318....

Could this be a later...mid 60's 318 Poly block....with elephant heads?

Keep in mind...it is a Canadian truck....and it's possible that the block was cast in Canada...
 

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look like you have a 55 dodge hemi in there with no serial number stamped in you have a replacement engine as they never came with an ID number stamped in
 
I can't see much of anything in those pictures.

I can tell you its impossible for it to be a poly 318, as that block is totally different than either the early or late hemi's.

What you have is definitely a Dodge hemi. What size I'm not sure, but if the intake decodes as a '55 its a 241 or 271, the later 315/325's had taller decks and therefore different intakes.

It's possible it was a replacement block, they came unstamped from the factory but were occasionally stamped by dealers or speed shops with their own codes. Or you just may be looking at the tail end of the stamping, which was just a serial number type stamping. It could be that it just happens to be 318. Kind of like how the VIN on my Dart GT ends in 340. Doesn't mean anything, its not a 340 car and that's not how they were designated.

My guess would be that just to the left of the "1-318" you're seeing the is the prefix code. It can be difficult to see with all the accessories attached.

As for it being made in Canada, sure it could have been. There were 3 foundries casting block at the time, one was is Windsor. Again, they weren't different from the other Dodge hemi or poly blocks regardless of what country the foundry was in.
 
I DID scrape the whole rail....but will look again tomorrow in the daylight....

Thanks for everbody's input....

RE: replacement timing chain and gears......for this motor.

Are they common with the later years?

I've got the fuel pump off....and chain seems REAL sloppy......
 
I think it was rusty rat rod who said it earlier, contact hot heads, they have all parts for them. Google hot heads hemi and you will find it. I am fairly certain the timing chain is the same as an LA block but not certain. The distributor dimensions are the same and you can run a late 318 distributor in it.

72blunblu, from what you printed a super red ram is a four barell, is that right? I thought all 55 270 hemis where super red rams, 2 or 4 barell?
 
Red Ram Dude said:
I DID scrape the whole rail....but will look again tomorrow in the daylight....

Thanks for everbody's input....

RE: replacement timing chain and gears......for this motor.

Are they common with the later years?

I've got the fuel pump off....and chain seems REAL sloppy......
Click to expand...

Check out http://www.hothemiheads.com/. They have a lot of the parts for the early Hemi's. Do make sure you get parts for a Dodge, because the Chrysler, Dodge and DeSoto hemi's swap ZERO to very few parts, depending on which ones you're talking about.

I know the crank keyways on the early hemi's are a different size. You can use the later balancer's with a step key, but I don't know about the timing chains, and it might be model specific.

For example, the 241/270 Dodge hemi's and poly's can use a later 318 distributor with no modifications. Drops right in. I have one in the 270 in my g/f's '55 Coronet because the points are less expensive and easier to get than the early ones. If you're running 12v, you can even use the later electronic dizzy's (we have 6v still). But on all the other Hemi's the distributor shaft has to be changed, wrong length.
 
Update......

Talked briefly with Eric @ hemi hot heads......NICE guy....

popped the cap and found dual points......is this stock?

When I drained the oil......I just had to stick my finger in the hole...(being a Gynecologist)...and discovered a little trap door?....What's that all about?

Bought a fuel pump for a 318 poly...and it appears to be same dimensionally....so I'm going to try it out...
 
Yep, dual points are stock in it. A trap door inside the oil pan? I have had pans off a couple and never seen anything like that. Perhaps something loose floating around the oil pan and kind of stuck in sludge?
 
d55dave said:
Yep, dual points are stock in it. A trap door inside the oil pan? I have had pans off a couple and never seen anything like that. Perhaps something loose floating around the oil pan and kind of stuck in sludge?
Click to expand...

NO sludge....clean as a whistle in there......

Could it be a floating pick-up for the oil pump?
 
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