Red Ram Hemi.......

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Red Ram Dude said:
NO sludge....clean as a whistle in there......

Could it be a floating pick-up for the oil pump?
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Well, it wouldn't be a floating pick up, but some of the early hemi's did have swinging oil pump pick ups, so it's possible that's what you're feeling.
 
According to Hot Rod Magazine Sept. 2001 it is possible to bolt correct for the engine application early Hemi Heads on the Poly block. Early Chrysler 301-331-354 engines were produced as both Hemi's and Poly's as were early Dodge 270-315-325 engines. You had to use Dodge parts on the Dodge engine and Chrysler parts on the Chrysler engine. Parts to swap were the heads, pistons, and push rods. What a trip if Red Ram had that deal going on! There are also quite a few parts that swap from LA to Poly listed in the story. I would apologize for hi-jacking this post but I am responding to 72BLUNBLU's comment about it not being possible to do this.
Bob
 
rgp266 said:
According to Hot Rod Magazine Sept. 2001 it is possible to bolt correct for the engine application early Hemi Heads on the Poly block. Early Chrysler 301-331-354 engines were produced as both Hemi's and Poly's as were early Dodge 270-315-325 engines. You had to use Dodge parts on the Dodge engine and Chrysler parts on the Chrysler engine. Parts to swap were the heads, pistons, and push rods. What a trip if Red Ram had that deal going on! There are also quite a few parts that swap from LA to Poly listed in the story. I would apologize for hi-jacking this post but I am responding to 72BLUNBLU's comment about it not being possible to do this.
Bob
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I said no such thing, you must have misread one of my posts. Not only did I say they COULD be swapped, and I included the poly serial numbers in one of my posts for that very reason. As you can see in my earlier quote

72bluNblu said:
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.
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I have in fact personally bolted Dodge hemi heads to a Dodge poly block. No hot rod magazine article needed. And yes, that only works if you keep the brands the same, Chrysler hemi heads will fit Chrysler poly engines, Dodge hemi heads will only fit dodge hemi engines. And DeSoto never made a poly.

Perhaps you misunderstood my post about the poly 318? Because unlike the early poly engines, it can't share heads with any of the hemi's.
 
72bluNblu said:
Well, it wouldn't be a floating pick up, but some of the early hemi's did have swinging oil pump pick ups, so it's possible that's what you're feeling.
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They're pretty much the same deal....floating means it follows the oil...same as swinging....

What years were they available?

FYI...the 318 Poly fuel pump fits and works like a CHAMP.....I'm buying a spare.....
 
Red Ram Dude said:
They're pretty much the same deal....floating means it follows the oil...same as swinging....

What years were they available?
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I've never really found anything that described which engines/years got the fixed pickups and which ones got the floating or swinging pumps or whatever you'd like to call it. There were a few different pan configurations available as well (center, rear), so it may have been linked more to that than the model/year. I have one somewhere, it was on a short deck DeSoto (276/291).

Red Ram Dude said:
FYI...the 318 Poly fuel pump fits and works like a CHAMP.....I'm buying a spare.....
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A 318 poly fuel pump is the same as a LA 318 fuel pump. They fit, but you really need a spacer to position the arm correctly. The pump arm on the early hemi's is shorter, so just bolting up the later fuel pump doesn't locate the cam on the arm in the right place. It will work, but it works better with the spacer. Hot Heads sells them on their page. I run a hi-volume Carter fuel pump on the 270 poly in our '55 Coronet, with a spacer.
 
The Dude has single exhaust....stock manifolds...with the crossover pipe AND functioning heat riser....if you can believe that....

Dual exhaust IS on the agenda.....looks like Offenhauser AND Sanderson both offer Model A shorty headers.

I'm leaning towards the Sanderson ones with Ceramic coating...

Amybody had any experience with either type?
 
BluNBlu, you are right. I did not scroll back far enough. You have my apologies.

That being said, I still think it would be really cool if it turned out to be a Poly/Hemi hy-bred.

Bob
 
Red Ram Dude said:
The Dude has single exhaust....stock manifolds...with the crossover pipe AND functioning heat riser....if you can believe that....

Dual exhaust IS on the agenda.....looks like Offenhauser AND Sanderson both offer Model A shorty headers.

I'm leaning towards the Sanderson ones with Ceramic coating...

Amybody had any experience with either type?
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Guess this is the WRONG place for that question.....feel like I farted in the elevator....#-o

Oh,well...off to the Jalopy Journal.......perhaps they will know there....
 
72bluNblu said:
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.
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So I can buy a any Mopar V8 points style distributor from 273-360 and it will drop right in?
 
Had a closer look @ the distributor.......

It has a Chrysler of Canada tag on the side.....dual points.....oil cup and NO vacuum advance can......Would this be original/correct?

Also appears I need a temp sender....as my guage is dead....but wakes up when I ground the feed wire....

Are these available? are they voltage specific....6/12 volt......?

Any input is appreciated....
 
No extension necessary to run a late model small block distributor in the dodge red rams. They are dimensionally the same. My 270 super red ram has an old school Malory dual point in it as we speak that came out of an old 340.
 
72bluNblu said:
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.
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Just had another real good look at the stamping and "!-318" is ALL there is....all the way across.....
 
d55dave said:
No extension necessary to run a late model small block distributor in the dodge red rams. They are dimensionally the same. My 270 super red ram has an old school Malory dual point in it as we speak that came out of an old 340.
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I'm liking your valve covers....are they stamped,stenciled or decals that say Super Red Ram?
 
Hey thanks, the super red ram is raised (stamped) and painted. I have also seen similar ones that are just red ram, and plain ones as well with no stamping.

If your block were from a poly 318 I don't believe there would be any off the shelf hemi pistons to work with the hemi heads. I wonder what it is?
 
d55dave said:
Hey thanks, the super red ram is raised (stamped) and painted. I have also seen similar ones that are just red ram, and plain ones as well with no stamping.

If your block were from a poly 318 I don't believe there would be any off the shelf hemi pistons to work with the hemi heads. I wonder what it is?
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I'll be looking for a set of those valve covers.......Were they Dodge ONLY?

The the early hemi valve covers interchange between Dodge,Desoto and Chrysler?
 
Yes, dodge only covers and I am 99% certain that the covers do not interchange between dodge Chrysler and desoto. How about if you lose the wire covers and chrome the rocker covers?
 
d55dave said:
Yes, dodge only covers and I am 99% certain that the covers do not interchange between dodge Chrysler and desoto. How about if you lose the wire covers and chrome the rocker covers?
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The thought HAD crossed my mind.....but all my Pontiacs have the factory chrome covers and I want something DIFFERENT for the DUDE......

I like the "retro" look of yours....

I could paint them in black crinkle like the later larger displacement hemi's........but THIS baby elepannt is NOT a "wannabee"....bigblock....
 
Have yet to get an answer for this.........what RPM is a safe maximum on this engine...for peak torque/HP?

NOT planning on racing....just looking for a safe spec....
 
Red Ram Dude said:
Have yet to get an answer for this.........what RPM is a safe maximum on this engine...for peak torque/HP?

NOT planning on racing....just looking for a safe spec....
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In stock configuration I wouldn't be surprised if the peak was below 4k. They're pretty mild/low compression engines in stock form.

I wouldn't put the redline anything past 5k for stock, and that may be a little high. Dodge hemi's didn't have harmonic balancers from the factory, so even though they have forged cranks they have a tendency to have issues. You can fit a neutral balance harmonic damper to them, the later LA balancers fit with a stepped key, although then you need to work out the pulley situation. With a balancer out front, a chamfer on the stock oiling holes in the crank and a good balance job the dodge hemi's will spin up as well as any LA smallblock. But stock I would probably do most of my shifting before 4k, and never higher than 5k.
 
Red Ram Dude said:
Have yet to get an answer for this.........what RPM is a safe maximum on this engine...for peak torque/HP?

NOT planning on racing....just looking for a safe spec....
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I see the carb on your truck is equipped with a governor and will not allow it to rev beyond 4000 rpm if it is still working

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this is my 331 hemi bored 125 over to 354 cid with isky 280 cam full rebuild with a few mods
 
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