Hello,


I have 1963 4 door Plymouth Belvedere v8 318 Poly motor push button automatic that I purchased in middle school and rebuilt with my father. This car ran great for about 4 years until several issues poped up (Engine overheating, idle speed, fuel issues). Since then it has sat for about 8 years.

• My father has since moved may states away, so his expertise is not an option
  
• I do have some local friends who have experience with old mopar's
  
• My experience level on combustion engines is about 3/10, but I am able to follow a manual pretty well
  

I now have the time and money to spend on the car and have ran into a lot of problems (I do own the full shop manual)

• Parts parts and parts. I did not realize that the Polysphere carbs and intake are not interchangeable with the more common LA motor.
  • I have 2 Bendix Stromberg carbs and have had issues finding rebuild kits that fit...I appear to not be the only one with this issue.
    
  • I'd like to change the intake and just plop a Holly or Edelbrock carb, but the last aftermarket intake for a Poly stopped selling several years ago...so no hope there unless i want an ebay over priced used and damaged one
    
  • Overheating was an issue when I was in high school and i'd imagine it was still an issue today if I could get it running on these old Carbs.
    

With all these issues in mind (and maybe others), I was told I should just rip out that old 318 Poly and put in a 318 LA or even a 400+ Hemi.

• Is this a solid solution or even possible for my year and version?
  • If so, what year and size does anyone recommend?
    
• Am I able to do this and keep my current transmission?
  
• Am I leaving any obvious questions out? Am I crazy for wanting to keep this car and possibly drop money on it?
  

I appreciate any help people can provide. Criticism is the key to learning...so have at it!

 

I think the car is worth the effort to get going, the 318 poly was a good motor but getting parts can be a challenge. There are other options for engines I'd say go for it especially if it was a project that you and your dad worked on.

 

I say rip it out and put a 440 w/727 trans and go drive it.... EFI of course... But thats just me..

 

So I pulled the engine and tranny and removed the heads since I couldn’t get it to turn over. 2 cylinders had massive amounts of rust where it turned the piston heads jelly and was wondering where I should even attempt to rebuild this 318 engine. Not sure if they eat through the sleeve, it’s been awhile since I’ve been able to asses the damage. What do you gentlemen think?

 

I know that there’s some 318 poly fans out there, they were a good engine, but I’m not one. Some parts are more difficult to find well maybe most are and unless you’re looking to keep your car completely stock I would look into a 5.3 or 5.9 Magnum swap. Chances are you can still find a decent one in the yard that’s good enough to go or maybe with a light overhaul.
Just my thoughts

 

This would be the way to go in my opinion....