Bill W
Do you know anything about the 51 thru 58 Chrysler, Dodge and DeSoto V8 hemis and polys. Were any made in Canada? A while back Rusty O'Toole told me he though the only V8 made in Canada at that time was the 277, 305, 318 used in 55 thru 58 Plymouths and Dodges. Can you add anything to that?
The Canadian plant imported blocks from the U.S. (not sure if short blocks or with heads) and added Canadian-made intake and exhaust manifolds, stamped items such as valve covers and oil pan, rubber, electrical and ignition parts and carburetors. This was done for 1951 to 1957 Chrysler V8 engines, 1952-56 DeSoto V8 engines, 1953-55 Dodge V8 engines and 1955 Plymouth V8 engines. All these imported blocks were given Canadian engine numbers that ended with a "C".
Chrysler of Canada opened a new V8 engine plant for the 1956 model year. First off the line came the 303 V8 engine used in the Custom Royal and Windsor. After using up the last of the 270-cid blocks, the plant started building 277-cid engines for Plymouth and Dodge.
For 1957 the engines were the 303 for Plymouth and Dodge along with the 313 for the Custom Royal. The Canadian 1957 Windsor used the 354 poly while no DeSotos were built in Canada for the 1957 model year. Instead the Firedome and Fireflite were imported.
1958 had the 313 V8 used on Plymouth and Dodge while the Canadian-built Custom Royal, Firedome and Windsor used the 354 poly. In 1958 all Imperials, Chrysler New Yorker/300-D, DeSoto Fireflite, convertibles, and Sierra/Windsor wagons were imported. As always, the imported models were identical to the models sold in the U.S. No Coronet, Royal, Firedome or Saratoga models in Canada - although the 1957-58 Canadian Windsor was actually the Saratoga with Windsor nameplates.
The B block V8 engine went into production in Canada for 1959, with the 361 used in the Custom Royal and Windsor while the 383 was used in the Firedome and Saratoga. No RB engines were built in Canada until 1963 when the New Yorker once again rolled off the Canadian assembly line. 1963 was also the first year since 1936 for a Canadian-built Chryco convertible.
The 313 remained in production through 1964 and was replaced by the 318 for 1965.
Bill
Vancouver, BC