1957 -58 Plymouth V800 engine

[Rusty_OToole]

I have a question about the 290HP V800 engine used in Plymouth Fury in 1957 and 58, and its relationship to the other 318 engines.

Did the regular engines have solid lifters or hydraulic? Which did the V800 have, and did it have a special camshaft?

What about compression? I know most cars then offered a low compression regular fuel engine and a high compression premium fuel version. What was Plymouth doing?

The 318 was relegated to workhorse duty after the B and RB engines came out in 1958. I understand they came standard with a 2 barrel carburetor but a 4 barrel option was available up to 1962. These made 230 and 250 HP and I think, no other variations of compression, cam etc were made during this period.

What I am trying to figure out is what variations of the 318 family were made before the change to the LA design with conventional heads in 1964 - 66. I have a fair idea what went on after that, the earlier ones are a bit mysterious.

[Bloo]

The only engine in the 318 "Wideblock" family I am aware of that came stock with hydraulic lifters is the 1959 326ci version, used only in 1959 Dodges to replace the then-discontinued 1958 Dodge 325.

 

The 1958 Dodge 325 it replaced was another polyspherical engine, but of the same family as Dodge Hemis, not like the 318.

 

The 1959 Dodge 326 was also the first use of this engine family in a car that was not a Plymouth.

 

Engines before 1962 have an odd crank flange for the pre-727 iron transmissions.

 

There are other displacements, 277 and 301 come to mind, and there was also a 313 in Canada for a while.

 

I don't see any reason you couldn't put hydraulic lifters in if you want. IIRC the lifters are side-oiled just like an LA engine. I wouldn't want. Valve and lifter trouble is just non-existant on these engines, even at extreme mileage, unlike the LA. An LA cam will fit but won't work because the valves are in the wrong order.

 

I can't remember the details about the cams and compression on the earlier 4v and 2x4v stuff. It was probably different but rare and pretty mild. To hop these engines up you had cams and pistons made. My foggy memory says the 2x4v cam was different, and the 1958 version 2x4v had 10:1 compression. My books are all packed away in a storage locker, so I can't reasonably look it up. Chamber volume varies by year, but not by much. The 9:1 published compression ratio of the 2 barrel engines did not change.

 

DIstributors, oil pumps, oil pans, timing chains, timing covers, balancers, etc. physically interchange with LA. It is possible to have a post-1969 water pump setup. Cranks are forged and physically interchange with LA (except for pre-62 crank differences. Balancing might be different.

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Edited January 24, 2021 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

What brought the question to mind was reading about the English Bristol that used Canadian made 313 engines and Torqueflite transmissions starting in 1961. They continued to use 318, 383, 360  and finally Viper V10 engines until they stopped making them in 2011.

I have read a lot of wild stories about how they rebuilt the engines with their own heads, intake, cams etc. which I don't believe. I do believe they made their own hi perf camshaft because I saw that in an interview with a long time Bristol employee. Other than that, I suspect they used a stock 313 or 318 with available factory 4 barrel. Whether there was a high compression version available in the sixties, I don't know. If they wanted to hop up the motor they could have copied the V800 without the dual carburetors.

The reason for going to a V8 was two fold. One was, they wanted an automatic transmission and the Torqueflite filled the bill. The other was to get a top speed above 100 MPH to compete with Jaguar which  had too much of an advantage over their old 2 liter BMW derived six.

After the B engine came out the A engine was relegated to workhorse duty at Chrysler, but they had a lot of potential for performance that was never tapped. I think Bristol may have recognized this but don't believe half the stories about what they did to them.

It would have made sense to use the engines as delivered with 4 barrel carb, high compression pistons if available, and their own high lift solid lifter camshaft and dual exhaust,  in a low 3000 pound car similar in size to an early Mustang or Camaro this would have given them a top speed in the 115 - 120MPH range with acceptable cost, driveability, reliability and gas mileage.

Edited January 24, 2021 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)