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my trucks a 67 3/4.....i want to know what i have to do to swap my tired 318 for a mid 50's HEMI.I want to keep the 727 and that cool dash shift configuration as is...what do you have to say about it? 200 of you read what i say and 2 of you reply...the only way i'm going to gain expierience and useful knowledge is if you guy take a minute after you read what i gotta say and throw an opinion at me on the topic.I don't think i'm asking much fellas. THANKS a hell of a lot to the folks who have....chris A.K.A smallblock A.K.A BIGDUDE A.K.A openthrottle

I'll respond, even though I have nothing to add.

Why go back to the dinosaur age??



I am sure there is a way b/c I have seen it done in cars, just a wierd swap in my eyes.

Um...

Not likely there are many people who have done that exact swap, so it's not likely you'll get a bunch of responses.

If you don't know what it takes to swap engines that don't belong, an internet forum is probably not going to solve that issue.

Yeah: Unlike a lot of forums, I have found that people don't respond with meaningless comments on something they know nothing about here. Hence no replys.
I think it is a great idea and I think the early hemi may bolt to the A-engine loadflite but I don't know for sure. There is plenty of room for that old Hemi under the hood as well so I think the swap is worth doing, but you'll most likely have to deal with things as they come up.

Sheldon

Apparently, I had no info to add to your supposed 200 views, 2 response thread so I didn't reply... but since you've called out the members in THIS thread to give comments regardless of whether or not they help, here's mine: I look at the forums to solve issues I have when I'm actually doing a project, not for a itemized list of the stuff I need to do it so I don't have to think. Good luck with your engine swap, fella.

Hey There openthrottle, it's not that hard to drop a 1st generation hemi into one of our trucks


I dropped a 354 in front of my NP435

You want to keep your 727 so you will need the adapter plate and the crank to flexplate spacer. Wilcap sells these, there may be others on ebay. Ma Mopar also made the plate adapters, I've got one lying in the back of my shop. Engine mounts and isolators from your 318 will line right up (you'll have to bolt them to the back of the mount ears on the hemi to compensate for the transmission plate)

Here is a good little writeup on how to do this.

Expect to pay some pretty big bucks for any and all parts for the early hemi rebuild, My gasket set cost me about as much as a complete ring & bearing kit for a LA motor!!

Nice 354 Sterno! I love the stock waterpump, intake, and scripted valve covers. There's just something cool about stuff made back in the day that's been brought back into service.

Wilcap does have nice stuff (those guys have been wrenching Hemi's since the mid 60's), Hot heads (awesome tech line for engine parts ID and interchange) and P.A.W. are other sources that I didn't see mentioned.

The swap is pretty straight forward from what I understand since the 318 poly shares a lot of the early Hemi traits. the only trans that is a "bolt on" is one that came on an early hemi, the mopar small block pattern is close, but as has been mentioned, will take an adapter plate that basicly relocates the alighnment dowls and takes up about 5/8" of space between the engine and trans as the early hemi crank sticks out more than the small block.

The thing I like about the early Hemi's is how clean they look when they're all decked out. I've got a long bed I'm thinking of buildind 60's race either with an early hemi or a 440 in max wedge garb.

One day I'll build one, I just hope gas stations still sell gas by the time I'm done .

I also had nothing to say. I am really not that much of a hemi fan. It takes lots of money to build one properly. I much prefer the B blocks in all their various configurations. I guess I'm more of a sleeper kind of guy. I like things that don't stick out and draw attention. Just my odd way of looking at things. But as my dad said many times, "You can put anything in anything if you want to spend the time and the money." Right now I'm working on a 49 pilothouse that I'm putting a 350 Mopar in so I can have a 60's style gasser replica. I am using the 350 because they are rare and are period correct. That said, it ain't easy! Lots of extra work, but isn't that half of the fun in building something? Figuring it out for yourself? As long as you're not reinventing the wheel! Have fun with your project and don't berate everyone that doesn't have your same interests. Good luck. Mike

wally426ci wrote:I'll respond, even though I have nothing to add.

Why go back to the dinosaur age??



I am sure there is a way b/c I have seen it done in cars, just a wierd swap in my eyes.

because not everyone should do the same thing, I would much rather build an older engine than tinker with putting a computor in an older truck, even though it serves a good purpose, but thats the fad, put the new stuff in older vehicles. so its good to see the older stuff built and used on a daily basis: "Dare to be Different".