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It may be cheaper to hang the manifold on the shop wall than to build a car around a bargain manifold.

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I bought this today from a buddy. Its a 273 manifold that I really dont need. However it will make a nice shop decoration if nothing else. But I was considering building a 318 or 360 for the 38 Plymouth business coupe and thought it may give it a nice look.

I dont want to spend the $$$ to build a 273 for it as 360s here are very cheap.

I know some of these can be used on 318s, ect but also know or heard that the early ones can not. I dont have a 318/ 360 here at this time to check it on.

Any ideas. The part # is 5488 and its an Offey???

here is a pic or two.

Dave

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I bought this today from a buddy. Its a 273 manifold that I really dont need. However it will make a nice shop decoration if nothing else. But I was considering building a 318 or 360 for the 38 Plymouth business coupe and thought it may give it a nice look.

I dont want to spend the $$$ to build a 273 for it as 360s here are very cheap.

I know some of these can be used on 318s, ect but also know or heard that the early ones can not. I dont have a 318/ 360 here at this time to check it on.

Any ideas. The part # is 5488 and its an Offey???

here is a pic or two.

Dave

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Why not a 273. Really not much to build one unless you want to spend the $$ on forged pistons. You can get a good street CR out of the 2bl motor with a little machine work. As far as the manifold that's what is on my motor that I posted pics here.

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273s and 318s used the same heads---- port size and all.

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273s and 318s used the same heads---- port size and all.

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Sort of

64-66 273 had a weird intake bolt anfle but the same ports and other bolt patterns and they were small closed chambers. I think they were a 315 casting#.

67 318 and 273 both used a 920 casting head that was closed chamber and virtualy identicle to the 315 except the now more common intake bolt angle.

68-69 they again shared the same head and it was an open chamber head that except the casting number and AIR ports was pretty much unchanged til the 302 casting in 85

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OK, I am here long enough to give you another real idea. But first some reality...
The 273 and 318 heads use the same intake gasket and for the most part were the same castings. The first two years of the 273 had the intake bolts at a different angle but everything else is the same. 340/360 heads have the same port face with the same bolt holes and the ports are on same centerlines, but they are bigger. For a street engine you could put that intake on a 360 and it'd run great. So that's an excellent idea. The port mismatch isn't nearly as important as one may think. For that same reason a popular swap on 318s is a 340/360 stock intake, they are cheap and make a lot of power. I have one waiting for my 318, $15.00 at the swap meet and it even has nice paint on it.

But back to the Offy.....Put it on the 'bay and list it in the classifieds here for two months. No one will even give you a call. If you can get a decent price, like $100, sell it to them, take the $ and put it towards an intake you really want.
After two months you will get tired of it, and aluminum prices are in the dumper like everything else, worth $12 for scrap. It'd be a shame to throw it away. Instead, you get a roller cam 318 like the one from my mother's 86 Fifth Avenue that's sitting in my backyard. Put a 4" stroker in it (optional). Port the 302 heads by yourself. Either plug the holes in the head and drill to your intake's angle or angle-slot the intake holes. You are enough of an artist to not ruin the intake by changing the angle of the holes. No need to "wallow them out" they just need an angle shift. Then regrind the hydraulic roller cam and run two 400-500 carbs. It'll look cool, run real strong up to the cfm limit of the heads, and you'll be the owner of something different. 318 - 391 cubic inches will be big enough to get you into orbit in your '38.

If you REALLY have to run 273 heads because you want to keep all the original bolt holes (I don't know why you'd want to do that)then get with some of the 273 drag racers here to get the best porting tips. They will work too, but I like the 302s better.

Either way do not saddle yourself with a 273 block unless you are a class racer. 318s are free anyway. The cost and difficulty of doing a right 273 rebuild make it a losing proposition.
A 318 is exactly the same everything except the bores let the heads breathe better and the extra 45 cubic inches will make a lot of extra power.

Good Luck,
R.

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What size valves do you have in there? What CC? Did you get them flowed before and after? I got a set of 920s sittin around on a complete 67 273 wondering what to do with the thing.

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O [


Put a 4" stroker in it (optional). Port the 302 heads by yourself. Either plug the holes in the head and drill to your intake's angle or angle-slot the intake holes. You are enough of an artist to not ruin the intake by changing the angle of the holes. No need to "wallow them out" they just need an angle shift. Then regrind the hydraulic roller cam and run two 400-500 carbs. It'll look cool, run real strong up to the cfm limit of the heads, and you'll be the owner of something different. 318 - 391 cubic inches will be big enough to get you into orbit in your '38.

A 318 is exactly the same everything except the bores let the heads breathe better and the extra 45 cubic inches will make a lot of extra power.

Good Luck,
R.

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I actually purchased a complete set up minus the air cleaners for one of my projects from moparts or ebay (I forget, I'm not a smart man just really big) and I want to do the same stroker short block and make it a vintage Nascar-ish look. Two little 500 Eddys or Carters seem to work perfect on this intake, I just followed the baseline that Edelbrock uses for the SBF and SBC dualquad kits. I think Edelbrock has a different part number for their dual carbs...

Hope it helps, and forget about the "save the whales" folks here, use the part the way you want!

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I want to thank everyone for all the info. I think at this point I will save this manifold for the car in the photo below and start searching for some carbs to go with it. I have never spent any $$ on building a 273, so I may as well rebuild a real 273 car and use this manifold and make a little sleeper out of it. It will be cool to build a 273 car.

I will search for a 360 for the 38 Plymouth. I actually have a late mod 360 sitting in the weather that came out of my daughters truck a few years back. I am sure it is junk now, but I see 360s in craigslist a lot and pretty cheap.

I dont need a maxed out stroker, but a little UMPH would be nice and it needs a nice sound. How are the 360 crate motors? And if I look for a 360, whats a good year to try and find. I see mid 80s vans all the time with running engines and trans for the $300-500 range. I may get lucky and find something that I can throw in.

Also, I see a lot of people using the 518 trans??? is that an over drive trans of some sort as some lower gears and a 4 speed auto console shift of some kind would be cool or a 5 speed mopar trans, what options are out there.

And last, is there alink to both a good 360 build and a 273 build???? I am no mechanic and certainly no engine builder, but I need to learn. I honestly prefer body and paint work and custom metal work.

here are a couple of pics of my 273 67 dart. I also have a 67 POST Dart that has a new 340-6 motor. I have recently decided to take off the 6 pack and use it down the road on something else as I am going to drive this dart a lot.

Thanks again Dave

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Nothing rare about that intake. It can still be purchased new from Offy.

what do they sell for new???

Dave