I'm under the impression Plymouth V8(301 C.I.?) came out in the 1955 cars, I seem to remember one having a set of inline Carter WCFB dual quads, maybe not stock

I was mistaken.

The Plymouth Polys (the "A" series of motors) was apparently introduced in 1956.

The Plymouth 301 (often misidentified by owners/potential buyers as a 318) was a one year only engine in 1957.

Other than the factory designated displacement of 301 cubic inches they are completely different from the Chrysler 301 Spitfire engines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_A_engine

I'm surprised that they don't mention the 325 C.I. Dodge poly engine, and maybe used in Desoto also in 1957, 1958 and maybe earlier

................. so what year was it when they finally took the LSD out of the water coolers in the engineering department ?

they took the LSD out when they figured the LEAD was doing a better job.....

Not much of an update, but I did find something interesting today while I was sorting thru the Poly parts. Turns out the Poly pushrods are only .065 shorter than the intake (short) pushrods for the 331/354 Hemi.


Hemi poly PR by M Patterson, on Flickr


Regardless of the cam I use in the short block I'll be ordering adjustable pushrods, and it was kind of a pleasant surprise to find out that I won't have to worry about having to have oddball length custom pushrod made (the .065 difference is well within the adjustable range). So it looks like I'll be able to just order a complete set of pushrods for the hemi heads and an extra 8 intake pushrods to cover the Poly heads.

My wrist is getting a little better so I was able to get some light parts cleaning done. This weekend was spent getting the valley cover cleaned up.

The original valley covers have the oil fill tube and provisions for a PCV valve (the original location for the road draft tube). The cover is made in 2 pieces and also acts as the oil separator for the for the PCV system.

Most of the aftermarket valley covers I looked at have a flush mount oil fill which looks nice but can be a PIA to add a quart of oil to when you are on the road. They also have no provisions for a PCV valve. The common work around for the PCV is a bolt on breather kit for the valve covers. IMO they look OK on aftermarket valve covers but not so much on stock stamped ones like I'll be using let alone the Poly covers the engine will start out with.

With that in mind I decided to use the original valley cover rather than go the aftermarket market route.



VP1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


The biggest problem with using the original cover is getting them clean......years of running non-detergent oil usually leaves a bunch of crud on the inside. It was not a problem years ago when most machine shops used a hot tank and they could be soaked to dissolve the stuff but the jet washes most shops use now don't do much good on the inside of them. The top and bottom of the cover are spot welded together and some guys split them for cleaning. I took an easier route and after I had it jet washed to get the outside crud off I soaked it in my 5 gallon bucket of carb cleaner for a couple of days. I managed to get a flashlight and dental mirror in to verify that it was completely clean and this is ready for a coat of paint.

VP2 by M Patterson, on Flickr

OK saving almost $300 on aftermarket parts is also a big plus.

that turned out pretty good mike. is the PVC hole a commonly available grommet size, or will you have to weld on a bung/collar [whatever you want to call it] adapter for the grommet ?

The grommet is available from Hot Heads (saves me having to figure out the size I need)....and of course I forgot to include it in the order I placed last week.

The thing I love about Hot Heads is that you can call, they have your info saved (probably) and in a few days the item will show up

The best grommet that I have found is either Standard Motor Parts GV1 or Dorman 452324. The PCV is either Wells PCV48 or Standard Motor Parts V180. This fits all of the valley covers with a road draft tube.

...and yes, the Spitfire engines are hard runners.

thanks for those numbers wayfarer ! appreciate it ! gathering up stuff for a 392 build that will happen someday, and every little bit helps.

thanks for those numbers wayfarer !

X2

By mutual agreement my block has been pretty much sitting in queue at the machine shop while my hand heals. In the mean time I've been collecting parts and making a few measurements.

Dave currently has 2 other 331 HEMIs under construction at his shop so I've been able to get some measurements off those for reference when I make a decision of what pistons I'll be using in my engine.

One engine is a customer's 331 that is using Hot Heads stock replacement (.030) pistons. This is just pretty much a stock rebuild so it's not going thru the steps to figure what the actual compression ratio, but I did get piston pin height on the pistons before they were installed and deck height numbers off it for comparison.

Y SR by M Patterson, on Flickr


We haven't sonic checked my block yet so it's still up in the air as to what pistons I'll be using. I got a couldn't pass up deal on a set of NOS standard bore 354 Pistons that may go in it. These are about .060 taller than the stock replacement pistons HH sells but have a lot more valve relief.


Y NOS by M Patterson, on Flickr


Just fort grins this is the 331 Dave is building for himself using Ross pistons. With the aluminum heads that will go on it will be right at 10:1 compression.


Y 10 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


I've also been collecting more parts for my build. My Hot Heads order came in.....mostly the parts I know I'll need regardless of the heads and cam I'll be using. I'm using the Hot Heads thin timing cover and lower pulleys which are the same as what I currently have on the 354 in my 57 Plymouth. The water pump pulley is actually an aftermarket 2 groove pulley for a small block Chevy with short water pump. It lines up perfectly with the HH lower pulleys and is about 1/3 the cost of HH billet one.

I also stumbled across a OLD Fel Pro head gasket set the 331/354 Poly. It had been mis-advertised as being for an early Hemi and had no takers so the price was right. It's got the steel shim head gaskets (worth about a 1/4 point compression over the composite gaskets).

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out HH sells the solid copper exhaust flange gaskets. The set I bought from a different vendor for the Hemi in the 37 turned out to be composite with thin sheets of copper on either side.


Y inv by M Patterson, on Flickr


When I built the 331 and 354 HEMIs back in 2006 I didn't add the lower spark plug tube seals HH sells. I've pulled the plugs on both engines a couple of time. When I restart the 354 afterwards it gives off a little puff of smoke when it's started again and then it's fine. When I pull the plugs on the 331 and restart it smokes like a train until the oil that falls in the cylinder is burned off. As the HEMI heads that will eventually go on this engine are the same triple nickel heads that the other 331 uses I'll be using HH lower tube seals on this one.

I like the looks of the 426 spark plug boots on the early HEMIs. When I built my other HEMIs they sold custom spark plug tubes that were flanged at the top for stock 426 boots. Those tubes are apparently no longer available but HH sells a push in 426 "style" boot for use with the stock spark plug tubes. Their site didn't have a real good picture of what the boots looked like so here's a better picture. I can live with them especially as I have a bunch of good stock plug tubes I can use (which saves about $150 by not having to buy the custom tubes if they were even available).

Y PT by M Patterson, on Flickr


So that's about were I'm currently at.

A decade or two back I made a die to re-shape a 426 tube top to give a 45° flair that the 426 boot fits nicely on and the overall length works with most of the engines. If interested I'll (try to) post a pic when I get back to the shop (out and about for a week or so). I also have alot of 426 boots available.

Lets try a pic...

Between the surgery, moving into a new house and life in general the project got put on the back burner for the last 2 ½ years. Now that my buddy at the machine shop and I have some time again it’s at least moving forward now.

Shortly after the last post I ran into a show stopper on the Poly portion of the build. Something I should have thought about when I started doing my initial measurements was whether there would be interference issues between the combustion chamber in the 301 Poly head and the size of the cylinder bore on a 354 block (there is .3125 difference between bore size on the 301 and 354). Basically the head overhangs the cylinder bore. I’ve got some feelers out for 354 Poly heads/a complete motor but so far not a lot of luck.

For now we’re going to go ahead with the hemi portion of the build. We got the block sonic checked to be sure it will safely go out the .125” to standard bore 354. It’s been line honed and should get square decked and maybe bored and honed sometime this week. Once that’s done I’ll send out the rotating assembly to be balanced.

One of the things we did a while back was to change the block over to use cup style freeze plugs. Now I’ve never had problems getting the stock disc type plugs to seal when I’ve rebuilt engines in the past. The problem was always when a customer came in with a leaking freeze plug that had to be replaced in car. Anybody who has had to fight getting a punch centered on the new plug and have room to swing a hammer under the car knows exactly what I’m talking about. Chances are I won’t live long enough for the plugs to go bad but if I do, it’s a hell of a lot easier to do a cup plug.



fp1 by M Patterson, on Flickr



FP 1 by M Patterson, on Flickr


I also got around and ordered the rest of the stuff I needed to get the put the engine together. I ended up going with one of Hot Heads flat tappet cams and adjustable push rods. The cam’s on back order but should be here in a month or so. I also ordered of a set of stainless valves, springs and retainers.

With luck I should have the engine together sometime this winter.

On a side note I also found a great deal on a 46RH so I picked that up and had it rebuilt.

46RH by M Patterson, on Flickr


I’m just not real sure right now not where it will end up at. Initially it was supposed to go behind this engine (and still may). Lately though I’ve been kicking around pulling the 4 speed out of the 57 Plymouth and stuffing it in there (occasional problems with my left leg……the golden years suck). If I do put it in the Plymouth, this engine will end up with the 4 speed behind it. Either way I’ll be drilling the back of the crank for a pilot bearing before the crank goes out for grinding and balancing.


.

Thanks for the update, not that I understand all of it but I can appreciate it.

Your sure right about the golden years, somebody was full of it.
After two weeks of lying on the floor under the dash on my '56 doing aftermarket A/C I hurt everywhere.

Just got done adjusting my adjustable push rods on my 330. All I can say they were a PIA. I’m doing a 241 right now. I found a shop that will convert my rocker assembly to adjustable rockers. Once I get them back and installed on the motor we can order push rods from smith brothers. FWIW I have a set of adjustable push rods I’ll sell.

"........After two weeks of lying on the floor under the dash on my '56 doing aftermarket A/C I hurt everywhere........"

I hear you Ray, it took me almost a month to recover from putting the Power Steering on the 57 Plymouth last year.

Yeah adjusting the push rods on an engine stand is no fun and doing it in-car is a giant PIA stretching out over the fenders. I'd be interested to know how the adjustable rockers turn out once you get them back. Are you going to need to do something about valve covers for adjuster clearance?

i believe the valve covers with adjustable rockers had "bumps" in them to clear the adjusters.