Mopar Engines
here are many popular and powerful classics, in fact antique, Mopar power-plants, many still in use as everyday transportation, in show cars, and quite a few are still in heavy use and abuse on drag-strips all across America. Still many yet haven't seen the light of day in decades, as their owners deem them too valuable to even risk installing them and cranking them up. Here's a list (albeit not entirely complete) of some of the major contributions that the Chrysler Corporation made to engine development over the past half-century.
225 slant-six. (The Sleeping six). Countless Darts, pickup trucks, Valiants, and fleet cars were equipped with this docile, yet extremely durable little engine. There are countless stories of these little engines racking up over half a million miles!
273 "LA" engine. Not a very popular engine, the tiniest and earliest of the LA series was introduced in 1964 with a 2 bbl carb and 180 HP. Later, a "Commando" and "Super Commando" came out, the latest version putting out a respectable 275 HP. Slightly more than 1 HP per Cubic Inch. Not too shabby, and it moved around the /66 Cuda pretty smartly.
318 "Poly" engine. I've got one of these in my "64 Dodge Polara. It's being replaced with a bigger engine soon, but I'll get to that later. This engine was named the "A" engine by Chrysler, and tens of thousands found their way into medium to large sized sedans and wagons. They were replaced in '65 with the "LA" engine. Although very dependable, it's power was weak, and the engine was quite large and heavy. Some of them were even used as generator engines and also for agricultural water pumps.
318 "LA" engine. This one was probably the most popular engine in the history of Chrysler products. I've owned dozens of them. Smaller, lighter, and more powerful than the Poly version, this engine was the base engine for just about every Mopar product until the '00s. Although shunned by many Mopar fans, due to the fact that it's a "baseline" engine, there are still thousands and thousands of them running around like they just left the assembly line. They are quite capable of being massaged up to and in excess of 1hp per CID.
340 "LA" engine. This is the holy grail of all the small-blocks. It came out in the '68 Valiant with a 2bbl carb, pumping out 230 hp, and ended up making 275 HP in the 1970 Swinger. Rarest of all LA engines, it's a collector's item. Available with a 2bbl, several different 4bbls, and even a six-pack version making a whopping 330 HP!
360 "LA" engine. A work-horse of police cars nationwide, this is the largest of the Mopar Small-blocks. Available in the base-line 2bbl (I have one in my '78 Cordoba, and it's intended to replace the Poly 318 in my Polara, this engine grew from the 340 in an attempt to increase the torque and HP ratings while still keeping the light weight and small dimensions of the "LA" engine. The 360 came out in 1971 and ran in production for over 30 years. Baseline engine was the 2bbl rated at 180 HP (Like the smogger I have in my polara),there were also 4bbl units, which produced 245 HP. (remember, these are smog-control engines). You can actually build or buy a 360 crate motor that makes over 500 HP. They are extremely durable and powerful engines.
350 & 361 "B engine" The first of the big-blocks. Not very popular engines, and all I'm going to say is yes, they are part of Mopar's history. We have better things to talk about.
383 Big-Block. Now this is starting to get serious. I had one of these in my '68 road-runner. Another in the "68 Fury 4-speed I had. Either will fry it's tires till you let off the pedal. It's also a "B" motor, came out in 1959 and ran through 1971. This little big honker came with a 2bbl, a 4bbl, and even a cross-ram intake and two 4bbls. the darn carbs hung out over the valve covers! This is the kind of thing that makes my Chevy buddies shake their heads and roll their eyes. The Dodge HP version was called the "Magnum", and the Plymouth was called the "Commando" Over three million of these beasts were built, used in everything from one-ton trucks to 68 'Cudas and everything in between. The HP range from the factory went from 200 HP (for the 2bbl version used in trucks) to 330 HP in the cross-ram version. But those numbers can be deceiving. The torque on the cross-ram engine was 460 ft. lbs! That's stump-pulling power, girls and boys!
400 "B" engine. Like the 350, this one wasn't very popular. My dad bought a new '72 charger, I think the 440 engine option was a bit too expensive, so he checked off the "400 2bbl" version. Still, that car had a decent gear, positrac, and we owned it when we lived in Germany. Dad wasn't scared of them Beemers or Porsches. This engine ran from '72 to '75, so there weren't many of them around. Interesting note, they have the same stroke as a 383, so obviously bigger bores. You can run a 440 crank and get like 460 cubic inches! I ran that 400 in my challenger for a long time, and one day I bought a 440 from the junkyard, and instantly picked up four-tenths of a second. There is no replacement for displacement.
413 "B" engine. I'll put this alongside the 426 "B" engine, they were both known as wedge engines, along with the 440. They had some serious HP, even in the single 4bbl form. I had a '62 413 Max-Wedge engine that I bought from an old Super-Stock racer that dyno'd out at over 600 HP. This is serious stuff man. My '71 Challenger would run some 6.30s on fuel, and 5.90s on Nitrous with this motor. That thing would DIG OFF! Funny, it didn't do so well in my light-weight Daytona, until I took off the Cross-Ram intake and swapped out a tunnel-ram. That made all the difference in the world. Anyway, these engines were built from 1962 to 1965, and made anywhere from 410 to 435 HP from the factory.
426 Hemi- In a class by itself. Yes, I know there are other Hemis besides the 426. But this is THE one. You could go to the Plymouth dealer in 1968, order a "cuda in race trim, with a 426 Hemi, 2X4bbl carbs, a four speed, plastic windows, aluminum hood and fenders, and drag slicks. And if you could drive it, you'd clock some 10.80's in the 1/4 mile. FROM THE FACTORY!
440 "RB". Not much else needs to be said. Chryslers. Largest. Engine. Ever. It came out in 1966, with a single 4bbl, making 350HP, making it the perfect choice for a pick-up, a fire-truck, a station wagon, or even a Cuda, Charger, Fury, whatever needed big tire-shredding power. I ran a stock one in my Challenger for a long time, straight out of the junkyard and running in the mid-7s in the 1/8th mile. Yes, the Hemi is the big-daddy, the most valuable and powerful engine in Mopar history. But the 440 is the undisputed king when it comes to displacement and popularity. They're still relatively easy to come by, and with some work can make some SERIOUS horsepower. I built one for my Daytona, with aluminum rods, stroker crank (460 CID), roller valve train, Zeeker heads, two dominators, dry-sump oil system, etc. Had it dyno'd at Dickie Byrd Race cars in Georgia, and she turned up the needle to 876 HP. And that's BEFORE we hit the nitrous switch. From the factory, you'd expect anything from 350 to 390 HP, more than enough to shred both back tires until they pop. Or better yet, take your dad's '69 Fury and EMBARRASS your buddy's 351 Mach I Mustang. Don't forget to flip the air cleaner back over before you get home.
