1963 Dodge series 440 engine replacement complete!

[Longram330]

Hi Well with this mild winter? weather we've been having, I've been spending quite a bit of time out in the garage , First removing my stricken 313 Poly (lost oil pressure) and then cleaning /painting /transferring parts to another Poly but a slightly later one (more on this in a bit) This replacement Poly was is a low mileage specimen that came out of a 1965 Belvedere that was undergoing a big block transformation! This engine was offered at a giveaway price , as up here Polys go begging , even good ones! The crank was drilled and had a pilot bushing installed so that was also was a deciding factor regarding it's purchase! My old Poly ran beautifully but the lack of oil pressure was the result of the rear cam bearing having come loose and spinning leaving no readable oil pressure in the upper galleries! The price of the replacement engine was such that I could not justify spending the machining cost to repair my old engine! (I am not going to discard the old engine as I have four other cars with Polys) Anyhow, the installation also included changing the pilot bushing to a needle bearing (as per my previous thread). Once installed and buttoned up I felt the engine still needed something, I happened to have a set of '58 chromed valve covers (three bolt instead of two) so I installed those ! I was lucky as a few times on the later Polys I've found that the centre rocker shaft tower is not drilled , it was on this engine so the installation of the early valve covers was without the annoying job of securing wire loom and sealing the centre hole! In preparation for a start I pre-oiled the engine (new filter and fresh oil ,10W30 Diesel lube) by running up the oil pump with a home made drive shaft after removing the distributor drive shaft. (max pressure during this step was 70 psi) . I installed new plugs , cleaned the distributor cap and tested the wires , all was in order.... I primed the carb and set the distributor to where they usually sit , snugged up the hold down clamp a bit and spun her over .... result was almost an immediate start , by that I mean it fired but did not remain running! A slight adjustment of the distributor toward the "advance" direction and I was rewarded with a smooth running engine! It caught I think on the second
or third spin of the starter motor!
Now I'll reveal my own little surprise as per my previous thread I was pretty tickled about having a '62 vintage high speed reduction gear starter , well, when I removed the original valve covers on this engine not only was the interior of the engine spotless (no real accumulation of oil carbon etc.) I was surprised to find that there were no rocker arm/tappet adjusting screws which means this engine has hydraulic lifters making it one of the last series of Polys to be manufactured prior to the full introduction of the "LA" engine. Up here even in the early to mid seventies it was not uncommon to catch one of these "Late" Polys in an early '67 model year full size Dodge or PLymouth but to catch one now so many years later is in my narrow little world truly exciting! The only real question I have is how did it end up in a '65! I've added a few pics of my "completed " Task . I still have some engine compartment detailing to do and a bit of body work on the rest of the car but it's going to be terrific to drive my old '63 again!

 

[Dave6T4]

Just a tip; don't use Fram filter; use a Wix!

 

[Longram330]

Hi Honestly, when I did use Fram on occasion ,I never had any trouble at all. When the oil pressure went out on my old engine I figured it was due to mileage and perhaps lack of maintenance in the past. My old 313 still used a cartridge filter not a spin on! (Chryco P/N 2202786) This new (to me) engine uses a spin on.
When I was still working, I'd get the Chryco/Autopar "Master packs" from my local Autopar supplier at trade price, I used those filters without even a second thought! At one time I was using the Hastings Densite until Baldwin bought them up. The Hastings was the only filter at the time that used the impaction/impingement principal. I liked those filters ...Since Baldwin bought them, I figured the Hastings technology would be used in their filters... I've taken a few apart to check but the media looks quite conventional. But since filter changes are essential, and since the Bulk dealer where I get my oil does carry Baldwin I purchase the Baldwin. Filter specs are a bit better than the rest so that helped in making my decision.