I just bought a '72 Dodge Charger.
I Just bought a '72 Dodge Charger. I know it was a gift from God cause there have been a few other cars that had I been there just in time I would have gotten, and therefore would not have bought the Charger. The guy only wanted $600 for it too, which is exactly how much I had! Little too coincidental to me. I'll be the coolest 17 year old to date!
I don't have any pictures of it yet but I can tell you it has no paint, just primer. The primer isn't too bad either, has a little bit of rusting going on but nothing that can't be fixed or replaced. The guy took all of the chrome trimmings off and took off the vinyl top. He wanted to get all of the chrome pieces redone but couldn't find anyone to do it for the price he wanted to pay. The front bumper is in real good condition I may just get a friend to buff it for me.
It has a 318 in it that doesn't run right now for whatever reason. I'm gonna get to work on it asap but if I can't get it fixed for a very reasonable price I'm just gonna save my money and get a HEMI. I don't know anything about the trans-mission...... I'm pretty sure it's an automatic but I want to change it if or when I get a bigger engine. Anyone know what kind of a job I'm looking at there? Don't know much about swapping out the tranny types.
Well guys, give me some feed back please!
And Now A Little Dose of Reality
First congratulations on your new project.
If it's a 318 automatic, chances are it has a 904 rather than a 727. These are a good transmission in light duty applications, but not as heavy duty as the 727.
The 318 is what is called an LA engine (small block)and shares the same bellhousing bolt pattern as the 340 and 360 engines.
The 426 HEMIs are based on the B/RB (big block) motors and require a different transmission as both 904 and 727 have an intergral belhousing/case design.
Check on E Bay and other places on the net and I think you going to find that a HEMI in any codition is WAY WAY out of your budget.
Personally, I think I would get the engine in it running if you can and see what kind of shape it's in. From there you can figure out what way to go. A cheap swap for these cars has always been a 383/400/440. Donner cars can often be purchased for next to nothing and will go a long way in turning the car into a hot rod.
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And Now A Little Dose Of Reality (pt 2)
AHHHH an early HEMI!!!!!!! The sight of one makes the owners grin :D and the potential competition run away**) .
Alas now the reality: KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO BEFORE YOU BUY ONE:whacked:
From the valve covers, this is a Chrysler version (Chrysler, Dodge and Desoto all produced a unique version from 1951-1958 in a total of 13 diffrent displacements). This would be one of the not very desirable 51-54 extended bellhousing 331 CI versions.
It will have the not so hi-performance small valve heads (as noted by the lack of water passages in the ends of the heads, and if memory serves correctly ran a compression ratio of 7.5 to 1 (OK so I had to look that up). I see it also has a 2 BBL intake on it, so plan on spending anywhere $100 (if your real lucky finding one for that price on E Bay) for a castiron single 4BBL intake which will require an adaptor plate to run a modern carb,- to up to a grand or more for low production multiple carb intakes. Of course with that compression a blower would be good (likely about 2 grand, AFTER you spent several thousand dollars on rebuilding the bottom end to take all the HP).
The transmission behind this looks like a 2 spd Powerflight (not a very heavy duty piece, just heavy because of the castiron case) and besides just 2 speeds, no Park, just a big brake on the back of the tranny. With the extended belhousing your transmission choices are pretty much limited to a ....castiron 2 spd Powerflight (unless you get really lucky and find an old Offenhauser tranny adaptor for the OLD ford trannys which were not much better than the Powerflights).
The oil pan on the engine is a rear sump, and a custom oil pan and and pickup will need to be fabricated to let it work in your Charger engine bay, along with custom motor mounts.
The headers are neat looking and will make a nice addition to any Fuel-Altered or garage wall.
And when all is said and done, you have (drum roll please) a VERY heavy engine under 350 cubic inches, that LOOKS impressive as hell.
I'm not trying to talk anyone out of using one of these engines (or any other engine swap for that matter) just pointing out the necessity of doing your homework and knowing what your getting into).:HMMM:
(MY Project)