Mighty Mopar Muscle - The Engines
Page 1
The history of Mopar performance
is really the history of Chrysler's engines. Chrysler designed
and built V-8 engines during the sixties that rivaled anything
built by GM or Ford From the high-winding 273-ci V-8 to the
ground-shaking 440 Six-Pack V-8, Chrysler offered the enthusiast
a wide selection that had all the bases covered.
The history of the small-block
high-performance V-8 began in 1964. That was the year Chrysler
introduced the 273-ci V-8 with a bore and stroke of 3.63x3.31
inches. This was the first Chrysler V-8 to benefit from
lightweight casting techniques. Referred to as the LA engine, the
273 two-barrel V-8 produced 180 hp. Performance picked up in 1965
with the release of a four-barrel version producing 235 hp at
5~00 rpm with 280 pounds-feet of torque at 4000 rpm. Domed
pistons replaced the flat-top pistons used in the standard 273,
increasing compression to 10.0:1. A high-performance camshaft
provided eight degrees more intake and exhaust duration, and an
additional twenty-six degrees of overlap. Intake valve lift was
increased from 0.395 inch to 0.425 inch. The four-barrel
carburetor had primary barrels of 1 7/16-inch diameter and
secondary barrels were 1 9/16 inches. In 1966, a limited
production version of the 273, rated at 275 hp. was introduced
with steel tubing headers, 700-cfm Holley carburetor and a
0.500inch-lift mechanical camshaft. The 273 V-8 was manufactured
through 1969.
The 318-ci V-8 was really the predecessor
of the LA engine family Its bore and stroke was 3.91x3.31 inches.
The 318 began production in 1957 and employed established casting
techniques which made it a rather heavy block for its
displacement. The 318 was never really conceived or built for
high-performance applications. It was more a bread-and-butter V-8
with a two-barrel carburetor rated at 230 hp, designed to get
good fuel economy. A four-barrel version of this old-style 318
(later engines used lightweight casting techniques) was rated at
260 hp. In 1957, there was a dual fourbarrel package that had 290
hp, which was the highest output for the oldstyle 318.
In 1967, the new LA version of the
318 was introduced This engine was sixty pounds lighter. The
cylinder heads were redesigned, having a wedge configuration
similar to the 440 V-8 also offered that year. Yet, horsepower
was the same at 230 hp with a compression ratio of 9.2:1. Few
parts from the new LA engine were interchangeable with the old
318 A engine. Even by 1970, the 318 remained in a mild
state-of-tune. Compression was 8.8:1 to run smoothly on regular
gas. Camshaft timing was 240/248 with twenty degrees overlap.
Horsepower was 230 at 4400 rpm with 320 poundsfeet of torque at
2400 rpm. It wasn't until 1978 that the new 318 was built with a
four-barrel carburetor and manifold borrowed from the 360 V-8.
This was the first four-barrel 318 in seventeen years. The 318
V-8 was the only Chrysler passenger-car V-8 engine to survive
into the eighties, and thus has the distinction of being
manufactured longer and in greater quantities than any other LA
engine.
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