Help with a motor swap 66 fury 318 poly to 76 la 360

[joetrike13]

Happy New Years everyone. I need some help with a motor swap. My fiances 66 Fury 318 poly is making chocolate milk in the radiator. i know it could be the intake gaskets or head gaskets or something else. I found a 76 Cordoba with a fresh engine 360 and 727 trans for sale at a decent price. I was told that i need a new left hand motor mount to put a LA 360 in the fury. is this true and where can i get one. i know i could probably take the 318 poly apart and see whats wrong but i'd probably be better off just swapping it with a new engine since she does love driving the car on a weekly basis and i'd like the Fury to have more power since my stockish 66 vw bug can out run it all day with its current set up which is super slow. any help with would be great.

 

[Nicholas Adams]

You make a good point brotha, but the 66 fury’s with the 318s are rarer than the 383s. And everybody swapped them out. You and me are the last ones. Please, for my sake, don’t do it.

 

[rkrochen]

At least attempt to fix the poly before you change it out for an LA engine. The poly is rated at 230hp and 340ft lbs of torque which is more than the 360 you will be installing. Also these are in my opinion a better engine.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

Does the engine seem to run OK other than the "chocolate milk" in the radiator? Is there any sign of "chocolate milk" under the oil filler cap? Does the end of the transmission dip stick look like "chocolate milk"

I'm just thinking that it's "possible" that the transmission cooler in the radiator is leaking into the coolant..... and a new radiator + cooling system flush might fix it?

 

[MoPar Maniac]

The 360 is rated in net hp and the 318 was rated in gross hp.

 

[Mr C]

'66-73 C-Body Products

Get the poly-locks and don't look back...

 

[rkrochen]

Didn’t realize they rated them differently. Good to know. Thanks

 

[joetrike13]

thanks all for the replies. i haven't went out and looked at the car lately as i just haven't had time. the motor runs but smokes and burns oil. burns about a quart every 200 miles. The cap for the oil fill is a breather. so ill look at it tonight and see if the tranny dip stick is low also. i went and looked at a 75 cordoba 360 and it smokes. and she had a 77 cordoba with a 400bb and it smoked also so i didnt buy either of them. Im not a fan of the poly as parts are expensive to make more power. thats one of the reasons of finding a 360 or 318 la. cams, heads, intakes are cheaper than dealing with the poly 318. ill look tonight and see if im low on tranny fluid and see if i have any water in the tranny and the motor. thanks for the help everyone.

 

[PurpleBeeper]

thanks all for the replies. i haven't went out and looked at the car lately as i just haven't had time. the motor runs but smokes and burns oil. burns about a quart every 200 miles. The cap for the oil fill is a breather. so ill look at it tonight and see if the tranny dip stick is low also. i went and looked at a 75 cordoba 360 and it smokes. and she had a 77 cordoba with a 400bb and it smoked also so i didnt buy either of them. Im not a fan of the poly as parts are expensive to make more power. thats one of the reasons of finding a 360 or 318 la. cams, heads, intakes are cheaper than dealing with the poly 318. ill look tonight and see if im low on tranny fluid and see if i have any water in the tranny and the motor. thanks for the help everyone.

This is true. I suggest you contact @rumblefish over at forbbodiesonly. He knows a lot about small blocks. If you REALLY want some horsepower, I think you can stroke a 360 to 408 (or something like that)

 

[joetrike13]

Good day everyone, I finally had some time to work on the fury. and found water in the oil and oil in the radiator. i have since bought a LA 360 and its in the machine shop. it was supposed to be a good running motor. well after taking the valve covers off it had busted valve guide seals so took the intake off and found the cam was done. so im waiting for it to come back from the machine shop and ill build it then put it in. so my question is if anyone can answer it what headers is everyone using. i have the stock manifold for the 360 and they should work but just wondering if there is a set of headers i can run to help it breath since i am going to run a xe268h cam. thanks

 

[Joseph James]

Good day everyone, I finally had some time to work on the fury. and found water in the oil and oil in the radiator. i have since bought a LA 360 and its in the machine shop. it was supposed to be a good running motor. well after taking the valve covers off it had busted valve guide seals so took the intake off and found the cam was done. so im waiting for it to come back from the machine shop and ill build it then put it in. so my question is if anyone can answer it what headers is everyone using. i have the stock manifold for the 360 and they should work but just wondering if there is a set of headers i can run to help it breath since i am going to run a xe268h cam. thanks

I briefly pondered headers for my Fury and decided to keep mine with stock manifolds. I just don't see the reward side of the equation working out. Don't lose the original manifolds. They are expensive.
Good luck with your engine. I just dropped a new one in my Fury. I had the same problem you had-burning oil.

 

[mr. fix it]

You make a good point brotha, but the 66 fury’s with the 318s are rarer than the 383s. And everybody swapped them out. You and me are the last ones. Please, for my sake, don’t do it.

I love the Poly!