273 Rebuild

[racepaul]

Hi All
I'm a newbie here with a new to me 1964 Dart. I will have to rebuild the 273 motor and have a few questions. I've read a bunch of post about losing the 273 and putting in a 318, but I'm sticking with the original motor. That being said here are a few of my questions.

Can I put a 4 bbl carb on it?

I would like to re-ring the motor and new bearings. Are the parts available?

Any recommendations on things to do with the motor?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Paul

 

[toolmanmike]

Yes and Yes. You will need to find a 1965 4 barrel intake manifold or change the heads to the 66 and newer ones. (the intake bolts are smaller and at a different angle for the 64 & 65's.) The Isky E-5 cam works well in these 273's and any electronic ignition works well also. Read through my 273 build thread for some help. As this thread unfold there will be more 273 owners chime in with what works for them. Welcome to FABO. toolmanmike

 

[wsuwrhr]

Yes and Yes. You will need to find a 1965 4 barrel intake manifold or change the heads to the 66 and newer ones. (the intake bolts are smaller and at a different angle for the 64 & 65's.) The Isky E-5 cam works well in these 273's and any electronic ignition works well also. Read through my 273 build thread for some help. As this thread unfold there will be more 273 owners chime in with what works for them. Welcome to FABO. toolmanmike

All true, when I was younger and had no money, I made tapered spacers to account for the different angle of the intake bolts.

Otherwise, if the OP wants to ditch the 273, and run a different motor, I'm interested in the crank and rods.

Brian

 

[krazykuda]

Try one of Mancini racing rebuild kits. For just bearings and rings, go with kit A or B...

They usually don't stock 273 rings, but can order them. The bearings are the same for 273/318, and 340....

The rebuild kits are a good start...

http://www.manciniracing.com/enrebkit.html


Oh yeah ---> welcome to FABO!!!

 

[Abodybomber]

Still a 3,31 stroke small block Mopar... Just think velocity on head
work, definitely a dual plane intake...
". The more you research here, before you spend a dollar" ,is my motto.. I spent 8 months doing Magnum swap research, before becoming a member.
Krazy Kuda, been through this ,before.. So has Rusty Rat Rod..... These guys tell you good or bad, without no agenda...



nn

 

[nm9stheham]

If you need new pistons, then check with Egge; they are the only new ones I know of; the 3-5/8" bore size is not common. Egge PN's are L2221 for the 2 BBL and L2222 for the 4 bbl, higher compression ones. I would personally switch over to the higher compression 4 bbl 273 pistons.

One other piston option that I know of is to get some 223 Ford inline six pistons, and bush the pin holes in the rods and then mill the piston tops down a bit to get the right compression height. But that is a lot of expense unless you have some 223 pistons cheap.

All the above are cast pistons. Fine for everyday street use.

 

[krazykuda]

The best dual plane intake for you would be the Edelbrock D4B, It's now obsolete, so you have to find a good used one. The D4B has the special intake bolt size and angle to match the 64 - 65 273 heads.

Or another option is to find a set of 66 and later 273/318 heads and use the Edelbrock LD4B. That is made for the later intake bolts and angle and is easier to find. I would recommend going with 66 or 67 318 heads if possible to keep the compression from dropping too much with the larger combustion chambers in the later heads. There is a guy in California selling a set of 67 heads that I saw a couple of days ago on here.

Here's one LD4B for sale here:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=323010&highlight=ld4b


This guy is a little more expensive:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=317671&highlight=ld4b


If you use the Edelbrock LD4B, there is no bosses to mount the coil in the stock location, so you will have to relocate the coil mount, or some people use the six pack coil mount bracket that bolts to the intake.

Here is a nice Holley 600 vac secondary carb with electric choke that will run real nice on a 273:

http://www.manciniracing.com/homo41noflca.html

 

[krazykuda]

If you need new pistons, then check with Egge; they are the only new ones I know of; the 3-5/8" bore size is not common. Egge PN's are L2221 for the 2 BBL and L2222 for the 4 bbl, higher compression ones. I would personally switch over to the higher compression 4 bbl 273 pistons.

One other piston option that I know of is to get some 223 Ford inline six pistons, and bore out the pin holes in the rods and then mill the piston tops down a bit to get the right compression height. But that is a lot of expense unless you have some 223 pistons cheap.

If you go with the higher compression pistons, watch your compression. Here's a thread that will walk you through how to check the compression on your parts and engine combo:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=278215


Here's a thread on how to put the front of the small block together correctly:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=287231


I would try to keep compression under 9.5 so you can run pump gas. But check your parts combo first, don't go by the book numbers for compression. Use the thread referenced above and know what you are working with.