273 Charger Engine (235hp or 275hp)?

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ValleyRat

ValleyRat

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Hey Everyone,

How can I identify a regular 273 Charger motor vs the rare 275 hp Dodge D-Dart engine? From the research I've done, the 275hp motors were only built in 1966.

I recently bought a '67 Barracuda that has a 273 Charger motor in it (not original to the car). The previous owner bought it around 1980. He swears up and down that it would lift a wheel off the ground in the early '80s when launching (I find that hard to believe...). The car was parked when it sheared the torque converter bolts off in '83.

While everyone has their stories, I would like to know without a doubt what motor I have. It has all the basic signs of a Charger motor (finned valve covers with black wrinkle paint, 4 bbl cast iron intake, 4 bbl Carter carb, domed pistons, Charger chrome air cleaner, etc.). The block is stamped with a C 273, my understanding is that this block was made in 1966 for a '67 car?

Is there an easy way to rule out the possibility of a 275 hp motor (as much as I'd love it to be one)? I'm currently leaning towards putting a 360 in the car, unless I have a rare 273 sitting on my stand in the garage. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I apologies in advance if any of my assumed information is incorrect.

Cuda.jpg
 
From my understanding, 275 motors would have a Holley with an adapter plate (and a different air cleaner by default), and a bigger cam- Camonics or Cammotion, I believe; I think the profile was developed by Racer Brown, but the bid was given to someone else.
@ddartdude may shed more light on the specifics.
My guess is that your Commando air cleaner got replaced by a Charger 273 unit sometime over the years.
 
That's all great information, the fact that my motor has a Carter and no carb spacer leads me to believe it is likely the regular 235 hp motor.
 
I think you answered your own question, yes the C-273 would have been slated for a 67 model year car. That being said the D-Darts were not 67 model year cars.


Alan
 
I have the 4bbl intake, valve covers, air cleaner and carb, to do a Charger conversion.
All I would need is the pistons and cam.

And I could convert my 2bbl 273 to a Charger 4bbl 273.

Just because it looks like a Charger (Commando for the Plymouth folks) does not mean it started life that way.

Either way still a cool engine and worth saving.

.
 
Thank you everyone, you made quick work of my questions!

Now to decide on my next move. Rebuild my 273, or hunt down a 360...
 
Lord Geez us. Where does all the misinformation come from? If it is a true 4 barrel engine it will have domed pistons with only 2 valve reliefs. Without pulling it and measuring it, you don't know what cam is in there. There was a 2 barrel cam, a 4 barrel cam (slightly larger) and the nasty performance cam that came in the D Dart engine. The D Dart's ran a Holley instead of a Carter AFB. They used the stock manifold and a adapter if memory serves me correctly. The D Darts were made in 1966 and the blocks in 66 didn't have any specific stamped information on them other than a "273" and the casting number. Mopar used the same block for all the 273's.

Your chance of having a 275/273 are slim to none.
ValleyRat said:
Hey Everyone,

How can I identify a regular 273 Charger motor vs the rare 275 hp Dodge D-Dart engine? From the research I've done, the 275hp motors were only built in 1966.

I recently bought a '67 Barracuda that has a 273 Charger motor in it (not original to the car). The previous owner bought it around 1980. He swears up and down that it would lift a wheel off the ground in the early '80s when launching (I find that hard to believe...). The car was parked when it sheared the torque converter bolts off in '83.

While everyone has their stories, I would like to know without a doubt what motor I have. It has all the basic signs of a Charger motor (finned valve covers with black wrinkle paint, 4 bbl cast iron intake, 4 bbl Carter carb, domed pistons, Charger chrome air cleaner, etc.). The block is stamped with a C 273, my understanding is that this block was made in 1966 for a '67 car?

Is there an easy way to rule out the possibility of a 275 hp motor (as much as I'd love it to be one)? I'm currently leaning towards putting a 360 in the car, unless I have a rare 273 sitting on my stand in the garage. Any help would be greatly appreciated, I apologies in advance if any of my assumed information is incorrect.

View attachment 1715876759
Click to expand...
 
I went to school with a friend who had a 55 Chevy with a 283 and a 4 speed. That car was all steel and bone stock heavy *** body.....he could get the tires off the ground about 6" after doing a burnout and staging it in the hot rubber in the school parking lot. He still has the car to this day. Never say never.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I went to school with a friend who had a 55 Chevy with a 283 and a 4 speed. That car was all steel and bone stock heavy *** body.....he could get the tires off the ground about 6" after doing a burnout and staging it in the hot rubber in the school parking lot. He still has the car to this day. Never say never.
Click to expand...
55's were pretty light. Not to far over 3000# like my 66 Dart. Now your Valiant probably weighs 2500#. That's a lightweight.
 
toolmanmike said:
Lord Geez us. Where does all the misinformation come from?

Your chance of having a 275/273 are slim to none.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! Sorry I should have given more info, my 273 does have the domed pistons with 2 valve reliefs, I wasn't aware of the Holley carb part of the equation. Good to know!

237 piston.jpg
 
RustyRatRod said:
I went to school with a friend who had a 55 Chevy with a 283 and a 4 speed. That car was all steel and bone stock heavy *** body.....he could get the tires off the ground about 6" after doing a burnout and staging it in the hot rubber in the school parking lot. He still has the car to this day. Never say never.
Click to expand...

Wow! That's pretty cool, I guess it is possible with the right conditions. Thanks for the reply!
 
ValleyRat said:
Thanks for the reply! Sorry I should have given more info, my 273 does have the domed pistons with 2 valve reliefs, I wasn't aware of the Holley carb part of the equation. Good to know!

View attachment 1715876832
Click to expand...
That is a 4 barrel piston and standard bore. (3.625) 67 was the last year for the Commando (Plymouth) and Charger (Dodge). Both were the same between brands just a different sticker on the air cleaner.
 
My take on the Commando/Charger 273: it is already designed for top end, and almost anything you can do to it just makes it more so. That sounds fun, but with a Torqueflite it's hard to make use of it, since it doesn't have the low end grunt for a big launch... at least not with the typical 3.23 rear. You are only in the power band twice at legal speeds, and I can't recall ever achieving wheel spin on dry pavement in my Commando-powered, Sure-Grip Barracuda. What I am saying is you might be disappointed unless you go to a higher numeric rear ratio. Or drop in a 4 speed and have fun blasting through the gears. But you'd obviously be better off with a 360 for sheer torque.
 
mvh said:
Or drop in a 4 speed and have fun blasting through the gears. But you'd obviously be better off with a 360 for sheer torque.
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Thanks mvh, luckily, there was a 833 4 speed in the trunk of the car, it has all the linkages, shifter, and even a spare clutch pedal assembly. The previous owner gathered all the parts in '83 after he broke the original trans torque converter. He must have been planning a swap.

That being said, will the 4 speed help make better use of the power? I'm not going to be racing this car at the strip, but would like to be able to spin the tires from time to time. I guess I'm asking if it is all a wash when comparing a 273 4 bbl car to a 360? 4 speed or not.
 
The D-Dart engine would have come with Headers by Doug too, but, I'm sure those would have been long gone by now regardless. You can build that 273 up to be a pretty good screamer. It makes more of an impression when you whip those Ferd/Chubby guys with a "lowly" 273! :lol:
 
ValleyRat said:
Thank you everyone, you made quick work of my questions!

Now to decide on my next move. Rebuild my 273, or hunt down a 360...
Click to expand...

.27 more stroke and 87 cubic inches. Not a difficult choice.
 
RustyRatRod said:
I went to school with a friend who had a 55 Chevy with a 283 and a 4 speed. That car was all steel and bone stock heavy *** body.....he could get the tires off the ground about 6" after doing a burnout and staging it in the hot rubber in the school parking lot. He still has the car to this day. Never say never.
Click to expand...
Must have been 5.13 gears
 
"JUST" a Commando/Charger 273 (((sigh))) They were great engines and shouldn't be underestimated. That engine in your 67 would be great and if you were actually driving the car much, you would be much happier than you would with the D/Dart motor which was great for the track, but would have been a pain in the @$$ otherwise.
 
str12-340 said:
"JUST" a Commando/Charger 273 (((sigh))) They were great engines and shouldn't be underestimated. That engine in your 67 would be great and if you were actually driving the car much, you would be much happier than you would with the D/Dart motor which was great for the track, but would have been a pain in the @$$ otherwise.
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That's a good point you make, 235hp (or somewhere around there) will be a fun driver when mated to the 4 speed. My gut tells me to keep the 273 for the sake of being a little different (and period correct), but every friend I talk with tries to get me to hunt down a 360.

There is something that keeps me coming back to the idea of a little solid lifter motor that can live at high rpm, seems like a fun way to go.
 
ValleyRat said:
That's a good point you make, 235hp (or somewhere around there) will be a fun driver when mated to the 4 speed. My gut tells me to keep the 273 for the sake of being a little different (and period correct), but every friend I talk with tries to get me to hunt down a 360.

There is something that keeps me coming back to the idea of a little solid lifter motor that can live at high rpm, seems like a fun way to go.
Click to expand...
Interesting you mention high rpm. I advanced my cam a few degrees to give it more low end power. It rarely sees 4500 rpm (or needs to)

I have yet to see a video of a 273 with a tach at 6 or 7000 rpm. Just sayin'
 
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