273/4 -318 debate

OK guys, listen up. I have a couple Mopar small block books and this is what they say about small block cranks:


"The A engine cast crank was introduced with the 71 360 engine. The 360 has never used anything but a cast crank in production. By 1975, all A engines used a cast crank. The automatic transmission 340 engines got one in 72' however the manual transmission cars still used a forged crank until the end of 73'. Cast cranks made their first appearance in the 318 but they required no external balance, which makes them harder to identify. By the end of 74' all production forged crankshafts were gone". (Larry Shepard-How to Hot Rod Small Block Mopar engines)
It would be interesting as to whether some forged cranks were used in truck, marine, or industrial applications. A possibility.


"All production small block crankshafts made since mid 1972 have been cast cranks. LA and Magnum production crankshafts are very similar and can be interchanged as long as the proper rear main oil seal and pilot bearing are used. Early 273,318, and 340 engines used a production-forged crankshaft." Jim Szilagyi (Dodge Motorsports Engineering Dept.) How to Build Big Inch Mopar Small Blocks.

There you have it. A bit more specific info. It looks like 72-74 were the phase out years for the forged crank depending on engine and application. tmm