Poly head racers

House of Darts · 08-21-2012, 05:12 PM

Has anyone gone down the 1320 with the 318 Poly Head as a stocker?

BlueOval Ralph · 08-21-2012, 06:02 PM

If you know the Polysphere head is close to certian Pro Stock head! The chamber design was way ahead of its time.

Paul Precht · 08-21-2012, 10:48 PM

I did some flow testing with a test head I ported using an Olds 1.99 intake, the results were pretty impressive. In stock the 260 HP rating and small AFB would make it a poor choice, I'm talking a 62 car, earlier cars were too heavy and the later cars were 2 brl only. If the HP were dropped to 220 or so, a light Savoy in the right hands with all the right stuff could be a quick car.

Chris Barnes · 08-22-2012, 12:32 AM

I did race a 318 Poly for a season on a bracket car that was set up like a stocker. I eventually made it go 15.0 something before I gave up and swapped in a 440. I was trying to get it into the 14s without headers (Summit was out of Poly headers). That motor would take a beating like a rented mule and drive home every time.

The intake selection is interesting. We had a functional six pack set up at one time. I know where there's a Weiand aluminum dual plane on a dead wagon in the bushes somewhere. I eventually ran a factory iron 4 bbl with a super lean Holley vac sec. A couple of old timers told me about dual quad Polys but I've never seen one. I wonder if someone couldn't go through the books and find a police package intake deal somewhere.

I never even ran the valves to tell you the truth but it was a solid cam. It would be interesting to see what could be done with a good race cam and valve train components. A friend of mine ported on a set of poly heads and made some gains.

I think the main problem with the Poly program is that it's a very heavy engine. The power to weight ratio is terrible for a race car, especially a Stocker.

I just want to say that I have some affection for those old boat anchors. There are a few of them in my yard since they seemed to come in a lot of the '63-'66s. They are the Slant Six of V8s, if that makes any sense. They are pretty easy to resurrect because they are very hard to kill.

Chris Barnes
Wagons of Steel!
Stock 6621

GTX JOHN · 08-22-2012, 06:22 AM

Around early 1970s I race a 63 Plymouth Bel. with a 318 with 2 four Barrels and factory cast iron intake with carter 3258 and 3259 AFBs. It held AHRA record at 12.88 @ 102.80. Formula 8 some Letter Designation. A weird combo like many AHRA Cars in those days and never a NHRA combo.
I acquired it for a set of Stage 3 1964 Max Wedge Heads from Burbank Speed which was run by Smith Bros (Pro Trans fame) as I seem to recall.
It was called the "Baby Bee" as I remember.
I Street Raced it some on Sundays in Fullerton Cal with LA Street Racers and drove it the mile or so from my car lot to where we raced.
Sorry my memory is not any better anymore but that is about all I remember.

Paul Merolla · 08-27-2012, 03:06 PM

Went to the Geezer Drags yesterday at Rolling Thunder, and what to my eyes would appear..............

I never got to see the car run, but it looked pretty serious!

08-21-2012, 05:12 PM	#1
House of Darts Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 346 Likes: 19 Liked 20 Times in 15 Posts	Poly head racers Has anyone gone down the 1320 with the 318 Poly Head as a stocker?

08-21-2012, 06:02 PM	#2
BlueOval Ralph Banned Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 852 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Poly head racers If you know the Polysphere head is close to certian Pro Stock head! The chamber design was way ahead of its time.

08-21-2012, 10:48 PM	#3
Paul Precht Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Elysburg, Pa Posts: 733 Likes: 362 Liked 327 Times in 121 Posts	Re: Poly head racers I did some flow testing with a test head I ported using an Olds 1.99 intake, the results were pretty impressive. In stock the 260 HP rating and small AFB would make it a poor choice, I'm talking a 62 car, earlier cars were too heavy and the later cars were 2 brl only. If the HP were dropped to 220 or so, a light Savoy in the right hands with all the right stuff could be a quick car. Last edited by Paul Precht; 08-21-2012 at 10:52 PM.

08-22-2012, 12:32 AM	#4
Chris Barnes Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 139 Likes: 0 Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Poly head racers I did race a 318 Poly for a season on a bracket car that was set up like a stocker. I eventually made it go 15.0 something before I gave up and swapped in a 440. I was trying to get it into the 14s without headers (Summit was out of Poly headers). That motor would take a beating like a rented mule and drive home every time. The intake selection is interesting. We had a functional six pack set up at one time. I know where there's a Weiand aluminum dual plane on a dead wagon in the bushes somewhere. I eventually ran a factory iron 4 bbl with a super lean Holley vac sec. A couple of old timers told me about dual quad Polys but I've never seen one. I wonder if someone couldn't go through the books and find a police package intake deal somewhere. I never even ran the valves to tell you the truth but it was a solid cam. It would be interesting to see what could be done with a good race cam and valve train components. A friend of mine ported on a set of poly heads and made some gains. I think the main problem with the Poly program is that it's a very heavy engine. The power to weight ratio is terrible for a race car, especially a Stocker. I just want to say that I have some affection for those old boat anchors. There are a few of them in my yard since they seemed to come in a lot of the '63-'66s. They are the Slant Six of V8s, if that makes any sense. They are pretty easy to resurrect because they are very hard to kill. Chris Barnes Wagons of Steel! Stock 6621

08-22-2012, 06:22 AM	#5
GTX JOHN VIP Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Boulder City, Nevada 89005 Posts: 2,738 Likes: 2,823 Liked 2,490 Times in 700 Posts	Re: Poly head racers Around early 1970s I race a 63 Plymouth Bel. with a 318 with 2 four Barrels and factory cast iron intake with carter 3258 and 3259 AFBs. It held AHRA record at 12.88 @ 102.80. Formula 8 some Letter Designation. A weird combo like many AHRA Cars in those days and never a NHRA combo. I acquired it for a set of Stage 3 1964 Max Wedge Heads from Burbank Speed which was run by Smith Bros (Pro Trans fame) as I seem to recall. It was called the "Baby Bee" as I remember. I Street Raced it some on Sundays in Fullerton Cal with LA Street Racers and drove it the mile or so from my car lot to where we raced. Sorry my memory is not any better anymore but that is about all I remember.

08-27-2012, 03:06 PM	#6
Paul Merolla Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Papillion, NE Posts: 611 Likes: 244 Liked 293 Times in 65 Posts	Re: Poly head racers Went to the Geezer Drags yesterday at Rolling Thunder, and what to my eyes would appear.............. I never got to see the car run, but it looked pretty serious!