Finding Forgotten Horsepower

SAM Tech’s 600HP Poly

- Brandan Gillogly

The Chrysler A-Series Polyspheric V8, or just Poly, was launched in 1956 and was used to bridge the gap between the early Hemi and the LA V8 engine family that debuted in 1964. Stuck between the dragstrip greatness of the 392 Hemi, the muscle-car-era 340, and the ubiquitous 318 and 360 LA V8s that were produced for decades, the Poly engines have been overshadowed and virtually forgotten. It’s exactly the kind of foundation for a high-performance build we’d hoped to see when we created the Vintage Engine class at the AMSOIL Engine Masters Challenge. Thankfully, competitors were more than willing to do all the hard work and show us how to make serious power from an underdog engine.