Chrysler A қозғалтқышы: Полиссфералық конструкция және тарихы

non Hemi based Polyspheric engines

The Chrysler A engine is an OHV small block V8 gasoline engine built by Chrysler from 1956 until 1967. It featured polyspherical combustion chambers, and was offered in displacements from to , and in various high power configurations. It it began to be replaced by the wedge head LA engine in 1964, and is not related to the hemispherical head Hemi engine of the 1950s or 1960s. The A engine was released in 1956, and was used exclusively in Plymouths until 1958 and in Chryslers and Dodges from 1959 on. The DeSoto and Dodge 270/315/325 poly utilized similar head architecture but was not related to the Plymouth A Engine, using its own heads and the same bottom end as the Dodge and Desoto Red Ram Hemi. The A engine cylinder bore center distance is , larger than the earlier Dodge based poly engines. The A engine formed the design basis of the Chrysler LA engine, evidenced in the many parts that interchange between the two engine families.

The 277 "Hy Fire" was the first A block engine, produced for 1955 in the fall of 1954 and sharing almost nothing but the basic concepts with other engines built by Chrysler. Bore is and stroke is for a piston displacement of It was replaced by the 301 in 1957, except for in low priced Plaza models where it continued to be used during the 1957 model year. Power for the two barrel version is ; this increased to for the four barrel "Power Pack" version which also came equipped with dual exhausts. The Power Pack was also fitted to the Facel Vega FV3, of which 48 examples were built in 1956 and 1957.

The Plymouth 301 replaced the 277 in 1957 and kept that engine's stroke. Its piston displacement is , thanks to the larger bore. These dimensions are entirely different from the 1955 Chrysler 301. This engine was also installed in the 1957–1958 Facel Vega FV3B.

The 318 is the most common version of the A engine, produced from 1957 through 1966 in the US and 1967 in some export markets when it was replaced in all markets by the LA 318. Only Plymouth used this 318 in 1957 and 1958, but it was shared with Chrysler from 1959 on and Dodge from 1960 on. It displaces and has a bore and the stroke. A high performance version called the V 800, offered in 1957 and 1958, used two four barrel Carter carburetors to produce , making it the highest output factory A engine. It was used in the 1957 and 1958 Plymouth Fury, but was also an option on Plymouth models lower in the model range. Bristol Cars introduced the 318 in the Mark II model of their 408 (in 1965) and continued to use it in the succeeding 409 and 410 until 1969. From 1962 until early 1965, Checker used this engine for their Aerobus limousines.

The 326 was launched in 1959 Dodges. Its actual piston displacement is but it was marketed as a 326 to avoid confusion with the Dodge Red Ram 325. The 326 uses the same stroke as the 318, but with the largest bore of any A engine at It uses hydraulic valve lifters, unlike the other A engines that used solid lifters, and was used in the 1959 Dodge Coronet.