Thread: Your Uncle Bob needs help!

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Yeah, yeah, I know, some think I'm beyond help!

I'm on the hunt for a 426 style hemi engine. Please don't confuse it with the early Hemis from '51 to '58 (e.g. 331, 354, 392). This would be the '64 to '69 type (completely different from the early ones). It doesn't have to be an original date coded engine, it could be one of the later produced crate motors, or an "aftermarket" rebuild. I'd even entertain a good block, crank, and heads, or rebuildable complete. Short block would be okay too. Anyone got a line on one?

Mopar performance was making the Origional 426 again in the 90s due to the serious lack of supply. Im not sure, but give them a buzz.

Thanks, but MP hasn't made any for over a year, and may not make anymore in the future.

Streets, if he waits long enough inflation will get there. Or, if the right person who HAS to have the right numbers, and a fat enough wallet, it could happen. Now, just find me a guy with the same hardware for about $10k and we'd be cookin'.

Next thing you know, Bob will be searching for a cross ram intake to fit that 426... Humm, wonder what Bob is up to?....

Dave Brisco

Originally posted by dangeroustoy
Next thing you know, Bob will be searching for a cross ram intake to fit that 426... Humm, wonder what Bob is up to?....

Dave Brisco

And all this talk acusing US of being closet Mopar lovers too...

Does kinda make ya wonder

Pat

While the 426 Hemi's were based on the RB motors there are extra headbolts that screw into bosses located inside the lifter valley. At one point several years it seems like there was a company that sold a kit to convert the RB blocks (basically a plate that screwed into the lifter valley that provided the necessary bosses for the headbolts) but it seems like this still resulted in poor sealing and blown head gasgets.

Good luck in your search Bob, I wish I had a lead or 2 that I could give you (but if I did I'd likely buy it for myself )

Thanks guys, keep 'em coming. And thanks for the PM's too.

Here's what I've learned the last couple weeks, mostly related to my comment back to drg. Ma Mopar hasn't had new parts production for about a year. The casting foundry they were using went belly up, and it's taken them a while to decide if, when, and where they want to hook up with a new subcontractor (gotta love corporate think ). So, while the market for 426 Hemi stuff has been strong the last year (yet another sign that the economy overall isn't anywhere near as bad as the propaganda would want us to believe), there hasn't been any feed into the pipeline. After making lots of calls to many of the "dealer" web sites that advertise crate engines and parts, I find that all of them (so far) don't have anything in stock, and haven't had for a few months. Of course, as a marketing guy I ask them why they have a 24/7 salesman out here, working all day everyday, no complaints about overtime, not demanding extra "benefits", not calling in sick so he can go fishing or something, and they don't keep it updated. Instead they alienate potential customers, driving them away, instead of encouraging more business. They don't seem to get my drift. Streets, thanks for the link, they too are a good example of piss poor marketers. They don't even answer their phone. They have it picked up by an answering machine promising to call back. They don't. Which probably doesn't matter since they likely don't have inventory either, and are too stupid/lazy to update their site. But I digress.

The few crate engines that are left out there, e.g. they show up on ebay usually, are priced $3-5K over list. Our old nemisis, supply and demand at work.

So, that's why I've come to you my buddies. I would hope to find some local source in your area that doesn't have national exposure, and isn't driven by momentary greed. If that happens I will be most gratful. If it doesn't, there is supposed to be new production toward the end of this year, which really means sometime into next year very likely. If I must, I'll wait............but it would be cool to get something going now so I can start putting the car together next winter.

So if you hear of something, let me know.

Wow Richard, you're adding links faster than I can keep up. As Mike said, they are slightly different blocks. There's a company in Norhtern CA. named Stage V that makes a hemi conversion head for the 440 block. If Ma Mopar falls down on the job, that may be the route I'll end up taking. Hot Rod (Magnante the tech editior) built up a motor using these a while back (the tech article is still on their web site). They might be a viable alternative, although the 426 block is cast stronger than the vintage 440's, so is probably more desirable.

Oh, and one more story. Last weekend I talked to a guy from Fairmont, MN. He had a hemi on ebay that was priced very right. Could be one of those "if it's too good to be true it probably is" things. Came across as a knowledgeble and straight forward guy. His ebay feedback is pretty good, although in some email followup about a third of the favorable ones ended up not completing the sale for one reason or another. That made me a little suspicious. So I did some checking on the guy, cross matching name, phone numbers, and addresses. Came up with a total of three different names, and another address tied to the phone numbers. Just too many inconsistencies to make me comfortable sending that much money to a guy I don't know. He claims to be a well known engine guy in that part of Minnesota, so if anyone knows he's a straight up guy, or a thief, let me know.

Thanks again guys. It's great to have all of you helping.

Originally posted by Streets
Wouldn't it be more plausible to check out the classifieds whereby someone is selling a HEMI powered car and buy THAT for your project, then just "part out" the donor?? MUST be more HEMI CARS out there than ENGINE'S for sale..

Nice thought, but muscle cars are hot right now, and if it says "Hemi" there's an inordinant premium attached. It's just that old supply and demand curve at work again. (see, it's not just here where all the closet Mopar lovers hang) Sorta like when Miatas first hit the market. Dealers were getting hefty side stickers, people were waiting in line to get on the waiting list. A couple of folks I talked to even thought they were buying instant "collector cars". Now all they've got is an older car that might be worth slightly more than any other Miata because it has lower miles. Not really too different than what happened with the 25th Anniversary Vettes or the '76 El Dorado convertibles (supposedly the "last" convertibles GM would ever make).

Greed can be a funny thing. I was talking to one of the leads Tech gave me last night and he must be a friend of Streets neighbor. All he could say was $25k, and he didn't even have any. Then, I guess to test how gullible I might be, he said "guys are buyin' up the last of the crate motors for $20k just to get the blocks". Since these are "reproductions" that doesn't make a lot of sense since you can buy an aluminum KB or Milodon wet block for about $5k. They'll take more hp and weigh less! But then, when people "panic" they'll do all sorts of irrational things. After the call was over my wife comes in the office and says "You sure were saying 'Ain't gonna happen' quite a bit".

Keep those cards and letters comin'.

Hope ya have better luck with your Hemi than the shop owner down the street from me,couple years ago he bought a Hemi roadrunner and spent a ton of money restoring it, sent the motor to a local machine shop thats sposed ta be real good, anyway one of his techs stopped by yesterday to ask me about a truck they was working on and I asked him how the Bosses car was coming along and he told me it's a pretty sour subject as they fired it up last week and it ran about 3 minutes and blew up..... Man talk about heartbreak

Bob,

I ran across this guy that had installed a hemi in a vehicle that wasn’t really able to handle the horsepower. And I figured that maybe I’d negotiate with the car’s owner to see if I couldn’t create one of these “win-win” situations... you know, pick up a hemi for my buddy Bob Parmenter and then come up with a good Briggs and Stratton for the other fellow.

Well, this guy was just downright “ugly” about the whole thing (I think he’d been drinking too much) and he drove off giving me this snarled look.

Sorry, I’ll keep looking

Dan J

Ah Danny....................you da man!!! The only thing better would be if you brought it with you in November!!

Things are lookin' up. Our buddy chevy37 forwarded me a lead the other day, and that same day I got another lead from a Mopar guy I know. So............we're gettin' closer. As many of you have experienced, when you chase these leads they don't always pan out, but ya gotta take a shot if you ever expect to hit the target. Nearly three weeks ago I made a deal to buy a 528 crate motor at a real decent price, even sent a deposit, but before it could get there the turkey up and sold it to a local guy right out from under me.

Anyway the search continues.

Bob
There's a junkyard not to far from me that used to be Mopar heaven, had one of Sox & Martin's original cars. As soon as I get the chance I'll check it out and see if anything is left. They had complete engines, including Hemi's, at one time.

A few years back there was a company called stage IV engineering in the states that manufactured hemi heads to retrofit onto RB big block mopars that got around the head bolt pattern layout.

I know it's a long way, but they're just down the road from me.

www. mopar.co.nz