Thread: General Hemi Info Part 1

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I started to write a short post with some general HEMI information and ended up getting very carried away. Hopefully at least a couple of you will find it of interest/use.

It seems like were starting to get a few HEMI owners on the site, so I figured I’d throw out a few thoughts. Let me start by saying that I do not consider myself an "EXPERT" on Chrysler's HEMI. I've worked on a few starting in the late 60s (some of the early HEMIs and the 426s) and currently have 2 early HEMI projects in the works; A 57 Plymouth 354/4 speed project and a 37 Dodge Pickup 331/727 project.

Believe it or not there are a LOT of people out there who have never actually seen a real HEMI (and couldn't identify one if they did), of course that doesn't stop them from wanting one to put in their project.

Chrysler started offering the HEMI in their production cars in 1951. Even in stock form the engine quickly gained a reputation as a high HP engine (in it’s day) which over time eventually led to the legendary status it enjoys today. The head design was/is possibly the ultimate for producing horsepower and torque (after over 50 years variations of the HEMI head are still what are found on the quickest cars in the world, the top fuel dragsters).

In addition to actually making very good HP/Torque numbers in relation to their displacement, no one can deny the visual impact these massive engines have sitting in any engine compartment. Generally just the bragging rights of owning one is worth the price of admission.

That being said, it raises the question of why do you see so few of them on the street or at car shows? I personally believe it can be boiled down to simple availability and cost. The early HEMI was pretty much limited to Chrysler, Dodge and Desoto's top of the line cars and in many cases it was an extra cost option (no early Hemi was available from the factory in a Plymouth), and the 426 was in it’s time a very expensive performance option. Relatively speaking not a lot of people stepped up to the plate to buy the HEMI in relation to those who opted for the less expensive poly/wedge motors. With the interest/demand for the HEMI always being high in relation to the numbers produced they always demanded a premium price when one comes up for sale.

Besides a relatively high initial investment for the engine, parts for rebuilding them and performance parts are also expensive and in some cases very difficult to find. Then there’s the problem associated with actually putting one of these engines in vehicle. HEMIs are wide and heavy (the average iron head HEMI is well into the big block weight area and sometimes up in the 700+ pound area), in a lot of cases real ingenuity is required to make them fit along with front suspension and brake upgrades.