345 Desoto Hemi how can I make it look good??

I only see three Hemis: a DeS, a Dodge and a Chrysler -- all early whales. If there's a 426, I'm missing a cue.

 

The Elephant, I think, was usually painted orange from the factory, at least
the later ones. The dist. is up front, the oil filter is forward, too, and the stock
valve covers show definite signs of being designed to fit within the engine
compartments of the '60s and early '70s. And (meaning stock), dual-fours
were the max you could get. Dodge/Plymouth guys wanted a tri-power too,
but got overruled at the last minute.

If I miss a detail, please school me. But, my point is that I don't see an
Elephant, just the early whales. I think there are three engines, and I think
that's what the owner actually meant -- a Dodge, DeS and Chrysler.

 

Funny you should mention that, i just read about this guy in the paper! I guess the guy let it go years ago, and stumbled back across it a couple years ago, and bought it back.

 

Also....you dont have to do anything to make a desoto hemi look good! it, of itself, already looks good simply by combining the words "desoto" and "hemi"

 

& big $ eye candy doesn't make it run any better!

 

Look to the Asheville NC craigslist for a 330 4 bbl intake and WCFB. Been on a while for $75. Good luck.

 

Right. I checked with "Rich" in Ashville, the guy selling the intake on Craig's, and he just told me it sold two days ago. I told him that I see its twin up for bids on eBay out of Fletcher, which is a neighbor of Ashville. The eBay listing has 3 days+ to go with over $200 on two bids. No reply yet.

 

Nyuk, nyuk! Truer words were never spoken.

But if you can't lay hands on the FirePower, the Fireflite or Adventurer is the next BEST thing, right?

 

& requires a smaller shoe horn for installing!

 

FiveOhNick: I got a reply back from the Craig's List seller. He said it DID sell, and -- yes -- it's the same 4B that's on feeBay now. He told me some other things we should probably discuss via PM. (Bottom line, I'd be disinclined to pursue this manifold.)

 

If you want "bling," plus maybe more hp than the 347 the '57
345-CID dual-four Adventurer churned out, you might not beat
this. Six 97s or 94s is dead sexy, no? EELCO 6X2 on eBay.
Seller states, available to fit all-years DeS, 276 thru 345. Also
three- or four-bolt pattern. Not shilling for the seller, just trying
to help a fellow HAMBer.

 

I learned something here today. I had always thought that the DeSoto Hemi's were called "FireDomes", while the single rocker shaft engines were called "FireFlites". From the pictures posted here, I was obviously wrong.

After looking more closely at the pictures, the "FireFlite" lettering looks a little funky. Can someone clarify this for me?

 

FD= 2bl FF= 4 bl

 

Right on, George. The Firedome became the strongest DeS engine in '52 and, after '54, the old PowerMaster Six was discontinued. For '55, the Firedome (2-barrel) was demoted to the second most powerful engine. Funny thing, the new Fireflite really only differed from the Firedome in that it had a 4-barrel intake manifold.

 

Oh, and what I think is SO keen about the '55 and '56 DeSotos is that -- for those TWO whole years -- DeSoto was the only make ever to be powered ONLY by Hemi engines!

That amounted to nearly a quarter-million Hemi engines, if you can believe it. Yowza. Any wonder I love the '55-'57 DeSotos????

 

Speaking about "dressing up," I ran a blown Desoto in a digger, ran out of money and sold the chome valve covers for a few bucks, then got some stock ones and painted them crinkle black...looked better than the chome, and different...everyone either chromes their valve covers or uses cast aluminum...just a though...

 

Thats why one of those new aluminum 4V manifolds would probably be the best thing to run. The only thing about four barrels on hemis is they look sort of lost up there in the middle iof all that motor.

 

Heres mine....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=416827&highlight=desoto+hemi

Detailed stock covers for me !!

Oh, and a lung sitting on top....

Rat

 

Rat, I KNEW you'd get to this thread! And I KNEW you'd say BLOWER! Nyahahaha!

Just carbs, or supercharger??? Age-old conundrum, 'cause TWO very different looks.

But, yup, I agree on detailing those STOCK valve covers, whether Dodge, DeS or Chrysler. 426? Wrinkle-finish works fine there, too. Just not my taste, and that's what FiveOh is weighing and, ultimately, will decide for himself.

Still, it's a blast to talk about people's opinions and tastes, ain't it???

 

Actually, there are differences in cam design.
For the early engines, the 276 and 291, in 53 and 54, both appear to have used the same casting number: 1632 791. The ground profiles are the same for both years.
For the '56-57 330 and 341 the camshaft is considerably different between the 2-bbl and 4-bbl. The 2-bbl cam casting number is 1632 792; the 4-bbl casting number is 1632 793
The numbers follow a logical numerical sequence, but what happened to the 1955 engine?

If anyone has any definitive info, please share it.

.

 

'55 S21 1327425 Same as 52-4 engines, S 22 1617179.
'56 S23 1635792, S24 1635793, Adv 1731613.
'57 S26 & S25 1735961, Adv 1731613

 

Those appear to be part numbers....?

.

 

yup

 

George: '55 S21 (FireFlite) 1327425 Same as 52-4 engines, S 22 (FireDome) 1617179.

George, if I'm following your and Gary's exchange, you just opened my eyes about what may have been a false assumption on my part. (You learn something new VERY DAY on the HAMB! ).

First (if I correctly follow), the cam "blank" for the '55 FireFlite is numbered the same as the '52 to '54 DeS 276 Hemis? And the '55 FireDome cam casting number is unique unto itself (meaning different from any other DeSoto Hemi)???

If I understand you correctly, it's a revelation to me. Since I'm running '55 Firedome heads on my '55 FireFlite 291, my assumption HAS BEEN that the cams were identical, or virtually so, and that the intake was the only real difference. I suppose if I'd thought much about it before, I'd have expected the FireFlite cam to be ground a bit differently (e.g., maybe longer duration, not lift).

Amazing to know! THANKS George and Gary for this bit of info.

 

The casting #s that Gary posted should be the blanks, & the part #s should be the finished cam. The up to '55 cams are long snout & ground the same for the 2 bl engines, with a diffrent grind on the '55 4 bl. The 56-7 are short snout, but they must have been tweeking the grinds were each engine year is diffrent except for the Adv. Interesting that Dodge & Chr didn't make diffrent cams for the 2 & 4 bl engines.

 

You can say that again. MoPar was really different animal from GM and Ford, eh? The different divisions were much freer of parent-company regulation and (in the '50s anyway) functioned more like separate, COMPETING companies, and taking different tacks on their power plants. In sharp contrast with, say a Merc and Ford, or a Buick and Olds, etc.

So, you find parts number and such that are pretty perplexing!

(And we still don't know what the "W" on some Chry Hemi castings means! LOL)

 

My reason for asking for definite info on the 55 cam is simply that I do not have a 55 cam (that I know is a 55) so it is a open question for me.
The 56-57 2-bbl and 4-bbl cams have widely different profiles and the blanks were apparently made with that in mind.
Example: the 330 2-bbl cam will have an LSA of up to 122°
the 330 4-bbl cam will have an LSA around 112 °

.

 

I got this desoto finned valley pan from ebay and got this 4x2 intake from vintage speed

 

Chrysler's first Hemi, from 1951 to 58 was called a "Chrysler Fire Power". The DeSoto hemi was called "DeSoto Firedome Eight" Dodge was "Red Ram". Plymouth did not get a hemi at this time, it had what was called a Polysphere engine. They made Polysphere versions of the Chrysler DeSoto and Dodge engines too. Basically the hemi engine with cheaper heads having a single rocker arm shaft and valves repositioned to a 'semi hemi' configuration, like a Chev big block.

Given the scarcity and cost of DeSoto intake manifolds I would be tempted to build a U Fab type manifold but with EFI for drivability.

 

Nope! The DeSoto Poly was a Dodge 325.