Hi guys, I am knew to this site and I did search before posting this but could not locate any recent post that would answer my question. I have stumble acrossed 2 51-53 long bell 331 hemi's with transmissions still intact. They are complete from 2 barrel carb to pan. Fan to tail shaft. I want to build a hemi but would prefer a 392. I think I can pick these up fo $400 per engine. Are they worth buying at this price? I am sure they would need a rebuild before use. Could I possible trade both for 1 392? I am knew to the hemi stuf and no very little about them except they look bad a$$
It's all according. Those are the earliest, smallest and hard to work with Hemis but man are they cool. Would work great in your hot rod if 331 cu in and 180 - 300 HP is enough. On the other hand. You could get the same HP from a small block Chevy for half the money and 200 lbs less weight. Forget about anybody trading for a 392. Would you?
I have a 331 short bell out of a 55 new yorker and as far as I know long bells aren't desirable but I think it would look good in the right car. I think that the red ram dodge hemis are the small ones because for the time period the 331 is basically the same as the 354 and casting is very close to a 392.
400 each isn't a bad price. Not the most desirable because the long tail pretty much limits you to a stick tranny. Heads have small ports & valves, but they're still Hemi & set records in 51-3. A rebuildable core 392 typically goes for 2,000-2,500 so no one will trade you even. Put "hemi tech index" in search & start reading. If you're not racing & want a manual tranny the long tail is your cheap entry into Chrysler hemis.
A long bell Hemi is still desirable engine. Buy 'em both... learn lots of Scooter McRad's Hemi Tech on the "early hemi social group"....
There is nothing 'wrong' with the early 331, it is just a little easier to work with the 54 up design. With the correct pile of parts you can get 1hp/in. How much do you need? As noted, read through Scooter's project for inspiration. And to those who want to compare the Hemi to shiverlay crap, stay home... .
As with anything, it is not how much HP I need. I only need about 100 or less to move a car around but I want as much as I can possibly get on pump gas. I want it to sound like a funny car and smoke the tires at will and run on pump gas. More power is always better in my way of thinking.
Funny cars run on nitro not pump gas. It's like comparing crack to m&m s ... more appropriately CRACK CRACK CRACK to burble burble burble
You can run a hemi on 1 full higher point of C/R vs a wedge. So if you'd build a 10:1 wedge, you can go 11:1, add the proper cam & headers w/o mufflers it would definatly sound like a race car! Actually 8 or 9:1 w/o mufflers & exhaust stubs sounds like one.
Not trying to hijack the tread but if it was a later model 331 w/o bellhousing casted what would it be worth? I know of 2 for 1200+ and I think that is a little off fair market.
That probably a fair price. About what they were going for before the economic dip. 354s were around 14-1500.
By small I mean a 331 is smaller than a 354 or 392, the other Chrysler early hemis. Obviously the bigger ones are more desirable. I would pay $400 for a 331`hemi in decent shape, good block heads crankshaft rods even if it needed a rebuild. Put it in an open engine hot rod. But I have to admit, if you wanted to be totally practical, you could get the same HP cheaper with a chev 350 and more HP out of a Chrysler 400 or 440.
In CID only, is a little lighter than a 392 by 30 lbs. Before the down turn long tails were in the $6-800 range.
Im using one in my Model A. Another problem with a long bell engine is cockpit room they do kinda suck up alittle more room. I think a 331 can be built into a very respectable engine.
since posting this, i have also located a 331 industrial with the short bell housing area. It also has the big heads with hardened seats. I can pick it up for around $600-800
I have looked at it a little bit. Haven't had much time to read very much on it though. It looks like a lot of good information.
When looking at Long Bell Hemis, make sure they have the lower part of the bell housing that holds the starter. I heard that can be a difficult part to find.
Isn't there an outfit that saws the long bellhousing off and drills, threads, and finishes it like a 55 and later engine? Seems like I remember reading about that somewhere.
Getting one of them would be cool for me. I would like to adapt a dual range hydro to one (Olds and early Cad V8's had extended bells too). So I don't think it would take too much to make an adapter plate and a crank spacer. If you do get one and do not want to use the transmission, I would be interested in the transmission with the torque converter, safety clutch and flywheel.
Take a minute and consider all of the labor and machine time required to do such a job and you will find that a 54 and later complete engine then looks cheap..... ...just because it can be done doesn't mean it is a good idea... .
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