Technical Help in building a 241 Red Ram Hemi

Looking for help in building a 241 cu.in. hemi. Have seen articles by Bud Tugley for sale on webrodder but $1300 per article and there are 19 of them. Does anyone know where I might get them cheaper.

 

My father runs a Red Ram and he had it rebuilt with a mild hop up. Hit me a message and I'll find out what and who he knows.......


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I put one together in '62 or so. Didn't have much in the way of articles at the time.I guess parts are harder to find today. Mine ran 12.50 in my American Austin. Markley Bros. went pretty fast with a 259 inch version. I don't think they had those articles either. What is that good about these 19 of them? For much less you could go to Bonneville next month and talk to Charlie Markley. He knows a lot more about little Dodges than the whole rest of the world combined.

 

These articles talk about each section of the engine ( heads. pistons, timing chain, valves, wind age tray, ect., ect.,) and how to rebuild it with parts from 318-340 mopar. Anyway I live on Vancouver Island B.C. Canada

 

Check out Hemi Hains(spelling?) on You Tube or just buy the complete hemi book for $29. You might even find it at your local library. There is also a great hemi tech page here on the HAMB, just do a search

 

Ok then, a basic question is what do you expect to do with it? Chrimonetly, for that kind of money many would drive to Canada and build it! $1300 x 19= $24,700. (yea I know a typo).
http://www.hemihaines.com

 

I have been to Victoria. You could go to Bonneville. I did use a 340 oil pump in my 392. Bought a kit. I assume it would have worked in a 241 as well. I think I was just to dumb to know I needed a book for all that information. I will admit that my 241 could have been a lot better if I knew what i was doing. But 19 articles seems a bit much.

 

http://www.hemihaines.com/

 

Start off with what do you want to build, what is your budget, and what is it going in???? A build on a stock t jalopy is gunna be a lot different than a 57 dodge, also a build for a guy that expects something to act like there Hyundai is a lot different than guys like me that have never owned a car newer than 1981 and drive a bonehead L79 chevelle as a daily driver like myself.

A stock bore bearing and piston job will be fine for a most guys, throw in a budget reground cam and a set of high comp pistons and you are doing ok. Mabey some tall deck heads if you want to get crazy Some guys on here are undoubtbly running custom billet cranks and alum heads in rails or LSR cars.......

 

I should add, most parts mentioned take adapting but some early 318 stuff does fit as a drop in

 

Boomchain,

We assembled this Dodge 270 Red Ram "Baby Hemi" right here at High Noon Speed Shop. We had a local old school engine machine shop totally machine the block and give us the measurements for the 10/1 Ross Racing pistons which I ordered. I sent the original cam to Racer Brown for a hot grind. Like I said all the assembly was done here with a good friend who has built Chevy engines for drag racing in the past. This however was his first Hemi. There are a couple good Hemi books either on Amazon or Ebay which you will need for specs but don't overpay for them. Then I ordered quite a few parts from Hot Heads. They were very helpful too. I did all the porting and cleaned the rockers myself. Take time on the rockers and make sure you completely disassemble them and clean..clean.. clean!
I even painted the block and valve covers myself. Try to find an old school engine guy in your area and a good engine machine shop and you can get -er- done! It's not rocket science however everything has to be done exactly right!!

Hope this helps and love the "Baby Hemis"

32 Spitfire
High noon Speed Shop
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/street-rodder-features-my-32-coupe.945829/#post-10640018

 

Thanks for all the info. And no it was not a typo error $1309 to be exact http://webrodder.com/article/red-ram-v10-part-1-piston-design-machine-work I am going to put it in a 1930 5 window Ford coupe on a 30 Ford AA frame with a 4 speed A-833 OD transmission with a ford 9 inch posi, old school suspension front 35 dropped I beam axle, unsplit 32 bones, reversed ford 40 front spring, rear 35-36 radius rods stiffened and turned into unsplit bones with a 35-36 reversed rear spring.

 

I have posted this picture before. But for Boomchain, this is what a 241 looked like in '64. Boy. More than 50 years ago. Now I feel old.

 

cool Rich....and good luck with the build.......!

 

Boomchain: There is a guy named Chris Nielson who designed the profile for the Comp Cams Thumper cams. He happens to grind original Desoto cams for us unlucky few. He is an authority on early Mopars. Call him at 801-451-7745.

 

Thanks Guys. Great Info.

 

Whereabouts on the Island are ha Boomchain? I'm in Cobble Hill near Duncan and I've got a 241 as well. There's a local guy here who is a wealth of information on these motors. I'll have to lookup his number for you.

 

Mine ran good with 4 97s. Not so much with 6 94s. Best with Hilborns. All 50 years ago. I think you should look into motor plates or some way to mount the engine off the bellhousing as well as the nose. The no side mounts is kind of a pain. I have a SBC Lakewood blow shield I drilled for the MoPar bolt circle. Also a Webber flywheel machined for a Pontiac ring gear and t Tilton starter that bolts to the blow shield. I also modified the blowshield for a Ford top loader trans, but a Chevy trans will still work. What is your plan for a trans and motor mounts.

 

I'm a fan of the low deck Dodge because of the weight. Of all the changes be sure it run a balancer If I can help PM me.

 

At 1300 an article I would be afraid of contracting HIV from them. It would be cheaper to enroll in one of those schools to teach you about engines.

Mostly everyone here is going to disagree with this statement but I am going to make it anyway and will keep making it until it sinks in, a 4 stroke engine is just an engine. it needs very little to actually run and all of that has already been figured out for you about 100 years ago or so, it has to get fuel in and spent gasses out, it has to fire and it needs to be lubed. None of them are majic.

 

Sorta what I was trying to say. Just build it and run it. I set Bonneville records with engines that didn't cost $1300. F/FS in 2000. But I would do something about motor mounts.

 

Get the front motor mount from Nostalgia Sids. I bought one, it's a good mount.

 

Phttttt motor mounts all he needs is a pair of 4x4s and a chain.

 

Yes it is a good mount. But it still is from in front of the block. If you then bolt your motor to a typical late transmission the rear mount is on the tailshaft housing. Long way between. I am concerned that that will set up stresses and increase friction in the crankcase and cam bearings. On mine we used a rear block plate or rear mounts welded to the Lakewood blow shield. Made me feel better.

 

I have run front mounts and tail shaft mounts and nothing else and they worked fine until I learned better.

If you are going to run front mounts you really need to run some sort of a mid mount. All kind of things get stressed, bell housings transmissions cases, as well as the flex in the motor itself that can cause any or all of the problems that Rick has mentioned.

 

I used the Hot Heads front motor mounts which we modified to work with our home made brackets. There is a trans mount too and it seems to work just fine. For carbs I really recommend the three 94's set up with progressive linkage. For most driving I normally run on just the center carb up to about 60 mph depending on the roads and get really good gas mileage! Believe me once you kick in the other two you have all the power you will need out the "Baby Hemi"!!

32 Spitfire
High Noon Speed Shop
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/...lls-out-its-new-32-coupe.862612/#post-9534864

 

Hey i'm building up a 270 hemi, and yes it's just a V8 but it has specific things you need to be aware of.
first up i'm not sure if anyone mentioned hot heads, if you have not looked them up you have too.
they helped me with all my dumb questions.
anyway this is what I did for my build.
the heads just went to a reliable machine shop for new valves and guides and springs.
i did not get the seats hardened as this is not my daily driver.
As far as the rocker arms you have to completely clean everything.
take the plugs out of the shaft(s) and clean the inside 10x times and then do it again!
the old oil (sludge) will kill your new build when you fire it up for the first time.
I reused my old pistons, cleaned the carbon from the grooves with the end of an old ring.
had the crank sent out to have ground 10/10 used the stock rods.
had the stock cam reground to 340 4bbl specks
new timing chain.
340 harmonic balancer
340 oil pump
offy 4bbl intake.
318 electronic dizzy with stock mopar parts!
I have left out lots but i took my time took lots of pictures and did my homework.
i found the info i needed online for free...
and some really great help from the people right hear and hot heads...
If a dumb ass like me can put one together you can.
just be sure about your oiling...

 

So what you are saying is that you did basic mechanic work when you rebuilt your hemi, correct?

Let me ask you this if you had to buy a 1300 dollar article to find out that a 318 distributer would work would the stock one have worked just as well?

 

Made my own front and mid-mounts. Not road tested yet but can't see there being any troubles.

 

I have seen mid mounts along those lines on GM pickups ( home built). Mid mounts can be as extreme as mid plates like used on a door slammer or as simple as what you have done. I suppose it depends on usage.