I have a chance to go look at a 331 Hemi tomarrow out of a New Yorker. The "old guy" wants between $200-450 for the whole sha-bang (car and all). Are these engines any good? I was thinking of perhaps picking up a Model A as soon as I can sell an unwanted project that I have and run the hemi. Would the 331 be good to use in a hot rod? Any opinions are welcome.
All Hemi`s are worth building, but beware, some are harder to find parts for than others. The 331 is a pretty decent engine.
The 55 or newer engine will have no bell housing cast on, they will be easy to get parts for, but not inexpensive. When they were new, they moved a 4000 pound car, not quick but about as fast as any on the road, and with reliability other manufacturers envied. The older ones look sort of funky, but hey, not everyone has a Hemi.
I think it is early sixty's but not sure. My neighbor was making a fuss about the bell housing on it too. He said that they do make an adapter but it is probably a bit pricey. He just told me about five minutes ago about the car then he left. He said he is going to call me later. Tomarrow he is going to see the private collection that the author of HEMI IN THE BARN. That S.O.B. did not ask me to go though. That is pretty much all I know as of now though.
Hmmmmm......Then I am not sure. I sure am glad that we have the HAMB at our disposal. I would be lost without you guys. So if the 331's lasted from 51-56, what would be the best year to hope for in terms of building this thing up and getting the bell house to mate up. I guess what I am saying is which year is the biggest pain in the ass and which ones are less of a head ache.
55-56 do not have the extended bell housing so they are easiest to work with as far as getting trans adapters and what not. If it says Hemi it is not going to be cheap though!
Hmmm... My bad this chart is wrong. 56 is 354. 55 is 331. I thought that was wrong, should have looked better. http://www.allpar.com/mopar/hemi/oldhemi.html
Or maybe some of those 56 331 serial #'s are the industrial engines? But then it says 300hp for the 56 letter car, that should be the 55 c-300
I drove one for 12 years and didn't have any problems except the water pump. The last time I saw the engine it had 240K on it and the heads had never been off, so they are very reliable when they are put together right. If it's in a later car, check it out very closely-it could be anything. Desoto, Dodge, and Chrysler all built hemi design engines and most parts don't interchange. The Chryslers are the most popular and have the most available parts supply. There is a great 60(?) black T-bird around Seattle with a 392 in it and a straight axle under it that hasn't changed in decades, so understand that they were put into later bodies too. Good luck.
ANY Hemi is worth fuckin' about with if it's only $400. Spend a lot of time on Bob Walkers Hot head site and get some learning. I ran my C51 hemi ( really early 331 ) on the salt here in OZ and managed over 120MPH in 1st. They work....believe me they work!
Info sites, here on the HAMB "Hemi tech index" also www.thehemi.com, www.hothemiheads.com There should be a code on a flat in front of the valley cover, that'll tell the story. The '54 4 bl & the '55 331s have the normal bell, 51-3 long bell.
I think all hemis (early ones) Are worth buyin' If for no other reason you could sell it and get your money out of it.
The '55 331 is THE performance head for early Chrysler Hemis. It has the straightest intake ports so top fuel guys looked for them for their 392s and they'd make custom blower manifolds for this combination. The '55 heads are also the ones that Hot Heads patterned their aluminum head after. If it's an extended bellhousing engine, you might buy it since it's so cheap and either resell it or keep it for parts for a non-ext engine. You can build it no problem, but those early ones need a ton of work to make them work with any trans other than the factory air-cooled (junk) Powerflite 2spd. Also the heads that are on them don't flow well compared to later ones and they have really low compression. But hey - it's still a Hemi. I say go for it, you can't lose.
Most of the cars you see with Hemi's are 331's now a days. Do a search on here for Hemi's and check out places like PAWS, HOTHEADS & etc..There alot of great stuff for these motors but def keep your eyes out for a nice set of 354 heads for your build then your golden....You'll have a kool lil 'thumper' on your hands. So in my opinion grab the 'whole sha-bang' pull the motor then parts the car out and you'll be into the motor for free plus have money to put towards your rebuild kit....
Sounds like you definitely have a '51-'53 since your buddy is already talking about the cast-in bellhousing. And I've seen complete longblocks in those years go for around $500 and the buyer was happy with the deal he got. So, if you're getting the whole car for a little less than that, save the motor and any neat-lookin' parts from the car and have the rest hauled off. You should be paying less than a '54 or later block, since the pain-in-the-ass factor is higher, but you just can't beat the look of a Hemi to fill up the space between the cowl and radiator. As far as trannies go (and I ain't talkin' about the ones here in San Francisco), you'll hear about manual and auto trans. adapters you can get from Wilcap: http://www.wilcap.com/ and you should definitely become friends with Bob Walker at Hot Heads: http://www.hothemiheads.com/ And there's even some stuff you can get from PAW, believe it or not: http://www.earlyhemiengineparts.com/ And before you know it, you could be running something like this in your Model A:
actually it's '54-up engines that do not have the extended bell. any '54 up head is superior to '51-'53 although as mentioned the 55 head is the best. i believe '54 heads do not have the water crossover ports at the ends of the head as '55-up heads do
Just a couple notes. The extended blocks were changed in late 53--early 54. There are some 54 331 hemis with the extended blocks!! Also there is somewhat of a myth about the best flowing heads. The late 54 1486833 heads are virtually identical to the 55 1556157 heads, with the exception of the end water outlets. The 1619823 354 heads are also just as good of a head. I believe that part of this myth came about in the late 50's when guys bolted 331 and 354 heads on their 392s and seemed to have an increase in power. No one ever mentions the fact that the smaller cc of the 331 chamber is going to add compression.
Definitely get it. I paid $1000 for a 53 chrysler imperial and we thought the engine was locked. Ended up being a runner after a week of soaking in diesel fuel (we didn't try too hard to unlock it earlier so not sure if it was ever locked or not). Replaced plugs and points and it fired right up. It still needs a rebuild but I ran it for a few months until it got too cold and snowy here. The extended bell is no big deal but you have a few less options for transmissions. I've got a couple of the extended bells now- a 51 and the 53. Like a couple people have said, look at hothemiheads.com. They sell a flat plate adapter that you can used to adapt a GM manual transmission (saginaw, muncie, etc). I had a bunch of problems with the flywheel and clutch but that ended up being my own fault. Just remember, it's not a hot rod if it's only got two pedals. The other cool thing about getting the whole car is the rear end is probably about the right width for a model A. I don't remember the exact width but the 53's rear end is just right for a 27 T coupe. I've never heard of anyone else using them but it's been great so far (knock on wood).
The Jalopy Journal
