FED engine choice hemi or wedge

NitroHemi:
I would like to hear more about the dragster.
Wheel base, how far out is the engine?
Shorty body or full? Pictures?
Also, as a FED owner/driver you will care when the rods come out!

Traditions Racing:
I love your Ford hemi avitar!!

Matt

 

By all means...run the hemi! Powerglide, 1.76 low (1.82 is 6 cylinder stuff), 12:1 on
alcohol (no cooling problems), as much cam and springs as you can afford, stainless
valves and spend some money on good rocker arms. 180-200" WB with motor out
42-44", 12x31 tires. You will have something then.

 

I was thinking a 160-180 wheelbase with a shorty body for now. and yeas thinking of 10 or 12 to 1 pisotns in the hemi and big cam.

If I build tha 383 it would probably be more in the lines of what ajmopar said

 

I might be a tad jaded, but I'm gonna have to say go with the HEMI!


OTOH - no reason why you can't set it up for both!

 

I agree. 200" wheel base, Motor 42" out, 4.30 rear gives you 7.568 1st gear ratio. Injected alcohol. You will have a Blast !!

 

I think he only wants to run 10's......and something just seems wrong about a fed over 120" running 10's......haha...

 

Room to grow...

 

I have a question what engine is beter to use in a fed 383 or 413ci both Dodge engine

Thanks

 

As the 55 Chrysler 331 made 235HP stock, 300 HP should not be hard to get. Likewise the 383 they were 335HP in the Road Runner which was a 383 4 barrel with 440 cam.

Both would give similar HP in mild form but the 383 is lighter by nearly 100 lbs. The hemi looks cooler though.

 

I'd run the wedgie myself. Uses the same bell as a 426, so no issues getting the trans coupled up, and they are HARD to kill...

 

Back as a youth, I helped a friend with his drag car.
354 hemi, alky injected, 300X500 cam with adjustable pushrods, 10 to 1 IIRC.
Real basic and low buck aside from the injection.
Easy maintenance aside from cleaning out the fuel system. Make that service easy a priority.
This was in a mess of a car (we were broke and ignorant) that weighed 2500 pounds and had horrible dynamics I won't even tell ya about.
Ran 10.7s.
Take your 331 and mag everything then measure everything. Get decent gaskets, pistons, rings, bearings and clean it all up. Get a decent solid cam and either adj. pushrods (cheap) or rockers (bucks!). Spend the big money on a good trans and converter. Make sure this is set up so all you have to do is check the fluid for a season at least.
If you have little money, run an alky carb or a toilet on a 4 bbl intake and adapter.
If you have a few more bucks, find a good used injector set-up and have it flowed for alky.
With this setup dialed in, you should be able to run 10.00s on a greasy track in the heat with the only things done at the track being check tire pressures, add fuel and wipe it down. That's backed down in every other temp and track condition.
Between races, drain and clean the fuel system, run the valves, check or change the plugs and look at the bearings after 6 months.
The 383 would be the same deal, except the injection is a bit harder to find used.
http://www.hilborninjection.com/category.asp?Id=190
Sure it will snap a bit more with 12:1, bigger cam, more cubes, and flashy parts. But then you gotta explain to everyone why your fast looking car only does 10s.

You could run this with one helper as much as you want. You could even get volunteers from the stands. All you need is a hand getting it back to the pits, strapping in and on/off the trailer.

 

that is pretty much what I wanted to hear RodStRace. for a rail that I will probably only run a few times a year and looking to have fun I am pretty sure that the 331 is what I am going to use. As I continue to build there will also be plenty of other questions for all you guys on the hamb