1955 291 Hemi complete engine worth?

Hey guys,

I had a couple hemis pop up for sale down the street, both out of 1955 DeSoto's. It seems they are 291's, but they both look pretty rough. I couldn't ID them because of how much surface rust was there, he wouldn't clean them for me to find out, AND he had zero knowledge on what hemi sizes were. He is stuck on $500 (only for the engine) and I know that is just too much for an engine that has sat open to the elements for 30+ years. They both turn freely, but one is more complete than the other and hasn't been taken apart. I figure an offer for $300 would be alright seeing that the rebuild kits are $1200-$1500+. I know the more complete one is the one I would get out of the two..

Any help is appreciated. Please let me know how much these are worth since little information on them is found on the HAMB

 

$500 for a 291 that turns freely is a fair price. These are not cheap engines to play with. rebuilds get costly fast. Heck even a good set of valve covers go for 150$ a set. pick it up!

 

ttt

 

DeSoto 291's aren't the Top Sirloin of hemi engines , but they aren't hamburger either. Since they are complete enough, and more importantly, turn freely, they are good engine cores for a moderately powered rod. Even the smaller Dodge 241, 270 and DeSoto 276 typically sell for $500 or more when in this condition.

If you are willing to spend more for an engine, say maybe $1500 or so, you might get a '55 331 or '56 354 rebuildable core.........but what this guy is asking is well in the ballpark, in my opinion.

Ray

 

i paid $1200 for a running 276 and a working auto trans, the motor i have on a stand now and can start it, it does smoke a little after it warms up, holds good oil pressure, do the engines have a 4 barrel intake?

 

I lucked out when I bought mine. I paid $300 for engine and trans, the reason for the low price was a rod cap that had left loose. No real damage to the engine though.

 

i paid $500 for mine around 9 or 10 years ago. came with a 3 speed and i got to hear it run while it was still in the car. prices since then have gone up and i'd expect to pay that for a core that will turn over today.
when you do get around to rebuilding one, factor in the price of custom pistons if you want any more compression than the stock 7 or 7 1/2 off the shelf slugs.
i like them. i have one in my 46 ford and another waiting a rebuild. i'd be interested in the one you turn down.

 

That's what I have, a 291, got the fireflite (4 bbl) ..... I'm looking forward to putting it under another A coupe....

 

Yup, the 'little' 291 can be a pleasant surprise in a light rod.

I always find it a bit amusing that when we talk about the costs associated with rebuilding an EarlyHemi that many folks choose to use castings in the oem c/r because of an additional $300 for forgings. I have talked with way too many guys that would have gladly paid the extra $300 after the engine was installed and found the power output was less than stellar.
Some of the castings-oem c/r aren't terrible, but when you plan the build around the factory rating of 9:1 and the new package barely make 8 it can make for sad faces.

.

 

You should buy them both. Might be able to turn a little profit selling one in order to cover part of the cost of a rebuild.

Is he asking $500 for just the engines, or the complete cars?

 

The one with the silver valve covers looks like it could be easily fired up with a remote fuel source.

 

as I said, it is just the engine. The one that is less complete than the other is crusty internally.. I ran my finger and then a flashlight down the distributor hole and man.... that has been open for a while. Not sure that it is worth a damn.

The gray-er one does look better, but I am still on the fence about it. I am not going to buy it until I pull the valve covers off and rotate the engine to see if everything is indeed working. Also I am going to pull the plugs and look at what the internals look like to see if everything is moving. The problem is that I am looking to drop a hemi into my 1940 plymouth coupe... so if I am going to throw down $1500 or more for a rebuild kit I might as well just wait for the 392 that I am saving up for and do that instead. Plus I did a little more research and found that I am really not going to get the horsepower I want out of the little guy to lug that big ass around of the coupe.

 

Hell if the thing turns over 500 is a deal.

 

When you looked down the distributor hole, was it rust or just a load of black crust? If it's just a bunch of black crust/goo, that is pretty normal for an engine from the 50's, especially if the owner believed those Pennzoil advertisements.

 

http://hamiltonintakes.com/

 

The 4 door has a stock, cast iron 4bbl intake, the couple has a 2bbl intake, but is in pieces from the pictures.

it was rust, not anything petroleum based.

 

The 4 bl intake is worth 200 or so by itself. The 291 would be an easier fit, but, yeah, it won't make the power of a 392. Of course the 392s run around 2K. for a core.

 

The one in pic 3&4 looks complete, has all the holes I can see plugged up with parts (not tin cans) has had the hood covering it and looks like it would fire. Heck the hoses and clamps don't look 30 years old.
Howard

 

...add another $150 for the FireFlite wire covers if they exist...some folks don't know what they have in front of them...

.

 

Is that $500 with engine sitting on the floor or do you have to pull the engine? My last 354 i paid about $500 for it and it was out of the car, disassembled so's i could look it all over - that was a good deal i admit, but if you have to pull them then i'd pass.

 

OK, I have one for the hemi guru's.

The seller says it came out of a Chrysler Imperial, but doesn't know what size it is.
You have an educated guess as to what she is?
Many thanks!

 

1k to 1500.00 k is going price for a good hemi core regardless if it chrysler,dodge or desoto. and price is going up everyday. all hi-end rodders-racers want them. i had 35 early chrysler hemis and got 75k for them no questions asked. jmo
bob

p/s early 331 on top of my post

 

Bob 1500 for a 291 core seems a little high. I am just saying I wouldn't pay that much. 500 is a fair price. Now if it was a nice core 341 or 345 yeah 1500 seems fair. I have seem some 276s and 291s Craigslist go for that price though. JMHO

Jesse

 

They are nevertheless real Hemis, unlike the 426 which was modified to fit into modern engine compartments.
I'd fork out the 500 for it. It won't lose value, in any case

 

51-53 331

.

 

Even $500.00 is too much for a Desoto, if all you end up with is a 4bbl intake and a set of wire covers. For that kind of money, you have to want to have one. I personally wouldnt give that for the pair. There are a pair of 330 Desoto core engines on ebay right now. $500/ea. Been there at least a month. Its not that they arent any good, just no one wants them.

Both of those 291s look like 2bbls to me. Intake on the silver/rust one is a 1409376 for sure. The red one looks like the same.

 

uugh...note to Tom...we (that would be you and me) are in the parts selling business, we need to help folks make that transition from 'looking' to 'buying'....

And, 300 inches of DeSoto Hemi does a pretty good job of moving some cars. The advantage the OP has is that they are close by, no truck freight to add to the tally.

.

 

I cant remember the last time I sold a Desoto part.
OT..did you see my last posts in the hemi tech block section?

 

No truer words are spoken. You have to want to have one. Why else do we build big, heavy, 50 year old engines, hemis or flatheads or whatever? Why do we spend more money, for less HP, than an easy SBC? Because we want to... And thats why I bought another hemi yesterday...