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I went out today, and bought (2) more 331 hemis at a junkyard...

I'm combing a local junkyard looking to see what's left after he crushed over 2000 cars in the past 3 years, the entire heart of the junkyard is gone and devoid of any old stuff, with all new cars in their place- really sad actually- so I walked around the edges of the yard and into the woods, there were still cars here and there that could not be seen until I was right on top of them, hidden by the brush and trees- some had trees growing out of them, that's how long they've been there

I found (2) early 331 Chrysler Hemis with the extended bell, both were missing valve covers, rockers, head bolts, and carbs- but otherwise complete and still in the cars. The yard owner said $200 each and he pulls them out, so I gave him the ok and deposit.

I felt sorry for the darn things. Just can't see a hemi, even a small valve/small port/extended bell, going to the crusher- it was a pity purchase- and I figure the heads/crank/rods/oil pan have to be worth $200 per set at least. Someone over on the HAMB said the extended bell is the easiest to adapt to a stick shift manual trans- and the lower bell covers go for $75-$100 each on Ebay from time to time.

maybe I'll send one out and get the extension cut off, and adapter welded on- and cut down a 392 crank and drop it in, and build a short rod 392

I also found a P27 code Plymouth poly, a few Ford flatheads complete in cars, and a pile of Buick nailheads, early Caddys, and a few early Olds Rockets- sure wish I got there before he crushed though

so here I go again....

>maybe I'll send one out and get the extension cut off, and adapter welded on- and cut down a 392 crank and drop it in, and build a short rod 392<

I see Wilcap has several adapters listed for the extended bellhousing blocks. I'm no expert but they look bolt on.

You won't have a short rod 392, they can't be bored safely beyond 354 standard bore size & that is w/o any core shift. Scooter @ the HAMB bought a 331 that had been bored to 392 bore size + 030 & every cyl. was ruined. @ 392 you MIGHT use it for a filled block drag motor, but that is beyond reason, really.

we'll find out for sure- a few years ago, I invested in a new sonic tester- so bore thickness would be checked first, carefully

the 331 is 3.8125" bore, the 392 is 4.0" bore, it would need to be bored .188" over to make it a 392

that's .094" material removed all around the bore, each side

if a 331 sonic tests at least .220"-.225" thickness, it can be bored to a 392, that would leave the minimum acceptable .125"- .130" bore wall thickness needed for naturally aspirated use, which is plenty for a pump gas street engine.

Typically the major thrust walls have plenty of meat, it's the sides front to back, that are thin in some areas.

if it can only go to a stock 354 bore size, it would end up approx. 380 CID (354 bore x 392 stroke) still not too shabby, a mighty crap better than only 331 CID- the one thing I don't like about the 331 is, there's this big heavy 700 lb. engine, that can be spanked pretty badly by a 327/375HP solid cam Chevy small block, that weighs 150 lbs. less.

in scooter's case, someone went beyond stock 392 bore size, which would be foolish without first sonic testing- I'll get some 331 sonic numbers and post them in the upcoming weeks

An extended bell is definitely not easier (or less expensive) to adapt a standard shift to.

this fella's method was just plate off the existing extended bell, and drill for trans mounting

what he did inside the bell to space it back, I do not know- his method did make sense though

it would take one heckuva spacer setup to take that distance up- he was posting on one of the hemi threads or sites on the net, it may have even been on this site

like the little girl says in the spooky movie...

"they're heeeeere ...."

Only we hemi nerds would understand how a couple of rusted ugly hulks could be something to get excited about, ya know?

I remember decades ago trying to hunt down Desoto hemi parts. Good luck! Then we found a 56 Desoto, buried in a municipal junkyard. Spent a few hours with a come-a-long til we pulled away some other cars in the way, flipped that 56 over and raided the crankcase.
By the time the cops came to chase us away we already had the crank and rods packed away in the trunk. "What 'No Trespassing' sign, Officer"?

Mission accomplished.

Here's hoping you get all the enjoyment you want out of those hemis!

that's a good story did anyone ever go back and get the heads, etc. ??

oldngood wrote:that's a good story did anyone ever go back and get the heads, etc. ??

Well, we left them on the ground so anybody could have grabbed them, we didn't need them at the time.

are they still there ? go back and get them, heck ask if you cany just buy what's left at this point- the impound yards have old cars in them from time to time, they part them out, but can't sell them whole with title

Well that was back in 1972, the junkyard is now a condominium complex.

and knowing these a-hole developers, they probably covered the heads with fill and topsoil- maybe some archeologist will dig the heads up 7000 years from now....

NE57 wrote:Only we hemi nerds would understand how a couple of rusted ugly hulks could be something to get excited about, ya know?

Here's hoping you get all the enjoyment you want out of those hemis!

spent the last 2 days getting the hemis apart, it was a workout but not as bad as some other engines I've broken loose that sat for 40 years. The 1952 engine had a dropped exhaust valve that went through a piston, gaping hole in the piston, and valve head was in the oil pan- but block, rods, crank were undamaged. Both rod bearing sets on that crankpin were burned and spun, and one other pairs of rod bearings was overheated- the cylinder head chamber for that hole had some nicks in it but is ok- I'm amazed at how strong these engines were- any other engine would have blew a hole in the cylinder wall or head chamber. Only a few pistons came out easily, the 52 engine had a lot of cylinder wall rust in some holes, and that required breaking pistons to get them out. but I found it's quite easy to smash the center out of these OEM pistons with a drift and hammer, then break the edge and they collapse and come out. got one good piston that was undamaged. the bearings were really bad with a lot of dirt in them and signs of running hot, but I put the rear mains back in, measured the clearance, and measured the crank and it was still in spec. This crank could just be polished but should really be turned, it's got some heavy scratches on it.

the 1951 engine was next, that one had 2 intake valve heads rotted off and laying on top of pistons, and it also had even
more rust in the bores. I managed to drive out all pistons again by breaking them, and again got only 1 good piston undamaged. the bearings in the 1951 engine were much better and actually could be reused- the crank doesn't even need to be cut on the 1951 engine

both cams can be reused, the 1951 cam is not even worn, the 1952 cam has slight wear but useable-all 16 rods are useable-
it's a relief that I got all 16 pistons out without cracking a cylinder. These engines are tough. The hardware is high quality, and the bores are very thick. even the soft plugs were still good but I removed them to get rust out of water jackets

Resurrecting the dead!

Hey, twin Frankensteins. Now all you need is a stark and dormy night.

and a set of rockers, valve covers, and head bolts (no pun intended)

I've got a few sets of stock head bolts, got any 300 exhaust rockers (that will pass magnaflux examination) to trade?

To clarify, I need two (2) 300 exhaust rockers and one (1) 300 intake rocker.

DblAdigger wrote:To clarify, I need two (2) 300 exhaust rockers and one (1) 300 intake rocker.

by "300" I take it you need the adjustable type ? those I don't have, actually I don't have any rockers at all

I have some spare non-adjustable rockers if that's what you need.

392heminut wrote:I have some spare non-adjustable rockers if that's what you need.

those would do, email me at hsf18@epix.net