Early Hemi Rookie

Discussion of the 331-354-392 HEMIs.

Moderators: scottm, TrWaters, 392heminut

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bgreene30
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:03 am

Early Hemi Rookie

Post by bgreene30 »

Hi everyone. So excited to be introduced to this world. I have been around 60's small block and BB chev's and single cylinder old british motorcycle motors for a while. A month ago I bough a cool 1967 Dodge D100 truck with a 225 slant 6 and 1V and love it. A week ago I was messing around the internet and saw a guy running an early hemi on a break in stand and fell in love! What a cool motor. So, I am in search of an early hemi for my truck.

Here is the video link that got me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUfAyGK4Ue0


What I want is something reliable and streetable that I can drive around town and still stick my foot in a wee bit getting on the freeway.

I don't want too much cam or compression as I want to be able to use this crap pump gas we have.

I have a 68 GTX with a 440 and believe me it needs 100+ without retardation of the timing.

Anyways, can you all make some reccomendations on the easiest one to swap into that truck engine bay, availability of parts, and specs to use to keep it streetable on pump gas and in traffic. After the 225 experience I'm sure a stock early hem will be amazing but need to stress looking for something reliable and streetable as the 350 small block in my 67 camaro.

Do I choose 331, 354 or 392??

Thanks everyone in advance!!

Bob in CA
George
Posts: 692
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2004 4:12 pm
Location: Fl

Re: Early Hemi Rookie

Post by George »

Any of the Chrs 54-58 are a good choice. 392s are most expensive cores, parts a bit cheaper than 331/354. On the 331/354 the cores are cheaper & parts a bit more expensive. There's Dodge & DeSoto hemis also. Welcome aboard the hemi crazy train! :D @ stock C/R gas isn't a problem.
George
Posts: 692
Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2004 4:12 pm
Location: Fl

Re: Early Hemi Rookie

Post by George »

The 51-3 long tail 331s are OK & cheaper IF you're going to use a stick instead of an A/T.
wayfarer
Posts: 83
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:16 pm
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon

Re: Early Hemi Rookie

Post by wayfarer »

An EarlyHemi will be as reliable as the quality of the rebuild. No, rebuilds are not cheap, budget for about $5k and be selective about the shop you employ. If they are a predominately GM or Ford operation you may not get the attention to detail as you would from a Mopar shop. This is especially true if they are doing the assembly.
Don't be afraid of running 10:1 compresssion, it really wakes these 'ol brutes up and pump gas is fine. There is no comparison to a wedge in this regard.
Unless you absoultely 'gotta have' a bunch of the aluminum eye candy, including the gm water pump swap , then use the stock parts and save a pile of money. One of our recent customers added over $1500 worth of 'shiny' stuff to a 392. [u]None[/u] of the parts helped make it more reliable or make hp.
There is plenty of rebuild discussion on this forum and lots of information over on the Hamb:
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/show ... p?t=118764

Information will always be cheaper than the wrong parts...

.
www.qualityengineeredcomponents.com
Early Hemi Parts and Pieces,

INVENTORY CLEARANCE IN PROGRESS. See website for details.
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