Article by Shawn W. Larsen
In the late 1930's Chrysler began to research engine designs to improve the performance of it's engines. After World War II Chrysler discovered the advantages of hemispherical combustion cambers (they made several models and tested the hypothesis). In 1951 Chrysler introduced a Hemi V8 engine. This engine had 331cubic inches and featured Hemishphereical combustion chambers. This engine produced 180 horsepower @ 4000 rpm, this was the first HEMI engine ever made and debuted in the New Yorker and Saratoga series. Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, DeSoto, and Imperial were ahead of the class for almost 20 years with this new HEMI design.
In 1955 Chrysler created the first car in North America which produced 300 horsepower and 345 pounds of torque. This legendary car was the 1955 Chrysler C300. This car featured a 331 Cubic Inch HEMI, 345 pounds of torque @ 3200 rpm.
My dad raced one of those cars in the 1960's. The car was totally stock and in good shape. At the time my dad owned a 1955 Chevy Bel-Air 2-door Hardtop with a 283 V8. They took off from the stop lights and of course the Chrysler always won. One thing funny that my dad remembers is that they guy with the C300 had a dog and everytime they would slam on there brakes to stop at a stop light the dog would get thrown to the floor board. When he got thrown on the floor board he would crawl back on the seat. The dog got thrown to the floor 4 times but continued to get back on the seat. The very last time my dad raced the C300 was at the very last stop sign. Beyond the stop light was a long stretch of road with no stop signs or stop light. They took off from the stop light and that C300 got 4 car lengths ahead of that Chevy and it was gone! Looks like Chevy and Ford had to play catch up! That was the first and last time my dad ever raced a Hemi car.
In 1957 my grandpa (my moms dad) bought a brand new 1957 Dodge Custom Royal Special, with a 392 Cubic Inch Hemi. My grandpa had that car for many years. In the 70's he wanted to get rid of that car, the car aged a lot. It had rust on the quarter panels, and in other places. Every teenager in the area wanted to buy that car. My grandpa didn't want any teenager getting that car due to it's massive power. He would have hated for a teenager to get killed in that car. He always talked about how much power that car had. He thought it was too much power for any man to have. He decided to sell the car for scrap. He took the Hemi motor to a local junkyard and sold it. That was a sad end to a legendary automoble. Chrysler released the 331, 354, and 392 cubic inch displacements in the 50's. In 1958, Chrysler released it's last Hemi cars . Production costs were too much for Chrysler to absorb. The B/RB series engines took the place of the HEMI motors.
In the early 60's, Chrysler released 2 new motors. They released the 413 and 426 cubic inch wedge-headed motors dubbed the "Max Wedge". These engines were the performance engine for the Chrysler Corperation. In the early 60's the "Max Wedge" motors were being noticed on the drag strips. In 1963 Chrysler decided they wanted to start winning in the NASCAR curcuit. They wondered what would happen if they added a Hemi heads to there RB blocks. In 10 months Chrysler created the new 426 cubic Inch Hemi engine, which would become the greatest engine of all time. The first race which the 426 Hemi raced in was a big success! During the qualifying weeks before the Daytona 500 The Hemi set several track records. Richard Petty won the 1964 Daytona 500 in his 1964 Hemi Belvedere. Four of the five top finishers were Hemi cars. The HEMI motor set a new average speed record of 154.33 mph. This new engine was a total success for Chrysler.
In the Drag racing class the 426 Hemi engine was a success as well. The 1964 Drag racing Hemis featured 12.5:1 compression with two Carter AFB 4-barrel carburetors and an aluminum intake manifold. These cars also featured manual or automatic transmissions and Sure-grip rear ends. In 1964 "The Ramchargers Car Club" took Hemi race cars to the National Hot Rod Ass ociation's U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis and set a new record. They set a new Super Stock record at 11.23 @ 130 mph. Hundreds of special drag-race-only Hemi cars were produced in 1964 and 1965.
In 1966 Chrysler made a detuned version of the Hemi (known as the "Street Hemi") to be sold in production models. Only a few changes were made to make the Race HEMI street legal. The compression ratio was lowered to 10.25:1. A milder camshaft, lower valve spring rates, and cast-iron exhaust manifolds. These changes made the Hemi better on the streets. The Street Hemi came with a pair of Carter 4-barrel carbs on top of a aluminum dual-plane intake manifold. For better cold-weather operation the 426 Hemi came with a pair of tubes the ran from the right exhaust manifold to the intake manifold. This was used to provide the intake manifold with heat for faster start up and better cold-weather operation.
The "Street Hemi" was factory rated at 425 horsepower at 5000 rpm and 490lbs.-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. Most people would debate these readings for sometime. Some ratings pegged the Street Hemi's output close to 500 horsepower! The 426 Hemi was $1,100 option and only a check away from on an option form. The 426 Hemi was either backed with a 4-speed manual or a Torque Flite Automatic Transmission. The 426 Hemi was limited to what kind of cars it came in. In the coming years the 426 Hemi was expanded to more and more models. In the 1970 model year the E-bodies (Plymouth 'Cuda and the Dodge Challenger) came with this massive motor. If only The Tall Man knew about the powerful Hemi 'Cudas maybe he could win if the Hemi 'Cudas never existed!
Sadly the 1971 model year was the last year for the 426 Hemi option. Between the years 1966-1971 the 426 Hemi option was ordered in approximately 10,000 cars. The 426 Hemi series only had a 5 year run. It's not really that big of a run but they did produce thousands of Hemi motors. Very few changes were made to the Hemi motor though it's 1966-1971 run. The only new parts the Hemi recieved were a camshaft (1968) and Hydraulic lifters (1970). The factory ratings were unchanged with these modifcations. Due to insurance rates even small block powered cars were hard to insure muchless a 426 Hemi! Concerns also came up about emissions which led to a major detuning of all High performance engines and restrictive exhaust systems. Luckly the the 426 Hemi didn't have to suffer through all of that. It died when it was at the top while other motors suffered the pity of detuning.
In 1978 my mom bought her second car which was a 1973 Plymouth 'Cuda with a 318 2-barrel Slap-Stik Automatic. When she bought the car it was in perfect condition and it only had 66,000 miles on it. This car features: J54 hood (same hood PHANTASM and PHANTASM II's 'Cudas had), G36 dual painted racing mirriors, A6XW interior (vinyl seat black and white), VIW white vinyl top, C16 center console, H51 A/C & front heater, V6W white longitudinal tape stripes, FE5 Rally red paint job, etc. This car came with a lot of options, I don't have room to list them all! We still own this car and my mom drives it back and forth to work everyday. This car is all original and still has it's unrebuilt 318 with 238,000 original miles! Believe it or not it still runs perfectly. I drive the 'Cuda all the time and I've studied the fender tag and VIN numbers too.
In 1979 (8 years after the very last Hemi was produced) Don Coscarelli created a movie called PHANTASM. In this movie he had to decide what type of star car he would use. He bought a 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda 340 Pistol Grip 4-speed. The car was fixed up and modifyied somewhat. Flares on the back wheel openings and a sun roof was added before it was painted black. Pin stripes were added with a set of Cragar S/S rims. I also noticed in one interior shot that it had a custom steering wheel of some sort. Even though this car wasn't a Hemi it was made up to be one.
In 1988 (9 years after PHANTASM was made and 17 years after the last Hemi was made) Don Coscarelli created a sequel to his hit PHANTASM called PHANTASM II ("The Ball is Back!"). This movie featured a 1971 Barracuda with a 318 2-barrel automatic. The car was made up to look like a Hemi 'Cuda (remember the "hemicuda" emblem on the J54 hood?) and it had one modification which were a set of Cragar S/S rims. On one of the interior shots Don borrowed a Pistol Grip 4-speed shifter to show Reggie shifting gears. This Barracuda also came with A/C as well.
In 1994 (6 years after PHANTASM II was made and 23 years after the very last Hemi was made) Don Coscarelli made a third installment to the PHANTASM series called PHANTASM III: LORD OF THE DEAD. This movie featured a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda Gran Coupe Convertible with a 318 2-barrel automatic. This car was made to Hemi 'Cuda specs! A transplanted 426 Hemi was dropped into the Barracuda. Don picked up some hard to find Hemi parts to make the clone Hemi 'Cuda look factory correct. They did a good job making the car factory correct! Notice how detailed the motor was when Reggie lifts off the Shaker Scoop, notice the Rally gauges, and the AM/FM 8-track radio. This Hemi 'Cuda was also featured in the 4 sequel to the PHANTASM series called PHANTASM: OBLIVION.
Well I hope you enjoyed this Mopar article. I took you though the history of Chrysler, the Hemi engine, and somewhat though the PHANTASM Mopars. I owe some thanks to People that I have talked to about Mopars, car show events, High Performance Mopar (I have every issue since 1992!), Oklahoma City Mopar Club, and the webmaster at Phantasm.com for the specs on the PHANTASM 'Cudas.
Below are a few pictures I submitted to THE SENTINEL. I also added what Richard said about each picture the the magazine...
PHANTASM II's awesome Hemi 'Cuda
Shawn Larsen beside his pride and joy.
The Tall Man being challenged to a race by the author. Who will win? According to Wesley Snipes in PASSENGER 57 "Always bet on black."
The all-powerful, badass Hemi engine.
NOTE: The article above appeared in Issue 12 in March of 2000. This issue of THE SENTINEL was the very last. THE SENTINEL had a 3 year run, too bad it had to go so soon. Thank You Richard for taking my submission!
