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Saw this car while getting gas

ChrisL

By ChrisL
in The Café

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maddmaxx Flahute

maddmaxx ★

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1st generation hemi available from 51 to 58 in displacements of 331, 354 and 392 cu inches across all of the Chrysler product lines.  Note, each division had a slightly different version and they are not really interchangeable brand to brand.

You can tell it's a Hemi from spark plug locations in tubes going through the valve covers instead of through the side of the cylinder heads as with most engines.  It's a 1st gen hemi because the ignition wires point to a distributor at the back of the motor as different from the later generations location at the front of the engine.  The great big black belt up front hints at the supercharger that you can barely see in the shadows just above the valve cover breather tubes.  

The hemi was legendary for the amount of power it made, but it was a huge block of steel for it's displacement and was always a difficult engine to stuff into an engine compartment leading to it's eventual end and replacement by more conventional wedge engines.  The modern hemi has no relationship at all to the first 2 generation engines from the 50's, 60's and early 70's.

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ChrisL KOM / QOM

ChrisL

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1 hour ago, maddmaxx said:

1st generation hemi available from 51 to 58 in displacements of 331, 354 and 392 cu inches across all of the Chrysler product lines.  Note, each division had a slightly different version and they are not really interchangeable brand to brand.

You can tell it's a Hemi from spark plug locations in tubes going through the valve covers instead of through the side of the cylinder heads as with most engines.  It's a 1st gen hemi because the ignition wires point to a distributor at the back of the motor as different from the later generations location at the front of the engine.  The great big black belt up front hints at the supercharger that you can barely see in the shadows just above the valve cover breather tubes.  

The hemi was legendary for the amount of power it made, but it was a huge block of steel for it's displacement and was always a difficult engine to stuff into an engine compartment leading to it's eventual end and replacement by more conventional wedge engines.  The modern hemi has no relationship at all to the first 2 generation engines from the 50's, 60's and early 70's.

I would think that car would be scary to drive. All that HP in such a small light car.  Even with those giant rear tires I bet it’s squirrelly when you get on it.

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MickinMD KOM / QOM

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A friend once got caught up in the Dodge Truck commercials where the driver leans his head out the side window and thrillingly cries out, "It's a hemi!"

He was going to get a Dodge Truck because it had a hemi engine!

I asked him what a hemi is.  He had no idea.  I told him the bottoms of the cylinders had a hemispherical shape and that created a more-total, even burn of the gas vapor/air mixture and more power for the same amount of fuel.  He still had no idea.

I told him that the Dodge hemis only came in big 5L and 5.5L versions (5.7L to 6.7L now) and got about 17 mpg.  What did he need that much power for?  "Well, I might get a boat and trailer or an RV."

He got the hemi, didn't tow anything. When he drove several states away to visit relatives, he drove at 50-55 mph max. so his mileage wouldn't drop to 12 mpg. He eventually sold it for a higher mileage truck.

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Parr8hed KOM / QOM

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4 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

A friend once got caught up in the Dodge Truck commercials where the driver leans his head out the side window and thrillingly cries out, "It's a hemi!"

He was going to get a Dodge Truck because it had a hemi engine!

I asked him what a hemi is.  He had no idea.  I told him the bottoms of the cylinders had a hemispherical shape and that created a more-total, even burn of the gas vapor/air mixture and more power for the same amount of fuel.  He still had no idea.

I told him that the Dodge hemis only came in big 5L and 5.5L versions (5.7L to 6.7L now) and got about 17 mpg.  What did he need that much power for?  "Well, I might get a boat and trailer or an RV."

He got the hemi, didn't tow anything. When he drove several states away to visit relatives, he drove at 50-55 mph max. so his mileage wouldn't drop to 12 mpg. He eventually sold it for a higher mileage truck.

IIRC it was the heads and not the cylinders that had the hemispheric combustion chamber.  

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jsharr Maillot Jaune

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5 minutes ago, MickinMD said:

A friend once got caught up in the Dodge Truck commercials where the driver leans his head out the side window and thrillingly cries out, "It's a hemi!"

He was going to get a Dodge Truck because it had a hemi engine!

I asked him what a hemi is.  He had no idea.  I told him the bottoms of the cylinders had a hemispherical shape and that created a more-total, even burn of the gas vapor/air mixture and more power for the same amount of fuel.  He still had no idea.

I told him that the Dodge hemis only came in big 5L and 5.5L versions (5.7L to 6.7L now) and got about 17 mpg.  What did he need that much power for?  "Well, I might get a boat and trailer or an RV."

He got the hemi, didn't tow anything. When he drove several states away to visit relatives, he drove at 50-55 mph max. so his mileage wouldn't drop to 12 mpg. He eventually sold it for a higher mileage truck.

The top of cylinders are open and bottom of the cylinders are open to the crankcase.  Tops are closed off by the heads and it is the cylinder heads that have the hemispherical shape.

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maddmaxx Flahute

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The hemi has a dome shaped combustion chamber in the cylinder head (hemispherical or "Hemi")  with an intake valve on one side and the exhaust on the other.  The spark plug is centrally located (thus the need to enter through a tube in the valve cover.  This location provides a nice even progression of flame after ignition and during the power stroke.

That should cover the argument between those two. ^^^^^

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jsharr Maillot Jaune

jsharr ★

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1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

The hemi has a dome shaped combustion chamber in the cylinder head with an intake valve on one side and the exhaust on the other.  The spark plug is centrally located (thus the need to enter through a tube in the valve cover.  This location provides a nice even progression of flame after ignition and during the power stroke.

That should cover the argument between those two. ^^^^^

Bite Us!

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